Chapter 228 Piper Is Dead
The words hit Piper like a physical blow, her body visibly swayed.
"Impossible, that's impossible. I'm his real mother!"
Amelia's smile only widened.
"Really? If he had even a bit of family feeling, why would he call you without hesitation back then and tell you to turn yourself in? You raised Isaac for nothing."
"Shut up! Shut your mouth!"
Piper slammed her fists against the thick glass.
The guard looked at Amelia, asking if she needed to restrain her.
Amelia shook her head.
It took a while for Piper's hysteria to calm down.
Then she suddenly started begging Amelia.
"You can provoke me however you want, just please leave Isaac alone. I raised you all those years—even if there's no credit, there's hard work. I may have bought you, but I also raised you, didn't I? You can't be this cold-blooded!"
Amelia looked at her.
"Didn't I pay you back a hundred times over for the money you spent raising me?"
"When did you ever pay me back a hundred times over?"
Amelia was quiet for a moment, then asked, "I gave you a card. Have you never withdrawn money from it?"
"That card—how much money could it have?"
Amelia held up a number with her fingers..
Piper's eyes went wide.
"Impossible!"
The card was under Amelia's name. She immediately took out her phone, logged into her banking app, pulled up the balance, and held it up to the glass door.
Prior to coming, she had cleared it with Frank, so her phone had been allowed in.
Piper was stunned, mumbling repeatedly, "Impossible, impossible. You're lying to me. This is fake, fake!"
Later, she actually went crazy.
At first, Amelia thought she was faking it, until the next day when she got the news that Piper had tried to kill herself by slamming her head against the wall.
Amelia zoned out for a long time.
She happened to be having dinner with Samuel
Samuel waved his hand in front of her eyes.
"What's wrong? Who called?"
Amelia snapped back to the present. Then she told him everything, holding nothing back.
Samuel knew that yesterday Amelia had visited Isaac, and then visited Piper.
He had even been a little jealous that she'd gone through Frank instead of him.
The story didn't surprise him much. He just asked, "Is she dead?"
Amelia shook her head. "Don't know yet."
"Want to find out?"
"No need," Amelia said. "I'm just very surprised."
"Surprised that she tried to kill herself right after you saw her?"
"No. What surprises me is that she did it because of money."
"What do you mean?"
Amelia recapped their conversation from the day before.
"When I brought up Isaac, she got very emotional, but didn't have suicidal thoughts. It was only after learning I had put ten million dollars in the card I gave her, she completely broke down."
That card that Isaac sneered at and Piper didn't take seriously actually had ten million dollars in it.
Amelia didn't consider herself a good person, but she wasn't absolutely bad either.
Piper wasn't good to her, but she had fed her for a few years.
She repaid those years with ten million dollars.
Later, when she heard Piper was gravely ill, she even rushed back to the village, planning to hold a funeral for her.
"Because at that time, I thought I still had family. I still had feelings about family bonds. So I was fooled and almost got sold again. I was so stupid."
"You're not stupid, you're kind by nature."
"Would a kind person drive someone to death in prison?"
"You didn't do it on purpose. Don't blame yourself."
Amelia said, "I don't blame myself. Human traffickers deserve to die. I just didn't expect that she was driven to death by those ten million dollars, not by Isaac, who she kept thinking about."
Amelia paused and shook her head, almost in disbelief, then continued. "In her heart, money was actually more important than Isaac. She thought what she cared about most was Isaac, but what she really cared about most was herself."
"Mother and son are really cut from the same cloth."
"Like mother, like son."
The two talked for a long time. Eventually Amelia brought up something.
"About the Flame Key Culinary Showdown, I need your help."
"You want to participate?" Samuel asked, surprised.
Amelia shook her head and said, "Not me."
She briefly explained the situation.
Samuel's eyes widened in shock.
"Are you serious?"
"Do you think I'd joke about this? Just tell me if you can help or not."
"I can. The Crawford Group happens to be one of the investors. This small matter—I'll put in a word."
"Then I'm counting on you."
"I won't help for free." He gestured toward the corner of his lips.
Amelia's face immediately heated up.
"People around us are watching."
Since it was a last-minute dinner date, the restaurant wasn't cleared.
Many people didn't recognize Amelia, but they recognized Samuel.
However, no one dared to take out their phones to take pictures. They just watched quietly.
Samuel didn't make it hard for her and said, "Then we'll wait until we're in the car."
Amelia spent the rest of the meal slightly on edge.
After they finished, the two finally got in the car.
Amelia was still nervous.
Even though they had kissed plenty of times lately, it still got to her every time.
Her heart was racing.
But just then, Samuel received a phone call.
