Chapter 209 What Dignity?
That day, Amelia went to pick up Adrian from the hospital.
As soon as Adrian saw her, his eyes lit up immediately.
Amelia walked in carrying a small cake.
She remembered that Adrian enjoyed cake.
Sure enough, Adrian hugged the cake and wouldn't let go.
Anna smiled helplessly and said, "Knowing you were coming, he said you'd definitely bring him cake. Now his wish has come true."
Amelia smiled and said, "A little bit is fine. How's Adrian's post-surgery recovery?"
Anna then had Adrian say a few words.
Adrian opened his mouth and fluently recited a tongue twister.
"Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked."
Very clearly pronounced.
Amelia was pleasantly surprised.
"Better recovery than I expected."
"He's been practicing, saying he wanted to show you."
Adrian's face immediately turned red.
He said embarrassedly, "Mom, why do you tell her everything?"
Anna laughed.
Before long, Frank arrived too.
Anna took Adrian to handle the discharge procedures, while Amelia stayed in the ward to have a serious talk with Frank.
"Leo's out of prison. What are your plans now?"
Ever since Amelia had Frank clean up the prison mess, he'd guessed that Amelia's target was Leo.
Amelia said, "We'll deal with things as they come. If we don't make the first move, we won't leave any openings."
She rarely took the initiative, because taking the initiative would expose herself.
On the contrary, playing defense seemed passive but was actually better for breaking through situations.
Frank nodded and shared another piece of news with her.
"The Russell family from Thornfield, do you know them?"
Amelia shook her head, "I've heard of them, but don't know them personally."
"They used to be neutral like me. But recently, their only daughter has been getting close to people from the Hays family."
The Russell family was also a prominent family in Thornfield.
Over ten years ago, they even had more influence than the Crawford family.
Amelia quickly thanked him, "Thanks, I'll keep an eye on them."
Frank shook his head, "I'm the one who should thank you. Without you, Adrian might have been in real trouble."
What he cared about most was his wife and child.
Amelia had protected Anna and Adrian for him, more than once.
Half an hour later, Amelia saw the Hagen family of three off at the hospital.
Just as she was about to go home, Samuel called.
"Do I have the honor of taking you to dinner?"
Amelia couldn't help but smile when she heard Samuel's voice.
"Only if you beg me?"
"I'm begging you."
"You have no dignity at all."
"Once you have a girlfriend, who needs dignity?"
That seemed to make sense.
"Then see you at five? Bring Byron?"
Amelia hesitated for two seconds, then nodded, "Okay."
She and Jeremy were already familiar, but Byron and Samuel were still strangers. They should get to know each other.
Whether to tell Samuel her identity - Byron, as her "partner," also had a say in this.
So she needed to let Byron meet Samuel first.
She might be too involved in this relationship to make rational judgments.
But Byron, as an outsider, would see things more clearly than her.
Having been hurt once in a relationship before, even though she and Samuel were now very close, she still had some worries deep down.
These worries weren't even about Samuel, but about her own judgment of people.
When it came to romance, she could certainly take risks.
But with Shadow Operations Division, she had no right to take risks on her own.
"Then it's settled. Should I pick you up?"
"No need, I'll bring Byron."
"Okay, I'll send you the address and room number later."
"Sounds good."
After hanging up, Amelia thought about how this was Byron and Jeremy's first proper dinner together, and with Samuel there too, Byron couldn't wear those weird outfits he usually wore.
So she called Byron and asked him to come to the nearby Urban Oasis Mall.
"We're having dinner with Samuel and Jeremy tonight. I'll help you pick out an outfit and get you dressed up."
Byron was silent for a second, then said, "Amelia, if you don't want me to associate with Jeremy, I can stop seeing him."
"What are you talking about?"
Byron brought up the Luminance Art Gallery incident.
"That day, I was chatting with Jeremy and accidentally mentioned that you were going to the charity reception at Luminance Art Gallery that afternoon. Under no circumstances should I have told anyone about your schedule."
Amelia held her phone and smiled.
"Samuel already knew about that afternoon's schedule. Do you think our plan that day could have gone so smoothly without him? That those police would have dared to take Julie away? Don't blame yourself, it's a small matter."
"This incident is indeed small. But what if I accidentally let slip something bigger? That wouldn't be a small matter."
He was originally a very careful person, but when he met Jeremy, they always had endless things to talk about.
—He had relied heavily on Jeremy as a child, just like he relied on Amelia now.
So he was afraid that in a moment of excitement, he might accidentally reveal some important secrets.
Amelia was silent for a moment, then said, "Byron, the fact that you can think of this means you'll never betray me."
