Chapter 46
The Smith Group.
"Mr. Smith, this quarter's..."
Michael was in a meeting when suddenly someone's phone rang.
The conference room fell dead silent in an instant.
Everyone exchanged frightened glances, wondering who was bold enough to forget to silence their phone during an internal meeting, and even bring it in.
Just as everyone was trembling with fear, Michael himself pulled out his phone.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Michael frowned slightly, looking at the unknown call on his personal phone. Not many people knew this number.
On the other end, a soft, childish voice came through with a crying tone. "Daddy, please come save me."
It was Samuel crying and calling for daddy to save him.
The conference room was too quiet - everyone stared at Michael in shock.
When did Michael have a child? Did he get married in secret?
Hearing the crying on the phone, Michael felt his chest tighten and stood up abruptly.
He gestured to the vice president to continue the meeting and quickly walked out. "Samuel, what happened?"
"They burned the house, I'm scared." Samuel was crying so hard he could barely breathe. "Daddy, they hit me, there's so much blood, it won't stop. They hit Uncle Jasper too, Uncle Jasper's hands are covered in blood, and Mom is gone."
Michael's expression darkened to the extreme, the atmosphere around him heavy.
Everyone in the conference room looked at Michael fearfully. Was he about to go kill someone?
Outside the door, David, holding coffee, froze for a moment. Seeing Michael's murderous expression, he shoved the coffee at someone nearby and quickly followed. "Mr. Smith, what happened?"
"Go get the car!" Michael's emotions were somewhat out of control.
David rushed into the elevator in a panic, frantically pressing the buttons, anxious to get to the underground parking garage, thinking something major had happened.
"Don't be afraid, I'll be right there." Michael softly comforted Samuel.
Had he really made a mistake?
If Nora hadn't told the police yesterday about her connection to Evelyn, would the Adams family and James have left her alone?
"Daddy, I'm scared."
Samuel was still crying.
Michael wasn't good at comforting children - he'd never done it before. "Samuel, count to one hundred, and I'll be right there, okay?"
For some reason, Michael's chest ached with each beat.
He'd never been someone who liked children, but with Samuel, he couldn't bring himself to dislike him - he even felt somewhat tender toward him.
"1..."
Samuel began counting through his tears.
Michael didn't dare hang up. He walked quickly out of the company just as David pulled up with the car.
"Mr. Smith, get in!"
After flooring the gas pedal, David remembered to ask, "Mr. Smith, where are we going?"
"Jasper's place."
David slammed on the brakes. "What?"
"Hurry up!"
Michael's expression was grim.
David was so scared he was shaking. Not daring to ask more questions, he opened his phone to search for Jasper's auto shop and sped off.
The demolition area.
Samuel was hiding in a corner, looking at the blackened house burned by fire, counting through his tears. "15, 16..."
In the yard, Jasper didn't want Samuel to see his injuries. He couldn't afford to go to the hospital for X-rays, so he could only use some wooden splints to stabilize his fingers and palm, clumsily wrapping them up.
"89, 90..." Samuel counted through his tears, looking hopefully toward the gate.
But Michael hadn't arrived yet.
"98..."
"Samuel!"
A black luxury car suddenly rushed in, and Michael and David got out anxiously.
Jasper looked at the car and Michael getting out in panic, instinctively grabbing a stick nearby. "What do you people want! Just because you have money and power, you think you can keep pushing people to their deaths!"
Jasper had seen Michael before - years ago when he went to the Smith family to beg James on his knees to leave Nora alone.
To Jasper, these people were the same type as James and Aiden.
"Daddy!" Samuel hung up the phone and ran out crying, throwing himself into Michael's arms.
Jasper looked at Samuel in shock, then at Michael holding Samuel. He didn't seem hostile, but Jasper no longer trusted them. "Michael, what do you want! Samuel, he's not your daddy, come here!"
Samuel's eyes reddened as he looked at Jasper. "Uncle Jasper, Daddy can protect me and Mom."
Jasper stood frozen. A five-year-old child already knew he needed to find someone powerful to rely on.
This was all his fault - because he couldn't give Samuel a sense of security.
"Samuel, he's the same as those bad people. Stay away from him, listen to me." Jasper didn't believe Michael had good intentions. People like him had no heart.
"Mr. Thomas, please come with us to the hospital first. Your hand looks seriously injured." David glanced at Jasper's hand and gasped.
Jasper looked coldly at David, hiding his hand behind his back. "I don't need your fake concern."
"Where's Nora?" Michael asked with a frown.
Jasper sneered - so he was here for Nora after all. "Michael, Nora never did anything wrong to your Smith family. Even if she owed anyone, it would be the Adams family, not you. You have no right to go after her. Please leave."
Nora had left. She chose to escape Emerald City - maybe that was the right choice.
To get away from these scumbags.