Chapter 158 Seeking Justice, Losing Dignity Instead
Bobby said, "He has a special status. If Ms. Richardson can't make a house call... please forgive me, I can't tell you his identity."
"Amelia..." Natalie looked at her worriedly.
Amelia understood what Natalie meant.
With such a special status, anything that went wrong while he was in her care would be bad.
Natalie didn't want her to take the risk.
For Natalie, nothing was more important than her daughter's safety.
However, Amelia was thinking that since his status was so special, Bobby had come twice to ask for medical help on his behalf, and even came to their door today to discuss this matter...
Perhaps she should give it a try.
Amelia said, "I can take a look first. Is tonight convenient? I have something to do this afternoon."
"That's perfect. He's from Thornfield. I'll contact them and have him fly over on a private jet this afternoon. By evening, you can examine him."
Amelia agreed.
"But I need to make it clear beforehand—I'm just going to take a look. I can't guarantee whether I can cure him or not."
Bobby quickly said, "Of course. If even you can't cure him, I'm afraid no one in the world can."
Amelia nodded. "Then come pick me up tonight."
"Okay."
After settling the matter, Bobby left a pile of gifts and departed with Steven.
Steven kept looking back every few steps, his eyes locked on Amelia.
Not only did Amelia feel uncomfortable, even Natalie felt uneasy.
After the two had completely left, Natalie spoke, "Amelia, this Steven..."
"I know, Mom," Amelia reassured her. "Last time at The Hagen family, I already told you—I have no interest in that type of person."
"I know. I'm just worried that he's interested in you and might do something..."
"Don't worry. He can't do anything to me."
Natalie was silent for two seconds, then said, "Let me go with you tonight. I'm not comfortable with you going alone."
Amelia didn't refuse and nodded in agreement.
She was also curious about who this mysterious patient really was.
However, if Amelia had known the person's identity earlier, she probably wouldn't have gone.
In the afternoon, Amelia took a short nap to restore her energy, then went to the Shadow Operations Division.
All the important subordinates from Thornfield had come over.
Some faked their deaths, others deliberately spread rumors that they'd fled the country.
This made the people from Thornfield, who were wary of the Shadow Operations Division, relax quite a bit.
They never imagined that this group of people was currently in a seemingly unremarkable factory in the suburbs of Goldenvale.
As soon as Amelia arrived, she was surrounded by enthusiasm.
"Amelia! Tell Faith off—she just knows how to bully us."
Amelia glanced at Faith and asked, "How did she bully you?"
Faith took her arm.
"Boss, don't listen to their nonsense. I just wanted to participate in a competition, but they wouldn't agree, so I... I put a little laxative in their food."
By the end, knowing she was in the wrong, her voice dropped.
Amelia's brow furrowed slightly.
Faith thought Amelia was going to scold her, too, and carefully swallowed, about to apologize.
But unexpectedly, Amelia said, "You should've just beaten them up directly. Why waste laxatives?"
Faith came from a family of chefs—generations of royal chefs. Now, the family restaurant had opened over 100 chain stores nationwide.
Outsiders only knew Faith was an excellent cook, but actually Amelia had been teaching her Combat Arts, so her fighting skills were also very good.
Ordinary people were no match for her.
Hearing this, Faith relaxed and nuzzled against Amelia's shoulder.
"I knew it—them complaining to you wouldn't work."
Amelia patted her head affectionately, but quickly became serious. "Don't do things like drugging people in the future. What if someone suddenly breaks in, and they're all running to the bathroom?"
Faith nodded solemnly. "I'll never do it again, Boss."
Amelia then asked, "What competition do you want to enter?"
Before Faith could speak, Byron spoke first. "Boss, Faith wants to enter Goldenvale's Golden Spoon competition. I was thinking that since Faith is one of our Shadow Operations Division people, it's best not to show her face during this period, so I told her not to go."
Amelia thought for a few seconds and said, "Your consideration is correct."
This was a special period for the Shadow Operations Division—no one could make mistakes.
Faith became anxious.
"Boss, I... I really want to go."
Amelia reminded her, "Faith, this Golden Spoon competition, although it appears to be a cooking competition, actually has no real value. It's just a gimmick created by Goldenvale's rich girls to add to their credentials."
Faith's eyes reddened.
"Boss, I know all that, but... the champion's prize is very important to me."
"You need money?"
The Monroe family shouldn't be short of money.
Faith shook her head. "This competition, besides prize money, also awards a set of golden tableware. That golden tableware... was given to my grandfather by the monarch when he was still a royal chef. But later, during a period of historical turmoil, our family went through hard times. The golden tableware was pawned. After our family's situation improved, my grandfather wanted to get it back, but couldn't find it no matter what."