"That's my own brother. Don't you suspect me at all?"
"No. When you trust someone, trust them completely. Besides, we've come this far together. Shadow Operations Division means as much to you as it does to me."
"Yes, Shadow Operations Division means even more to me than Jeremy. Similarly, after several meetings, I've found that to Jeremy, Mr. Crawford also means more than I do."
They were still brothers, but each had someone they cared about more than the other.
Some things hadn't changed, but some things had.
They'd both grown up.
That's why Byron suggested maybe not staying in touch with Jeremy anymore.
Amelia said, "You don't need to think so negatively. Actually, Samuel and I—"
Before she finished speaking, Amelia saw a pair of handsome-looking brothers.
She recognized them immediately.
It was Leo and Francis.
Although Leo and Francis didn't have the same mother, they looked quite alike.
It's just that Leo had an aquiline nose, which made him look rather sharp and calculating, but also somewhat handsome.
Francis's nose was more regular, just a bit flat, which made his whole face look somewhat ordinary.
So most people would only notice Leo at first glance, hardly realizing that Francis was the one who was truly difficult to deal with and hard to get close to.
After two "remote confrontations" with Francis, Amelia already knew Francis's nature well.
He wasn't easy to deal with.
To make a move against him, she could only play defense and wait for the other side to strike first, then slowly break through.
Amelia looked away a second before Leo and Francis looked over, her expression calm as she looked straight ahead, phone to her ear, continuing her conversation with Byron.
"It's complicated between him and me. Just come over first. Let's meet at Urban Oasis Mall and talk then."
"Yes, I'll be there in about an hour."
"Okay. See you at Urban Oasis Mall then."
She deliberately pronounced "Urban Oasis Mall" very clearly.
After losing his privileges in prison, Leo couldn't stomach the food there at all. In just half a month, he'd lost so much weight he was almost unrecognizable.
Francis had brought Leo to the hospital for a checkup and to get some supplements.
His reason for not immediately taking Leo back to Thornfield was that Leo wasn't feeling well and couldn't fly, so he needed to recuperate for a while first.
So to keep up the act, he personally brought Leo to the hospital for tests.
The test results would take a week.
He hadn't expected to run into Amelia here.
This was his first time seeing Amelia in person. She was prettier than in the photos.
No wonder Samuel continued to associate with Amelia despite the dangerous situation.
If it weren't for Amelia's special identity, he might have developed some interest in her himself.
She was truly dangerous!
Leo also saw Amelia, and his eyes immediately lit up.
He was naturally lustful, and seeing such a beautiful woman, how could he not be interested?
But with Francis beside him, he couldn't go hit on her directly. He could only watch as Amelia got into a taxi and left.
Francis clearly saw Leo's lustful expression.
He sneered inwardly but wore an indulgent smile on his face.
"What? You like her?"
Leo looked a bit uncomfortable and said, "It's rare to see someone so beautiful. Maybe I've been in prison too long. Francis, don't take it personally."
"How can I not take it personally? The doctor just said you need to stay in good spirits. How about this - I'll create an opportunity for you to meet her."
Leo's eyes brightened.
"Really?"
He thought Francis would scold him.
He knew Francis had looked down on him since childhood.
What was going on this time?
Actually helping him?
Then he heard Francis say, "Dad said you suffered in prison, so now he wants me to satisfy your requests as much as possible. She's just a woman. I'll arrange it for you."
Leo understood. This was because of Leonard's pressure.
Otherwise Francis wouldn't personally bring him to the hospital for treatment, much less help him find a woman.
Francis continued, "After you went to prison, Dad and Grandpa's health hasn't been good. I don't expect anything else from you - just get married and have children soon to put their minds at ease. That's your only job. If this woman's background is decent, settle down with her. Don't just think about playing around."
The patriarch's attitude annoyed Leo.
Sure enough, Francis was still Francis.
Francis was only accommodating him because of Leonard's demands.
"We've only met once, why are you thinking so far ahead? I don't want to get married yet."
"So you mean I don't need to help you with that woman?"
"That's not what I meant."
Amelia was too beautiful - how could he pass up such a good opportunity?
He'd been celibate in prison for so long, it was time to let loose.
"Francis, I'm counting on you then."
"Let's go, to Urban Oasis Mall."
"What are we going to the mall for? Aren't you going to help me get that woman?"
"I just heard her say she's going to Urban Oasis Mall."
Leo's eyes lit up again.
"No wonder Grandpa always praises you. Even your hearing is better than mine."
Francis smiled without responding, just drove him toward Urban Oasis Mall.