Chapter 360 The Necklace Saved Charlotte's Life
Charlotte chuckled, just chillin' and watching Lily, feeling pretty zen.
Life had got its bummers, but right now, Charlotte was super content.
She gently ruffled Lily's hair and said softly, "I'll hook you up with the best spot."
Back at the villa, the kids were still out; only Kingsley was home.
Charlotte whipped up Kingsley's fave dish and hung out with him.
In the evening, the driver brought the two kids back.
Jared bounced in, saying, "Frederick might be home a bit late!"
Charlotte smiled and nodded.
She dialed Frederick's number and whispered, "Can you come home early tonight?"
Frederick was in the big boss's office at Vertex Innovations Group.
He grinned and asked, "Miss me?"
Charlotte glanced at the light snow outside and then at the kids in the living room, whispering, "Today is Johnny's birthday."
Frederick was caught off guard.
Just then, Cherie walked in. "Mr. Hawkins, the meeting's about to start!"
Frederick checked his watch and said, "It's snowing outside; let's push the meeting to tomorrow morning. Let everyone head out early."
Cherie was pretty surprised.
Frederick smiled. "It's my kid's birthday."
After hanging up, Frederick threw on his coat and left the office.
He drove back to the villa, rolling in right at seven.
He grabbed the gift from the trunk and strolled into the hall.
"The snow's really coming down," Frederick said, unbuttoning his coat with one hand and calling out, "Johnny, come here!"
Johnny was half-kneeling on a dining chair.
In front of him was a small cake Charlotte made and dishes the housekeeper had carefully prepped.
He eyed the big toy in Frederick's hand.
Johnny ran over and hugged Frederick's leg. Frederick smiled, picked him up, and kissed him. "Charlotte called and said it's your birthday! Sorry for being late! Here's your birthday gift; do you like it?"
Johnny took the gift and hugged it tight.
Frederick looked over at the dining room.
His wife was sitting at the dining table in a long dress, with Lola and Kingsley. Lola clapped her hands and sang a birthday song for Johnny, saying her birthday gift to Johnny was to cuddle with him tonight.
Frederick laughed. "Lola, it's not your birthday today."
Lola raised her little face. "I don't usually sleep with others!"
Frederick stepped forward and kissed Johnny. "Happy birthday, Johnny."
Charlotte held Johnny with one hand and let him blow out the candles.
At that moment, his heart felt whole.
He used to have a dark heart; his mom had jumped to her death, and he felt like Frederick and Charlotte only adopted him because of his rare blood type.
But up until now, no one had ever asked him to donate blood.
Charlotte wanted him to call her mom, and the guy in front of him felt more like a dad than his real one. He treated him well and taught him a bunch of stuff.
Seven-year-old Johnny was seriously touched.
So, even later when he took over Vertex Innovations Group, he didn't go down a dark path but stayed with this family and stuck by Lola's side.
That night, Johnny was taken away by Lola.
Charlotte was a bit worried, thinking the kids were growing up too fast. When Frederick came out after his bath, she shared her concerns.
Frederick, with just a towel around his waist, sat at the foot of the bed drying his hair. Charlotte walked over, took the towel, and gently helped him dry off.
He looked up at her and gently touched her belly.
Frederick's voice was super soft. "Charlotte, the kids we raise won't go wrong. It's not too late to worry about this stuff when they're over ten."
Charlotte thought about it and agreed.
Frederick's voice was a bit raspy. "Three months already!"
Frederick gently pressed his face against her slightly rounded belly, feeling it through the silk fabric, and whispered, "In another month, the baby will start moving! It's really amazing how it grows."
Charlotte softly laughed and teased, "You're so silly!"
She thought they were no different from any other couple, taking care of a bunch of kids and nurturing new life.
In that quiet moment, she brought up the premiere, "I wonder if you'll have time to come to the premiere?"
Frederick pinched her nose. "Of course, I'll be there to support your movie debut!"
Charlotte felt tired, sat on his lap, and hugged his neck. "Frederick, I can't guarantee we'll always be passionately in love, but I can guarantee that the most important man in my life will always be you."
"More than Kingsley and Johnny?"
"Old enough to know better, but young enough to still say that." Charlotte teased.
Frederick gently pressed her down at the foot of the bed, being very careful because of her pregnancy.
Frederick propped himself up with one hand and gently touched her face with the other.
His voice was slightly hoarse. "Charlotte, I must have been pretty smitten with you before! Look at your face, skin, and figure, you're so gorgeous."