He frowned slightly and answered. "Got it. I'll be there in an hour."
Amelia sensed the change in his mood and asked him what was wrong.
Samuel didn't hide it from her and said directly, "The government sent someone to temporarily take over Marlon's work."
Amelia quickly asked, "Who did they send? Which faction are they from?"
"Don't know yet. We'll have to meet them to find out."
He added, "As soon as I meet them, I'll tell you who it is right away."
"Okay." Amelia nodded and said, "You go ahead. I'll take a cab back."
"It's fine. The person is still on the plane and hasn't landed yet. I have time to take you back."
"Don't bother. Taking a cab is convenient for me too."
But Samuel insisted on taking her back.
Forty minutes later, the car pulled up at the entrance of The Richardson Manor.
"I'm heading back then."
"Okay."
Amelia opened the car door and got out. Samuel quickly drove away.
As she watched the car drive farther and farther away, she couldn't explain why, but she felt a bit disappointed.
What was she disappointed about?
Could it be that she was disappointed they hadn't kissed before parting, the way he'd hinted at in the restaurant?
The thought made her face heat up.
Had she become so desperate now?
She really needed to calm down.
Amelia patted her cheeks and was about to turn around and go in when she saw Samuel's car was coming back.
"What's wrong?" Amelia asked. "Did you find out who it is?"
But Samuel turned off the car and opened the door to get out.
Before she could say another word, he cupped the back of her head and kissed her hard.
Fireworks went off in her head, exploding into brilliant sparks.
The hollow feeling from a moment ago filled with something warm and soft.
After a while, Samuel finally let her go. Looking at her flushed face, he said, "Almost forgot you still owed me a kiss."
"Alright, I'm leaving. I'll tell you as soon as I have news."
As Samuel spoke, he reached out his right hand and ruffled her head, then turned and got in the car.
This time when the car drove away, it didn't come back, but Amelia no longer felt disappointed.
She covered her flushed face, using the warmth of her palms to cool her cheeks.
Just then, when she turned around, Faith and Natalie were there, grinning.
She had no idea how long they'd been watching.
Amelia stood there awkwardly.
"Mom, Faith, you...?"
"We saw everything! So romantic!" Faith said with a laugh. "That scene just now was like filming a movie. Good-looking people really do make everything look pleasing to the eye."
Amelia knew Faith was deliberately teasing her, so she gave it right back.
"Next time you and Byron kiss, remember to call me. I want to see if it's really that pleasing to the eye. You two are good-looking too anyway."
Faith was speechless and couldn't think of a comeback. She could only tug on Natalie's sleeve.
"Mrs. Richardson, look at her!"
Natalie laughed out loud.
Amelia took the opportunity to change the subject.
"Why are you at the door at this time?"
Natalie said, "Faith said she's making beef stew tonight. We were just about to go to the supermarket. Are you busy? If you don't have anything else to do, want to come along?"
Amelia was so busy that Natalie had been worried about interrupting Amelia's work, so she'd asked first.
Amelia agreed right away.
"Sure, I don't have anything to do this afternoon."
Faith seized the chance to tease her again, saying, "Is it because Mr. Crawford went to work, so now you don't have anything to do?"
Amelia pretended to glare at her, but smiled the next second.
She was now gradually able to openly accept everyone teasing her and Samuel.
Perhaps she was really slowly coming out of the shadow that Finn had left her with.
At first, when she got together with Samuel, she only cared about the present and the moment. She never let herself think too far ahead.
But now, she occasionally fantasized about what their future would be like.
Samuel was a very good person.
And she—she wouldn't always be so unlucky that every time she gave her heart, she'd be badly hurt, right?
Amelia's mood was like today's weather—clear skies, sunny and breezy.
The three of them headed to a nearby supermarket or some shopping.
Holden was responsible for driving.
During their chat, he brought up Uma, with a faint smile on his face.
"They're on the island, having a great time. I watched the video - they seem to have lost a little weight, but they look younger than before."
Faith knew a bit about Uma's situation.
She had been "driven away" by Amelia, but Amelia didn't really want to punish her, so she gave them a large sum of money to travel, sent two people to protect the mother and son, and also provided a translator.
Natalie teased, "Then you better be careful. If they have too much fun and don't want to come back, you'll be all alone."
Holden laughed warmly. "After all these years of marriage, our trust runs deep."
He added, "I'll have to make her video call me twice a day."
Laughter filled the car.
Amelia knew he was saying this for her to hear. He wanted to tell her he wasn't angry about this matter - in fact, he was grateful to her.
She felt greatly relieved.
The people in the Richardson family, even the butler, were all truly good people.
If she hadn't been kidnapped, she too would have had a happy childhood.
But she was happy now, too.