Then she saw that golden tableware in this competition's promotional flyer.
It had her grandfather's name engraved on it, along with two lines of poetry praising him from the monarch.
"My grandfather's eightieth birthday is coming up. I know this is his only wish, so I wanted to enter the competition, win back the golden tableware, and give it to him as a birthday gift."
After explaining the situation, everyone finally understood why Faith insisted on going out to compete during such a special time.
Although no one except her grandfather knew Faith worked for Shadow Operations Division, Faith was the Monroe family's future heiress, and many people would notice her every move.
Once she went out, she would definitely be recognized.
And if Faith won the championship, she would definitely be even more conspicuous.
Then it would be inconvenient for her to return here.
Amelia thought for a moment and said, "Faith, if you don't mind, I'll enter the competition for you."
After all, no one would connect Amelia, whom the Richardson family brought back from the countryside, with the leader of the Shadow Operations Division.
Hearing this, Faith immediately grabbed her hand excitedly.
"Of course I don't mind! If Boss is willing to go for me, the championship is definitely yours!"
Faith's appearance, though pretty, could only be considered a minor beauty.
To enter a competition nominally about cooking but actually about being Goldenvale's top socialite, relying solely on cooking skills was quite uncertain.
But if Amelia were willing to enter the competition for her, it would definitely be a sure thing.
Amelia said, "Don't worry. Even if I don't win the championship, I'll ask whoever does win to sell me the golden spoon."
Faith nodded vigorously.
With one worry gone, her face regained its bright smile.
"Alright, let's get to business. There's still a bunch of people without assigned work—we need to figure out where to 'place' them quickly."
Everyone in the Shadow Operations Division had their own responsibilities.
But coming to Goldenvale, many people had become idle.
They needed to arrange new work that would best showcase their talents and make full use of everyone.
The others nodded repeatedly.
Amelia stayed at the Shadow Operations Division, busy until dark before going home.
On the way back, Amelia received a message from Samuel.
It was a video less than five seconds long.
Samuel sat on the sofa, pointing at Lyric: "Sit."
The dog wagged its tail and actually sat down.
Samuel then told it to shake hands, and it actually raised its paw.
Amelia: [Very smart dog.]
What she was thinking was that this dog was as smart as the black dog from the countryside that had already died.
But she still had psychological trauma from dogs.
She wanted to use Lyric to transfer that psychological trauma to Isaac.
At Samuel's training speed, he should be able to train Lyric soon.
Samuel didn't reply to her—he was either busy training the dog or doing something else.
Amelia put down her phone and continued driving.
On Samuel's end, he was indeed busy.
He had dealt with two of Julie's subordinates, and Julie had come to confront him.
"Samuel, you need to give me an explanation. Two of my perfectly good subordinates are just gone like that. Don't you plan to explain this to me?"
Samuel had Jeremy take Lyric away, lit a cigarette, and said calmly, "Your timing is perfect. I also want an explanation from you."
Julie frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Samuel glanced at York and said directly, "Slap her."
"Yes!"
York responded and stepped forward, raising his hand to give Julie a hard slap.
York had practiced boxing and had strong hands. This slap made Julie's teeth ache, not to mention her cheek.
She was stunned by the pain and didn't speak for quite a while, covering her face.
By the time she reacted, a minute had passed.
She covered her face, her eyes wide open.
"Samuel, what gives you the right to hit me! Are you crazy?! You killed my people, and instead of giving me an explanation, you hit me?"
Samuel had finished one cigarette and changed to a more relaxed sitting position.
He didn't care about Julie's words.
He spoke calmly, "You want me to give you an explanation? I want you to give me one. You could've stayed in Thornfield, but you came to Goldenvale to mess with my business? That slap just now was your punishment."
Julie was completely confused.
"When did I mess with your business? These past few days, besides shopping and meeting people for meals, I've been staying at the hotel. York was with me—he knows I didn't do anything."
Samuel sneered.
"You didn't mess with my business, but your two subordinates did. So they deserved to die, and you, for failing to control them properly, deserved to be hit."
In other words, if the person messing with his business had been Julie, it wouldn't be her subordinates who died, but her.
Julie shivered involuntarily.
But Julie wasn't someone who would just take it. She wouldn't let this slap go without getting to the bottom of it.
"Samuel, make yourself clear. When did my people mess with your business? If that really happened, I'll accept it. But if it didn't, I'll report this situation to Uncle Stanley exactly as it is."
She was using Stanley to pressure Samuel.