Chapter 111: You Are Not My Dad, Don't Come Looking for Me
William closed his eyes sadly.
It took him several seconds to suppress his emotions.
"Briar," William said, "things between Isabella and me aren't what you think."
But Briar just looked at him.
Her big eyes made him feel sad.
"I don't know how to explain it to you," William said softly. "Give me some time. Later, she'll understand, and you'll understand too."
"There's a blue tanzanite in the safe at home, very beautiful. Your mother likes it too. I'll have a craftsman make a jewelry set for you."
"No need," Briar replied. "I'm just my mother's daughter. You're not my father."
"Jewelry, stones—I don't need any of them."
"Stop showing off your wealth."
"I know what you're capable of, but I love her."
Briar was mature for her age. Though not yet five, she spoke very clearly.
Briar jumped down from the chair, the floppy-eared dog doll in her arms swinging its ears.
"Don't come looking for me anymore," she repeated. "It's getting late. I need to go back to sleep."
With that, Briar started walking out.
William stood up. He didn't chase after her, but said, "Just this once, please accept them. I bought them specially."
Briar turned around, her lips pressed flat.
Briar said, "Sir, I told you, you can give them to someone else."
"After you accept them, you can do whatever you want with them," William said.
"I already said," Briar replied, "these are your things. I won't accept them."
"Sir, are you trying to bully a little kid?"
William felt helpless. "That's not what I meant."
He just wanted to be good to her.
But Briar just looked at him.
The director, who had been waiting by the door, heard the commotion and came in, looking at William with firm eyes.
Someone came to take Briar back. The director stood there, watching William with his lips pressed tight.
"You should go," the director said. "We'll take care of her."
William looked away. He lowered his head, the hair falling over his forehead hiding his emotions.
He took out a checkbook from his pocket, wrote a check, and handed it to the director.
"A donation," he said. "For the orphanage. You decide how to use it."
The director's expression was complicated, but she still accepted the check.
The orphanage really did need this money.
"These things," William paused slightly and said, "see if any other children can use them."
The director nodded.
"Don't tell the other children it's from me. Take good care of her," William added.
The director nodded. "We will."
William nodded.
"I'm leaving."
He said this, not knowing who he was saying it to, then turned and walked into the night.
……
Time flew by quickly.
The whole city was in turmoil.
Jeffrey was rushing urgently to the Adams Villa.
He had several phones in his pocket. One was on a video call with Amelia and the others, while another was getting information from people at the Adams Villa.
Then his head started to hurt.
Several investors were heading there.
Although Amelia had already given him the right solution, the problem was that Beck and Zaid were going too.
He was getting stronger and stronger in the Adams family's power struggle, and Beck and Zaid wouldn't let him off easy.
But looking at Amelia and the others still working hard to find information, Jeffrey steadied himself.
He had to do it even if he couldn't!
This was his only chance to turn things around, and Amelia had given it to him. If he couldn't handle it, he'd be barely surviving for the rest of his life!
He urged the driver to go faster, not noticing another car passing by in the opposite direction.
……
In the residential complex.
Amelia and the others had gone through countless documents and finally confirmed everything they needed to check.
Only then did they relax a little.
Amelia checked the time—it was already 3 AM.
"Thank you all for your hard work," Amelia said gratefully.
"Not hard at all," Soren said with a smile. "It's what we should do."
He wasn't working for free. Jeffrey, seeing his abilities, had already recruited him to the Adams Group with a high salary.
It was just that Amelia was still in a special period, so they were keeping it secret for now, waiting for the right time to let others know.
Mia wasn't being polite either. She smiled and hugged the latest seasonal bag in her arms, saying happily, "I accept bribes in the form of bags. Doing some work is what I should do."
But Amelia knew there was a big difference between regular work and putting your heart into it.
And neither of these two lacked money.
They were doing this for her.
However, Amelia didn't plan to say more. She would just remember this kindness and treat them well in the future.
"Amelia, what do you plan to do next?" Mia said, yawning.
Soren listened while ordering late-night snacks.
"Isabella is attacking us, so I'm going to use Isabella against herself," Amelia said with a smile, typing away on the keyboard.
"I don't get it," Mia said, sprawled on the sofa.
"Programs need to be positive and provide positive guidance to society," Amelia looked up.
She smiled and said, "Don't you think Isabella is a perfect resource to use?"
Mia sat up straight and blinked.
Amelia handed Mia a cushion to lean on and continued, "Didn't she say she would livestream the last six months of her life to help and encourage more sick patients? That's a perfect theme."
"Using Isabella to break Isabella's attack?" Mia murmured softly.
Amelia nodded.
What they needed to handle now was whether the program would suddenly be shut down.
Only programs with very negative social impact would be reformed.
The early marketing of The Sound of Heaven was actually mostly driven by Isabella's appeal.
It was only later, as the competition progressed, that the discussion shifted to the competition itself.
And until today, contestant Lika hadn't had any negative news.
Whether this negative news was true or false was still unclear. After all, the people above knew that in the entertainment industry, truth and lies mixed together, and there were many reversals.
So, with a very good and positive theme, they wouldn't easily cancel the entire program.
They had just searched through a lot of information and found that most of the time, the solution was to edit out the relevant people.
Besides, the people above wouldn't make decisions so easily—they still needed to have meetings.
If they submitted the materials and told them about their investigation request, giving them until before the last livestream started as the final investigation deadline.
The people above valued evidence, so it should work.
"If it really doesn't work, I'll have to put my identity out there," Amelia said, pressing enter and sending the materials to Jeffrey.
She said, "But I don't think it'll come to that."
The Adams Group would have specialists handle the coordination with the relevant departments for other related matters.
Now, basically everything had been handled.
What remained was to get that certificate.
The divorce certificate from William.