Arthur came out of hiding after Dave and his two men were completely out of sight. He approached Liliana who seemed to be frozen with a blank stare straight ahead.
"Madam, are you alright?" asked Arthur as he touched Liliana's arm very carefully. If he wasn't currently in the form of Arthur Wang, he would have hugged his mother tightly.
"Ah." Liliana came to her senses and turned to Arthur. "I'm fine," she said, trying to smile.
"Your face is pale, ma'am." Arthur couldn't hide his worry. He really didn't expect that his mother would receive this much pressure from Dave, even to the point of being threatened with elimination. In fact, all this time Liliana had relented and tolerated all the unpleasant behavior that Dave and his mother often did with the excuse that there would be no fuss.
"I'm fine, really. Thank you for worrying about me," Liliana said.
Arthur let out his breath for a moment. Considering he was a stranger in Liliana's presence, of course his mother wouldn't tell him the truth about the situation. It was also unlikely that she would be allowed to help, even if only in small ways.
"Just a moment, I want to clean up the broken urn first. I'm sorry that you had to listen to a commotion that you shouldn't have," Liliana said.
Arthur held Liliana's arm.
"You sit down and calm down first. Let me clean up the mess." Arthur guided Liliana to sit on a sofa in the room.
"But ...."
"It's okay. Let me do it," Arthur repeated once more.
Liliana finally nodded. Even though this young man in front of her was a stranger in her eyes, but somehow she felt comfortable and protected.
Arthur hurried to the back and returned with a garbage bag. He deftly put the broken urn on the floor into the bag, then cleaned up the debris with the help of a vacuum cleaner.
Liliana stood still and watched what Arthur was doing with a nagging feeling. She hadn't told the young man where her cleaning tools were, but Arthur could easily find them without asking. Wasn't that a little strange?
"It's done, ma'am. Now the floor is clean and safe from ceramic splinters," Arthur said as he put away Liliana's cleaning tools.
Liliana nodded still a little dumbfounded. Her head was currently filled with many thoughts that she knew made no sense. How could she continue to feel that the young man who was helping her now was her missing son.
"Are you okay with me staying alone now?" asked Arthur. He was about to leave because he wanted to find out what Dave was really looking for.
"We haven't finished the tea yet, son. Let's continue," Liliana said with a faint smile.
Arthur's emotions became uncertain seeing Liliana's expression at this moment. Clearly his mother was not well and needed a friend by her side. Arthur wondered to himself, is this how Liliana's life has been since their relationship broke down? Keeping everything to herself with no one to share or talk to?
"Well, let's finish the tea first," Arthur said later. He decided to keep Liliana company for a little longer.
Arthur followed Liliana to the side yard, where they had enjoyed their tea earlier. They then sat back in their respective chairs.
"The tea is already cold. Let me prepare a new one," Liliana said as she was about to leave, but Arthur quickly restrained her.
"No need, ma'am. Even though the tea has cooled down a bit, it still tastes good. It's fine with me," Arthur said as he gently touched the back of Liliana's hand.
Liliana failed to rise and settled her weight back on the surface of the chair. She looked at the back of her hand that Arthur had touched. Her longing for her beloved son was so real that her eyes condensed slightly.
"Forgive me if I seem presumptuous, Madam. May I ask, who were those people?" Arthur asked later after they had both been silent for a while.
"No one. Just unimportant people," Liliana said.
As Arthur had expected, his mother would not easily tell the truth to a stranger.
"I was going to eavesdrop, but I watched closely because I was worried about Madame. They looked like bad people and dared to threaten her," Arthur said.
"That's because I didn't give them what they wanted. It's not the first time I've faced this situation, so there's no need to worry. They only dare to threaten, but won't dare to do anything. I'll be fine." Liliana replied casually. But it made Arthur gasp.
Liliana had never told him that Dave had been coming to intimidate her for some time. It was because her relationship with her son was strained. It wasn't that she didn't want to, but she was waiting for Arthur to open up to her a little. But his son disappeared first.
