Chapter 328 Return to the Martinez Mansion

Chapter 328 Return to the Martinez Mansion

When Trevor spoke the name, Amelia could hardly believe her ears.

Saul was Jenny's brother, which made him her uncle by law.

Amelia had first met Saul last year, right before the international piano competition.

She had pushed open the door to the Martinez family home, and his voice struck her like a physical blow from the living room. It wasn't conversation. It was venom, pure and unfiltered. He had called her every filthy name he could think of — shameless, disgraceful, worthless.

Saul had always treated Rachel like a trophy, his pride and joy. He had been counting on her to shine at the piano competition, to bring him glory. Instead, the whole thing had been a disaster. He and Rachel had been humiliated in front of everyone, and he hadn't set foot in the Martinez house since.

If Trevor hadn't brought him up, Amelia might have forgotten the man existed. She had certainly forgotten he was a professor at Aurora College.

"Mr. Lewis, are you saying this Saul teaches at Aurora College's medical school, same as you?" Amelia asked.

"That's right." Trevor's voice dripped with contempt. "The dissertation that got him his professorship was padded with nonsense. And I would bet money he didn't even write it himself."

"I understand, Mr. Lewis." Amelia paused. "Leave finding Saul to me."

She ended the call, gave Dorian a quick rundown of the situation, then dialed Jenny's number.

"Hello? Mom."

The moment Jenny heard Amelia's voice, her tone lit up with genuine warmth.

"Amelia! Kevin told me you went to the market and the hot springs yesterday with Michael and your friends. Did you have a good time? Are you just now getting up? Have you eaten breakfast yet? Where's Michael?"

The questions came rapid-fire.

Ever since that day at the Johnson Mansion when Amelia had called her "Mom" for the first time, Jenny had been floating on air.

Her five sons barely needed her anymore. But Amelia — beautiful, brilliant, capable, and thoughtful — was different. She adored the girl more with every passing day, felt her heart wrap itself around her like silk thread pulling tighter and tighter.

"We had a wonderful time. I just woke up. Haven't eaten yet. Michael went to get breakfast for me."

After answering each question, Amelia added, "Mom, I'll head back after I eat. Wait for me at home. There's something I need to talk to you about."

"What's got you sounding so serious?" Jenny laughed. "I wasn't planning on going out today anyway. Your brother Ryan actually has time off, so we're doing a big family dinner tonight. Oh, and bring Michael with you when you come. Didn't he say last time he loved my cooking? I'll make his favorites tonight."

Amelia had the phone on speaker. Michael walked in just then, pushing a breakfast cart, and caught Jenny's last sentence.

Without hesitation, Amelia held the phone toward him.

Michael leaned down and spoke into it. "I heard that, Ms. Jenkins. I'll bring Amelia home right after breakfast."

Jenny was delighted with her future son-in-law. "Perfect. I'll be waiting for you both."

Watching them, Dorian felt a pang of envy.

They weren't like the couples she usually saw — the ones who couldn't stop gushing and cooing at each other. Michael and Amelia never said sickeningly sweet things. But every glance they exchanged, every unconscious gesture, radiated trust and love so deep it didn't need words.

After Jenny hung up, Michael looked at Amelia. "Go wash up. I got breakfast for two. You and Dorian can eat together."

Amelia nodded. After breakfast, she and Michael said their goodbyes to Dorian, Asher, and Orval, then headed back to the Martinez Mansion that afternoon.

On the drive, Amelia filled Michael in on Trevor's situation.

Michael asked if she wanted him to have someone pull down the trending topic. Amelia refused.

"Right now, the hashtag 'Professor Trevor Allegedly Lures Underage Girl' is sitting at number one on the trending list. The engagement is skyrocketing — double what it was this morning."

"People online are furious, tearing into Mr. Lewis. If the topic suddenly drops off the list, they'll know someone's manipulating it. That will only make them angrier. The whole thing will spiral even further out of control."

"So for now, we do nothing. I'll go home first and find out where Saul is."

"I'm almost certain he's behind this. Once I track him down, I'll get the truth out of him. Then I'll make him issue a public statement clearing everything up."

Amelia's eyes went cold.

The Martinez Mansion.

Kevin had been planning to go into the office, but when Jenny mentioned Michael was coming over, he decided to stay home and work from the first-floor study.

Chris wasn't home. He had an afternoon surgery and promised to be back for dinner.

Zander and Tobias were upstairs.

The moment Amelia walked through the door, she spotted Ryan in the living room, wearing a bathrobe, his hair still dripping as he gulped down water.

He had clearly just gotten out of the shower. Ryan had only given his hair a cursory towel-dry, and droplets slid down his face, tracing the line of his jaw.

His profile was perfect. Even slouching around like this, he looked like he was shooting an ad for luxury bath products — so handsome it was almost unfair.

Amelia frowned. "Ryan."

"Sweetheart, you're back!" The second Ryan heard Amelia's voice, all traces of sleepiness vanished. He turned toward her, his smile warm and indulgent, and opened his arms without thinking. "Come here. Let me hug you."

Ryan had wrapped up his work on set early specifically so he could spend Amelia's winter break with her.

He had planned to pick her up from school yesterday afternoon.

But the moment he showed up, he had been mobbed by a swarm of girls. He had barely caught a glimpse of Amelia before she disappeared.

What made it worse was that she left with Michael. Ryan hadn't seen her all night.

He shot Michael a look.

Rationally, he knew Michael was going to be his brother-in-law. Emotionally, he couldn't stand the guy. After all, Michael was the one stealing their precious girl away.

Amelia walked over to him and pulled the white towel off his neck, her tone turning stern.

"Didn't you just get over a cold? You take a shower and don't even dry your hair properly. You're dripping everywhere. Bend down. I can't reach."

Ryan immediately ducked his head, letting Amelia towel-dry his hair.

He wrapped his arms around her, nuzzling against her with obvious satisfaction. "Ah, it's so good to be home, having you here to take care of me. When I'm away, I'm miserable. I can barely get a decent meal. Nobody cares about me at all."

"Sweetheart, you're my treasure."

It was a good thing Ryan's manager Hugo wasn't around to hear that.

Otherwise, Hugo — who looked after Ryan's every need and cooked all his meals — would have thrown the food on the floor and walked out.

The household staff saw Amelia and Michael arrive and went to notify the family. Before long, Jenny, Zander, and Tobias all came downstairs, gathering in the living room.

After Jenny and Kevin exchanged pleasantries with Michael, Jenny asked, "Amelia, you said this morning you had something important to discuss with me. What is it?"

Amelia looked up. "Mom, Kevin, have either of you seen what's trending on Instagram today?"

"Instagram trends?" Jenny didn't use Instagram, but Kevin skimmed the news every morning.

Something clicked. "You mean the Professor Lewis thing? Something about him using a special admissions slot to lure an underage girl. I don't know if it's true."

"It's not true." Amelia met Kevin's gaze. "The underage girl in that blurred photo? That's me."