Chapter 130 Heartbeat
In the wind and rain, Samuel's steps were steady and unhurried.
The wind lifted a corner of his black trench coat, the hem cutting a sharp arc through the air.
Rainwater dripped from the tips of his hair, but he didn't look disheveled at all—instead, it added a touch of cold intensity to his presence.
His eyes were deep-set, his nose bridge high, his lips pressed into a thin, indifferent line. He looked like a deity emerging from the rain, carrying an undeniable aura.
The wind and rain roared behind him, but they seemed to become his backdrop, making him appear even taller and more imposing.
For a moment, Amelia forgot to move, feeling her heartbeat skip a beat.
Her hand was still on the car door, but she seemed frozen by his gaze, unable to look away.
Until Samuel spoke.
"This road won't be passable for a while. My car is across the street. I'll drive you back."
His tone carried an unquestionable command, yet it didn't make her feel annoyed.
Only then did Amelia snap back to reality, feeling embarrassed about her daze.
She had actually been mesmerized by Samuel's good looks.
If word got out, the members of the Shadow Operations Division would laugh at her.
She needed to get a grip.
"We can just take a taxi back. No need to trouble you," Amelia said, declining.
Samuel directly opened the door for her.
Amelia looked at him suspiciously.
"Look, in this kind of typhoon weather, do you think any taxis are out?"
Amelia was stumped.
He was right—there probably weren't any.
The cars passing by on the opposite side were all private vehicles, not a single taxi in sight.
Seeing her silence, Grant agreed on her behalf.
"Then we'll have to trouble Mr. Crawford."
"Just call me Samuel. Let's go."
Samuel smiled, and a drop of rain slid to the edge of his lips before dripping down.
"Amelia, let's go. If we get back too late, Mom will worry," Grant said.
Amelia stopped hesitating. She said goodbye to Holden and bent down to get out of the car.
The next second, she felt someone approach her.
She looked up to see that Samuel had taken off his trench coat and was using it to shield her from the rain overhead.
"You don't have to..."
She had gotten completely soaked earlier while trying to save people.
Fortunately, her top was a black hoodie, so nothing showed through.
But Samuel acted as if he hadn't heard her, directly putting his arm around her shoulders and leading her toward the opposite lane.
Amelia could only hear the sound of wind and rain in her ears, which suddenly became muffled, as if the whole world had shrunk down to just the two of them.
Quiet and intimate.
Grant followed behind, licking his rain-wet lips, his expression becoming somewhat meaningful.
He had dealt with Samuel before.
Back when the Richardson family hadn't fallen on hard times, they had quite a bit of contact with the Crawford family.
But he had never seen Samuel take care of someone like this.
Ignoring his own wet shoulders, completely focused on covering Amelia's head with his coat.
Amelia was about to experience romance.
Though, had Amelia ever been in a relationship before?
Smart people fall in love later—this saying seemed to apply perfectly to Amelia.
The three of them quickly got into Samuel's car.
Jeremy was driving.
Samuel naturally sat in the back seat with Amelia.
Grant hesitated for a second, then walked around the car and sat in the passenger seat.
He was leaving the back space for them.
The car slowly started moving.
Probably because of the typhoon, Jeremy drove very slowly, with hazard lights on the whole way.
At a traffic light, Samuel glanced at Jeremy.
Jeremy happened to look in the rearview mirror.
He understood what Samuel meant and raised the privacy screen between the front and back seats.
Grant turned to look.
But all he saw was the partition separating the front and back seats.
"What's going on?"
Jeremy answered calmly: "Probably the typhoon caused the car to malfunction. But don't worry, only the interior partition is broken. It won't affect driving safety."
Grant was innocent and didn't suspect anything.
Or rather, he inexplicably trusted Samuel, thinking he was a gentleman who wouldn't try anything inappropriate, so he accepted Jeremy's explanation.
Behind the privacy screen.
Amelia glanced at the partition, understanding perfectly well.
She got straight to the point: "Shoot."
Samuel had originally wanted to explain why he raised the partition.
He was afraid she'd misunderstand and think he was some kind of creep.
But seeing Amelia's clear, bright eyes, he knew he didn't need to explain.
He couldn't quite say what type of girl he liked.
But one thing was clear—he hated stupid people.
And Amelia was smart.
That was one of the reasons he appreciated her.
Samuel brought up what had just happened.
"The woman in the car accident is the wife of a friend I recently met."
"He hasn't officially taken up his position yet, so he's still in Thornfield. He had his wife and son move here first."
"After the accident, his wife's driver called him, and he called me."
