Chapter 252 What's Your Daddy's Name?
"Be good, I'm going to put some medicine on it, and it'll stop hurting in a flash," Gabriel said softly.
Emma obediently nodded, two teardrops hanging in her big, grape-like eyes, looking truly pitiable.
Gabriel's heart melted, and he couldn't help but be extra gentle with her.
To distract the little one, he deliberately asked, "What's your daddy's name?"
Inside, Emma thought, sobbing, "bad guy daddy" is so kind, no wonder Sam likes "bad guy daddy" so much.
Emma was starting to like him too, what should she do?
She wanted this daddy a little bit.
'No no no, I can't betray Mommy!'
Gabriel chuckled softly as he put a band-aid on her, then looked up to find that the little girl, who had just seemed so trusting and obedient, was now suddenly more distant.
Huh?
The little tyke sure was fickle.
Their mood could change faster than the flip of a book's page.
This youngster, Sophia's goddaughter as well as his son's playmate, must have been brought over by Sophia for some fun today, only to get lost in the woods.
Gabriel lifted Emma into the car and drove her back to the mansion.
The bodyguards had been combing through the woods, while a frantic Sophia searched desperately. Ethan and Sam kept watch at the edge of the forest, ready to spot Emma if she found her way out on her own.
The Madam nearly alerted the entire security system, even contemplating calling the police.
Just then, a servant came running, panting, “The child's been found.”
“Where?”
“She's just been returned by Mr. Lancaster.”
The Madam's heart skipped a beat. Gabriel had found Emma?
She had thought it would be years before she'd witness Gabriel's animated reactions to his children. Yet, here it was happening sooner than expected.
“Go tell everyone inside to stop searching.”
The Madam headed back to the house first, intending to calm Gabriel down herself, yet upon arrival she found only Emma sitting there, engrossed in a cartoon.
“Where's Gabriel?”
The servant replied, “Mr. Lancaster just left.”
Gabriel, it seemed, had urgent matters to attend to even after dropping Emma off, barely pausing to give a few instructions before hurrying away.
Puzzled, the Madam wondered how Gabriel could be so accepting. Or could it be that his urgent matters were more pressing than recognizing his own daughter?
The Madam was conflicted. In her eyes, though Gabriel was a workaholic, nothing took precedence over his children.
“Emma.”
Emma, seeing her great-grandmother, felt her distress surge again and lunged into her arms.
“Great-Grandma, I was so scared, there was this huge snake.” Emma gestured to show the size.
“Oh dear, my little treasure got scared.” The Madam tenderly embraced the child.
“Who brought you back?” The Madam asked, though she knew the answer.
“It was an uncle.”
“And how did the uncle react when he saw you?”
Emma chuckled inwardly; was her great-grandma testing her?
Smart as she was, Emma smoothly said, “The uncle treated my wound. Look.”
Emma raised her hand, showing the ugly bandage.
“The uncle even caught the snake. It had very sharp teeth, but he wasn't scared.”
“My poor little Emma, you've had a hard time.” The Madam hugged her tightly, pondering whether Gabriel had failed to recognize Emma.
Maybe that was indeed the case. She herself hadn't recognized the girl at first, only doing so after comparing the child to Gabriel's childhood photos.
Sophia hurried back, relieved to find Emma safe and sound.
It was just a relief that no criminals had snuck in to kidnap Emma.
Otherwise, she really would have had to seek Gabriel's help.
Back with her mom, Emma pouted and put on an adorable act of being aggrieved.
Ethan and Sam watched on with indulgent smiles.
It was good that their sister was safe.
Emma wouldn't dare tell Mom that it was the "bad guy daddy" who had brought her back home.
However, Madam quietly informed Sophia about it.
"Don't worry, Gabriel probably didn't recognize Emma; otherwise, he wouldn't have left so quickly," she assured.
Sophia's brows furrowed tightly.
This kind of sneaking around wasn't a solution, but sending the two kids back to the States alone was even more unreliable.
She had to speed up the process to regain custody of Sam. Only by doing so could she take all three kids and get away once and for all, not having to worry constantly about Gabriel discovering the children.
She had planned to initiate a custody battle for Sam after the New Year, but then so many things happened. Now, while Sam seemed to accept her, it was only on the surface; he hadn't fully opened up to her in his heart.
If it came to a legal battle, would Sam choose to stay with her?
There was another point: her lawyer had advised her to use Tiffany's unsuitability as a stepmother to counter Gabriel's claim to Sam, but now Gabriel had split up with Tiffany!
The evidence she had gathered was now half useless.
Sophia was close to tearing her hair out thinking about all these complications.
Was it possible that Gabriel knew about the moves she was making behind the scenes?
That's why he broke up with Tiffany? Or was it a fake breakup?
This cunning fox, this scoundrel, even so, she wouldn't give up Sam!
Ethan also learned from Emma that their "bad guy daddy" was the one who found her. Emma even showed Ethan the wound their dad had tended to.
"Ethan, the bad guy daddy doesn't seem that bad. I kind of like him," Emma confessed.
"But bad guy daddy made Mom cry and Mom's had a hard time taking care of us here in the M Country. The bad guy daddy hasn't looked for Mom in five years."
Ethan wasn't entirely clear on what had transpired between Mom and Dad back in the day, but he guessed it had to be something Dad did to hurt Mom – otherwise, she wouldn't have felt so dispirited as to flee with him and Emma.
Even now, Mom was always scared that he and Emma might be taken away by Dad.
Regardless, he had to stand firmly by his mom's side.
Emma was conflicted for a moment but then resolutely decided to protect her mom and dismiss the "bad guy daddy"!
Sam entered, arms laden with snacks, and blinked in confusion at the sight of their ruffled demeanors.
Emma, having been frightened, needed some snacks to calm her nerves.
After finalizing the contract, the business partners had someone bring in a child-sized car.
"I've heard Mr. Lancaster that you have a son," they said, showcasing the miniature vehicle. "This car is perfect for children aged 5-12, equipped with high-tech features, and the seats are spacious enough to accommodate the weight of two adults."
The counterpart sang praises of the children's car.
"We'd like to offer this to your young gentleman as a celebration of our successful collaboration."
Gabriel, eyeing the small car, pondered for a moment before asking, "Do you have it in any other colors?"
"We also have red, pink, and black," they replied.
"I'll take a pink one," Gabriel decided.
He attempted to pay for it, but the other party adamantly refused to accept any money and even insisted on delivering the car to his home.
Gabriel left them with the address of the Caroline residence — Blue End.
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