Charlotte knew him well. He didn't say it, but she knew what he wanted. She was only three months pregnant and worried about the baby's safety, so she blocked his lips and mumbled, "You better behave!"
Frederick kissed her.
Finally, he held her close and whispered, "I just want to make you feel good."
The movie premiere came up fast.
Since it was close to the end of the year and there were tons of people, and the kids were too young, Charlotte decided it would just be the two of them going.
At four in the afternoon, Frederick came back to pick her up.
There was the sound of footsteps, and then the bedroom door opened.
Frederick stood at the door, silently admiring her for a moment, then gently closed the door.
Charlotte didn't try to hide her rounded belly, so it was obvious she was pregnant, but it didn't make her look bad; instead, it added a touch of womanly charm.
Frederick came over and said, "Charlotte, you look stunning."
Frederick took a long, thin pearl chain from his pocket and threaded the necklace from the dressing table onto it, unexpectedly matching the dress perfectly.
She looked up at Frederick and softly said, "Frederick, you don't have to be so careful!"
Frederick focused on her face and smiled lightly. "I care! But I also hope this necklace can really keep you safe. Charlotte, don't take it off!"
Charlotte nodded.
The theater was packed with people.
Grace stole the spotlight tonight.
Before the premiere, she went on stage and said a lot, then sat next to Charlotte.
She whispered, "Didn't Mr. Devereux come?"
Charlotte whispered back, "He's busy with work."
Grace was a bit disappointed. Even though she had been married, the most significant person in her life was still Andrew, so she hoped Andrew could see her at such an important moment.
Charlotte understood her feelings and didn't blame her.
Grace was a good person and never intended to harm Chloe.
Charlotte softly comforted, "This movie's preview was very good! It will help you break into the film industry."
Grace was quite moved by these words.
She knew this movie had a $200 million investment, which was just a pastime for Charlotte. But for her, it was very important.
Grace had also heard professional analyses that the film was projected to gross at least $1.5 billion.
She felt much better.
Frederick, on the other side, squeezed Charlotte's hand and smiled. "You're good at comforting people, Mrs. Hawkins."
Charlotte blushed slightly and whispered, "I also comforted you well last night!"
Frederick smiled faintly.
His handsome and noble appearance made women's hearts flutter.
At that moment, the host mentioned Charlotte.
It turned out some supporting actors were talking about Charlotte and were super grateful to her.
The host smiled and said, "Let's invite the beautiful Ms. Russell to come on stage and say a few words to encourage these lovely actors."
Charlotte couldn't say no.
She took the mic and turned to look at the young actors.
There were both guys and girls, and Gabriel was closest to her.
Charlotte gently said, "I hope this film puts you on the map, and you work even harder. The world is huge, and you gotta explore it yourself."
The audience erupted in applause.
The host kept talking, and just as he was about to invite Charlotte off the stage, something crazy happened.
A big crystal chandelier above started to shake, and a huge lampshade fell, narrowly missing Charlotte and scraping her necklace, making a sharp sound before hitting the ground.
The audience went nuts.
At that moment, the main body of the chandelier above started to sway and finally broke free, falling straight down.
Gabriel quickly pushed Charlotte away, but he got hit by the chandelier, his forehead bleeding. As the larger part of the chandelier came crashing down on his head, a hand reached out to shield him.
It was Frederick.
His arm took the brunt of the impact, and most of the chandelier hit his arm before crashing to the ground.
A lot of people around got hurt in different ways.
Charlotte's head was grazed, and she blacked out, her body collapsing softly.
"Charlotte!"
Frederick's voice was hoarse, filled with grief.
He held Charlotte, both of them covered in blood.
He didn't care about his own arm injury and shouted, "I need an ambulance!"
At the hospital, Frederick had lost a lot of blood, his face turning a ghostly pale.
The Hawkins couple and Chloe rushed over and immediately asked, "How's Charlotte?"
Frederick's arm was only briefly bandaged, and he hadn't even changed his clothes.
He took out a cigarette and took a puff.
"She's in surgery! And the Cooper family's kid is in there too; he might be disfigured."
Saying this, Frederick was very sad.
In his palm was the necklace, now shattered into pieces.
Only now did he understand the priest's meaning. The necklace Ethan sought wasn't just a necklace; it was also Gabriel.
The real necklace was Gabriel.
He demanded the doctors do everything to save Gabriel's face.
Patrick saw his son's vulnerability and patted him. "Charlotte will be fine! You and your mom stay here and wait for Charlotte. Chloe, go take care of the kids. I'll go to the police station to check for clues."
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