"I happened to be nearby, so I made it in time."
"I'm thanking you on behalf of him and his wife."
Amelia nodded.
She had guessed as much.
Otherwise, why would Samuel have communicated with the traffic police on that woman's behalf after the rescue?
That woman hadn't seemed very surprised to see Samuel either.
Amelia hesitated for a second before saying, "I've met her once before."
"That day you had a fever, after I left, I happened to run into her son having an episode. I used acupuncture needles to stabilize his condition."
Samuel's eyes showed surprise.
"So you were also the one who saved Adrian."
"Adrian?"
"The little boy you saved."
"Maybe I have some kind of connection with them."
Samuel smiled: "You won't regret saving them."
Amelia looked puzzled.
But Samuel didn't elaborate on this matter. Instead, he thanked her again: "Thank you."
Amelia reminded him: "You already said that."
"That was thanking you on their behalf. Now I'm thanking you for myself."
"What do you mean?"
"The car they were in was one I lent them temporarily. It's our company's first-generation electric car that launched last year. We're about to release the second generation. If someone had died in a first-generation car at this critical time, it could easily affect sales of the second generation."
"Won't it still be affected even if no one died? A lot of people saw the car catch fire and explode today."
"It will have some impact, but not too much. I'll have PR buy some articles to focus on the typhoon. Everyone will pay attention to the disaster situation, not an ordinary car accident where no one died."
Amelia understood.
No wonder he thanked her twice.
"Perhaps my debt to you is now repaid."
Samuel froze.
He felt inexplicably unhappy.
He changed the subject: "Have you encountered anything unusual recently? The people from Combat Arts Hall still haven't been found."
"No." She paused, then added, "I had Felix discharged from the hospital. He'll help me find the remaining people from Combat Arts Hall."
"You trust him?"
"He's my brother."
"But you don't like him." It was a statement, not a question.
Amelia took a breath.
She could tell that Samuel could see through her, and this feeling was very uncomfortable.
She didn't like being seen through.
Amelia looked away, her tone cooling: "I don't like him, but it's also true that he's my brother. And I wouldn't trust him with other matters."
People from Combat Arts Hall had injured Felix. He already hated them.
Plus, although he was stupid, he wouldn't do anything to actually endanger her safety.
He was a member of the Richardson family, but his nature remained kind.
As for psychological harm...
His distrust of her, his favoritism toward Yasmin—these small things couldn't hurt her at all.
Because she didn't care.
So there was no problem letting Felix handle this matter.
"If you need it, I can assign two people to help him," Samuel offered generously.
He didn't want Amelia to repay her debt. He wanted her to keep owing him.
Owe more and more, until she could never repay it all.
Amelia didn't know what Samuel was thinking, but she still declined.
"Too many people would easily alert them. What he needs to do isn't directly catch them, but help me locate them."
"And after you find them?"
Amelia almost blurted out that she'd have the Shadow Operations Division handle them.
Fortunately, she reacted quickly and changed her answer.
"After we find them, I'll tell you, and you can help me deal with them."
Samuel's lips moved, wanting to ask if this counted as owing him another favor.
But he held back.
Because he realized that if he said that, Amelia would definitely take back her words about "you can help me deal with them."
It was good for girls to be independent.
But the girl he liked, being too independent, wasn't good for him.
The car drove all the way to the Richardson family home with hazard lights on.
Before getting out, Samuel told her one more thing.
"Julie came to Goldenvale. Remember to remind your brother Lucas."
Amelia's spine straightened.
"Okay, I know. Thanks for the heads up."
After a pause, she asked: "What's your relationship with Julie like?"
Samuel was someone she couldn't afford to offend.
At least not right now.
So whether he had a good relationship with Julie would affect what methods she'd use to deal with her.
Samuel only replied: "I don't have much patience for stupid people."
Amelia understood.
He meant she could "deal with" Julie however she wanted.
People from the Richardson family were already coming out with umbrellas to greet them.
Amelia didn't delay any longer. After thanking him for the ride, she opened the car door and got out.
After she got out, Samuel kept watching Amelia's retreating figure.
She was clearly such a slender girl, as if a gust of wind could blow her over, yet she was so resilient.
He had never met a girl like this before.
His heart rippled again.
"Mr. Crawford, where to?" Jeremy's voice interrupted his thoughts.
He withdrew his gaze and asked: "The video file—can it be recovered today?"
Jeremy nodded.
"Yes, it should be done within the next couple of hours."
"Then let's go back to Rosevale Manor."
"Yes, sir."
The car soon started moving, disappearing into the wind and rain.