Chapter 18
Harper's gaze swept past Sophia as he nodded in agreement. "Yeah, don't let those two little brats get too cocky. Better knock them down a peg first, so Emily will behave herself."
Brian frowned and thought for a moment, then nodded. "Alright, but don't go too hard on them. I still have use for them."
The group, each harboring their own schemes, had no idea they'd already fallen into someone else's trap.
The next day, just as dawn was breaking, Emily woke up. The two children beside her were still sleeping soundly.
Aiden's brow was slightly furrowed, staying alert even in his sleep.
Nina was curled up at Emily's side, her little hand still clutching tightly at the corner of Emily's clothes.
Emily got up carefully, afraid to disturb them.
After a quick wash, she headed to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. As soon as she stepped out, she saw William already sitting in the courtyard.
The morning light fell on his profile, casting a soft golden glow that softened his usually cold demeanor.
"Why didn't you rest a bit longer?" Emily walked over and handed him a glass of water, her tone casual.
William took the glass, his fingertips touching the warm surface, feeling a bit of warmth in his heart too.
"I'm used to getting up early." He paused, then mentioned casually, "It's windy outside today. Don't let the kids play in the yard. Better have them read some books inside."
Emily was startled, a bit suspicious.
Did he know something?
She'd been planning to take the two kids to fly kites nearby since the weather was nice, but seeing William's serious expression, she nodded in agreement.
"That works. I bought some picture books yesterday anyway."
"Good." William said nothing more, his somewhat vacant eyes fixed on the direction of the courtyard gate.
"You rest. I need to go handle some work." After reminding him, Emily changed clothes and headed straight to the funeral home.
With so much going on these past few days, she'd asked for time off early, and yesterday was her last day.
"Good morning." At the funeral home, a colleague who was on break greeted Emily when she arrived.
"Morning." Emily smiled back, went to change into her uniform, and started handling today's work.
Without her knowledge, the group of desperados the Johnson family had contacted had already made their way outside the courtyard.
Jett, leading five or six people wrapped in black coats, crept stealthily around to the outside of the courtyard wall.
The courtyard was quiet, with only the faint sound of children's laughter coming from inside the house.
After confirming they had the right location, he waved his hand, signaling his men to climb over the wall.
The group moved skillfully, stepping on their companions' shoulders to climb up the wall. Just as they were about to jump down, they heard a sharp whistle.
Immediately, a dozen black figures rushed out from the woods inside and outside the courtyard wall, each moving swiftly and holding gleaming short batons.
Jett's heart jumped, realizing something was wrong. Knowing they'd walked into a trap, he immediately shouted, "It's an ambush! Retreat!"
Unfortunately, it was too late.
William's men moved fast and precisely, surrounding them in no time. Within moments, all of them were tied up with their hands behind their backs, pressed to the ground, unable to move, their pleas for mercy rising one after another.
Robert gave them a look, and immediately someone reached out to cover their mouths.
"Quiet!" He lowered his voice and approached Jett. "If you want to live, shut your mouth."
Jett nodded and used his eyes to signal his men. They all closed their mouths together.
"What do we do now?"
"Take them to the basement of the villa and lock them up." Robert's eyes were cold as he gave instructions in a low voice.
"Got it."
In the room, William was quietly accompanying the two little ones reading picture books.
"Is Little Red Riding Hood's grandma really the big bad wolf? How did it turn into her grandma? Isn't it a wolf? Could it be a female wolf?" Nina's chattering voice came through. William helplessly rubbed his forehead and sighed.
He hadn't expected Nina to be like a walking "why" machine while reading picture books, constantly asking why about everything.
Aiden read while secretly observing William's expression. Seeing him looking somewhat helpless and perhaps a bit impatient, he quickly interrupted Nina. "This is just a fairy tale. There aren't that many whys."
"Why aren't there that many whys?" Nina's words sounded like a tongue twister. Aiden was speechless.
"Because fairy tales are stories made up by people. Everything in them is imagined, just like your dreams."
When dealing with Nina, William showed more patience than usual, answering her questions one by one.
"I see." Nina nodded as if she understood, then her ears perked up as she seemed to hear some unusual movement outside.
"What's happening out there?" She immediately couldn't sit still, craning her head to look outside.
Aiden snuck a glance at William, then reached out directly to turn her head back. "Mommy said we have to stay in the room today."
Watching him seriously repeat Emily's words, Nina pouted and reluctantly agreed.
William listened to their interaction from the side, feeling warmth in his heart.
As for the commotion outside, he wasn't worried at all.
His people were already lying in wait nearby. If they couldn't even handle a bunch of rabble, they'd be pretty useless.
"Let me teach you some math." William seemed to have a sudden inspiration as he spoke to Aiden and Nina.
Aiden didn't react much, but Nina secretly scooted her little stool, trying to move farther away from him.
"Nina?"
Seeing that neither of them answered, William tilted his head, a bit puzzled.
"Sir, you've lost your memory. You should focus on recovering, not thinking about all that complicated knowledge." Nina said seriously, with some guilt in her eyes.
Hearing this, William immediately understood she just didn't want to study.
"But if you don't study, you won't get into a good university. If you don't get into a good university, you won't have the ability. If you don't have the ability, you won't be able to protect your mommy." William said righteously, his string of words making Nina's little head spin.
But she still understood the last sentence.
"Then I'll study. I want to protect Mommy." Nina looked like she was ready to face her doom, moving closer to William and pulling Aiden's hand. "My brother and I will study together."
"Good." William smiled with satisfaction and immediately started talking about calculus.
Aiden looked at him with complete shock, his face serious, then glanced at Nina's confused expression, his heart reeling.
Did his dad think they were robots or something? Skipping all the basics and jumping straight to calculus? Was he kidding?