"It looks like you're in danger right now, ma'am. You need a place to take refuge from those bad guys. We don't know each other very well yet, but I can help you avoid them for the time being." Arthur tried to offer Liliana his help and hoped she would accept his offer.
"Thank you for saying that. Even though we don't know each other, I feel that you're a good person, son. I'm sure you have no ill will towards me. But I'm really okay. I can still survive here. Besides, if I leave, what if my son suddenly comes back? He'll be confused looking for me," Liliana said.
Arthur couldn't say anything else. If he insisted, it would make Liliana feel uncomfortable. Let him keep an eye on Liliana's condition from afar for the time being. If necessary, he could ask the system for help in monitoring and protecting his mother, though of course there would be a special mission from the system that Arthur would have to do in return.
Arthur finally said nothing more. He finished the tea served by Liliana, along with the apple pie that accompanied it. After that, Arthur got up and prepared to leave.
"Thank you for the tea and apple pie, ma'am. I have to go as I have some business to attend to," Arthur said goodbye.
"Yes, come if you want more tea. I'll make macaroons next time," Liliana said.
Arthur smiled. Macaroons were something he loved to bake as a child. Liliana still made them and sent them to Arthur, even when their relationship wasn't as warm as it used to be.
Holding back his feelings as best he could, Arthur took out Arthur Wang's business card and placed it on the table.
"Please contact me if Madam needs any help, whatever it may be. And just let me know when Madame has made the macaroons," Arthur had.
Liliana took the business card and skimmed through it. Then she nodded and smiled back.
"Excuse me." Arthur said goodbye once more before actually leaving the place.
In his car, Arthur paused for a moment and tried to think properly about the safe that Dave had asked his mother about earlier. What valuable things might be stored in the safe?
Should Arthur request information from the system, which will certainly reduce points or may even weaken his current physical strength? Or did Eve also know about the safe that Dave was looking for?
Arthur sighed and started the car engine. He started the vehicle towards his apartment. If only this time Joe had gotten the results of the information provided by Arthur the other day, maybe Arthur would have asked his new ally for help in providing protection to Liliana. But now he was also waiting for developments.
"There is no other choice. I have to ask the system for help," Arthur muttered as he looked at the street. No matter what task the system would give him, he had to protect his mother from Dave and his men.
Arriving at the apartment, Arthur immediately searched for some information from his laptop. The current news on the internet was the decline in Great Food Company's stock price after the disappearance of Arthur Greens.
Arthur couldn't help but smile wryly as he read the news. Being able to take over doesn't mean being able to manage it properly. Especially if what was taken over was in a sneaky way.
It's certain that Dave is currently being made very dizzy by the company. The higher-ups must also be pressuring him. Not to mention, he also had to repeatedly create an alibi when the police asked for information from him for the disappearance of Arthur Greens. People's suspicions now certainly point to Dave. However, there is no evidence to corroborate these suspicions.
In a way, Arthur understood why Eve seemed to have changed course and was about to betray Dave as well after betraying him. Surely the current situation was a bit out of control and Eve didn't have much to gain. In short, everything that happened was not as expected. On the other hand, maybe Eve also didn't want her name to be dragged if Dave was found out later. She's really a cunning woman who only wants to make a profit.
Suddenly Arthur's cell phone chimed. A text message came in and it was from Eve.
'For the time being, we should not contact each other. The situation is not very conducive. Dave is throwing tantrums and getting angry endlessly and complaining about everything. I'll be in touch when things get better.'
Arthur was a little stunned when he read the message. Why was Dave suddenly having such a tantrum? Did this have anything to do with his earlier visit to Liliana's house?
"What exactly is this safe that Dave is looking for? What are the contents of the safe? Is it another treasure left by my father?" Arthur muttered to himself.
Arthur went back to typing something on his laptop keyboard. This time, he searched for Dave's background and his half-brother's biological mother. He hoped to find some clues.