As dinner was served, Melinda glanced at Raymond lounging on the couch. "Do you take your medication before or after meals?"
"After," he replied.
"Mr. Thomas, you need to take your medicine properly and get well soon," Sam said with concern.
"Okay," Raymond smiled.
At the dinner table, Raymond picked up his utensils and placed some meat into Sam's bowl, his gaze gentle, as if looking at his own child.
When Melinda looked up, she caught the exchange between them. She quickly lowered her eyes, feeling flustered. The kinder Raymond was to Sam, the harder it was for her to refuse him.
After dinner, Melinda poured him a glass of water and thanked him.
For her recent kidnapping case, it was Raymond's lawyer who had been helping.
"The police are gathering evidence. Once it's conclusive, I won't hold back," Raymond said, his eyes sharp and voice steady.
"If new evidence about the kidnapping from years ago comes up, will my mom need to be summoned for investigation?"
"Yes," Raymond confirmed.
"Take your medicine," Melinda handed him the pills.
Raymond opened the bag, revealing seven or eight small bottles. He followed the instructions on each bottle and swallowed the pills one by one.
Melinda was slightly surprised at the variety of medications he was taking. "Are all these prescribed by reliable doctors? I'm worried you might be taking the wrong ones," she couldn't help but say.
Raymond felt a warmth in his heart at her concern. He poured all the pills into his hand and swallowed them in one go.
Time passed, and after Melinda had washed up and put Sam to bed, she found Raymond asleep on the couch.
He was lying on one side of the couch, his head resting on the back, eyes closed in deep sleep.
"Mommy, be quiet. Don't wake Mr. Thomas," Sam whispered, raising a finger to his lips.
Melinda thought, this won't do. She needed Stuart to come and take him home.
"You go to your room and sleep," Melinda said softly.
Sam obediently went to his room. Melinda walked over to Raymond, looking at his handsome features, tracing them with her eyes.
She couldn't help but think, if Raymond didn't have some real skills, how could he be so attractive to women? Just his face alone was enough to make her heart flutter countless times.
But then she remembered all his talents were used on other women, and her heart felt heavy.
She couldn't get enough of looking at his face. His eyelashes were so long...
She worried that if he slept on the couch, he might catch a cold and his condition would worsen.
"Mr. White, Mr. Thomas is asleep at my place. Can you come pick him up?" she called Stuart.
"Ms. Sharp, I'm sorry, something came up, and I can't make it," Stuart replied.
Stuart thought, no way. Raymond had finally managed to stay at Melinda's place; there was no way he was going to pick him up.
"Then give me the numbers of his other bodyguards. I'll have them come get him," Melinda said, frowning.
"Ms. Sharp, Mr. Thomas rarely sleeps this well. Let him rest at your place for the night," Stuart insisted.
Melinda was speechless.
"Mr. Thomas hasn't been sleeping well lately, which isn't good for his recovery. Please, just this once."
Thinking of his indifferent yet handsome face, Melinda couldn't bring herself to refuse. "Alright, fine."
She would have to share a bed with Sam tonight.
After hanging up, Melinda looked at Raymond sleeping on the couch, feeling uneasy.
The temperature outside was below freezing, and he was just wearing a shirt. He would definitely catch a cold.
"Raymond, go sleep in the bedroom," Melinda said, walking over and patting his shoulder.
Raymond didn't respond. Melinda stared at his handsome, indifferent profile and gently patted his face. "Raymond, go sleep in the bedroom."
Sure enough, Raymond slowly opened his eyes, a hint of clarity in them. His voice was neutral, "Can I sleep in your bed?"
"Mr. White can't come. It's freezing tonight, and you'll catch a cold sleeping on the couch," Melinda said, feeling helpless. What else could she do?
A smile flashed in Raymond's eyes. His assistant really understood him.
Seeing him sit up, Melinda quickly brought over a bucket of warm water for him to soak his feet. In this weather, if he couldn't take a bath, soaking his feet would be good.
Raymond cooperatively soaked his feet in the warm water, then lay down on her soft bed, breathing in her unique scent, and fell into a deep sleep.
After settling him in, Melinda washed up and squeezed into Sam's bed. Sam's face was pressed against her chest, his warmth almost burning a hole through her shirt.
After Sam fell asleep, the occasional cough from the next room made her worry.
Melinda quietly opened the door and went in to check his forehead. It wasn't hot, so she felt relieved.
The night outside was dark, and the room was quiet and peaceful.
Meanwhile, Stuart had arranged to meet the hotel owner from years ago.
The hotel had changed owners several times.
When the current owner heard that Stuart was willing to pay two million dollars for surveillance footage from five years ago, he hesitated.
"The surveillance footage from five years ago is long gone."
A few months ago, there had been a fire in the warehouse, and all the records were burned.
"Did you report it?"
"Yes, the firefighters put out the fire. I didn't lose much, except all the records were burned. So, if you're looking for footage from five years ago, it's definitely gone."
A hint of suspicion flashed in Stuart's eyes. How convenient that the records were the only things burned?
The new owner had only been in charge for two years and knew nothing about what happened five years ago.
Stuart then found the manager and offered her a hundred thousand dollars.
He asked her to list the names of employees who had been with the hotel for over five years.
The manager quickly agreed and soon provided a list of a dozen names.
She emphasized to Stuart, "These long-time employees are on the fringes of the hotel staff. They don't interact with us managers or supervisors."
"Their specific work is handled by the security department."
So, the manager brought in the head of security.
But the head of security also had no memory of events from five years ago.
He could only circle four security guards from the list provided by the manager.
"These are the ones who have been here the longest."
"From five years ago until now."
Stuart discovered that after the fire, several security guards had left.
One of them seemed very suspicious to him.
He had resigned three days after the fire.
If the fire was related to him, why was he in such a hurry to leave?
That was someone from Melinda's past five years ago!
Raymond was investigating secretly, without involving anyone else, not even bodyguards.
Stuart left the club and went directly to the security guard's residence, a rundown little house that looked even gloomier under the dim streetlights.
Stuart was there to confirm a suspicion: did the security guard, Chris Diaz, live there?
He planned to wait until morning. Given Chris's age, he would likely come out to buy groceries or breakfast.
Just as he was about to take a nap, a scooter passed by and stopped in front of Stuart. He looked up and saw the familiar face of the security guard, Chris Diaz.
At two in the morning, Chris was clearly drunk, his steps unsteady.
Stuart studied the surroundings. This area was a blind spot for surveillance. He suddenly opened his car door and shouted, "Chris."
"Who... who are you?"
"I'm from Rays Luxury Hotel! The company sent gifts, and I'm delivering them."
Chris, being greedy, leaned into the car. "What gifts?"
Stuart took the opportunity to push him into the car and pressed a sharp tool against his waist.