Chapter 62 Are We Also Part of Your Public Display of Affection?
Samuel let out a heavy sigh, lost in his own thoughts.
Catherine didn't push him, just set the warm milk Anna brought next to him.
Samuel's health was pretty shaky, and he probably had some serious sleep issues. A bit of warm milk might help him catch some Z's.
"This whole thing ticks me off. If it wasn't for that screw-up with the paternity test doc back then, you wouldn't have had to wait so long to come back! We had it all planned out. Juniper was a good kid, and Grace and I couldn't bear to let her go. If she wasn't our real granddaughter and we couldn't find her folks, we would've adopted her and given her the Martinez name! But when we saw the test report showing a perfect match, we were relieved. Then, a couple of years ago, Juniper's experimental data got an award, and there was some internal drama in the organization. They insisted on proving she was the Windsor family's biological daughter."
At this point, Samuel started cursing.
"And then, the paternity test showed she wasn't a Windsor kid!"
"How could the test results have matched back then?" Catherine kept digging.
Samuel was fuming now.
"The doc back then saw the results didn't match and thought we'd ditch Juniper. He figured the kid was innocent and needed a home, so he messed with the test results himself! What a moron!"
Catherine had thought of many scenarios but never imagined it was all a big misunderstanding.
'But why they were switched at birth probably needs finding the director of Angel's Haven Orphanage to figure out!'
"If it wasn't for that mess, Juniper might've found her real parents ages ago, and you wouldn't have had to suffer out there."
Samuel's eyes welled up as he held Catherine's hand, patting it, feeling super guilty.
"Grandpa, the old lady who took me in treated me really well, and Juniper had a good life with the Windsors too."
Alexander had been listening quietly and only spoke when Samuel turned away to wipe his tears. "If Juniper needs to find her family, Catherine, you gotta let me know. The Howard Group has a pretty solid network."
Samuel snorted, "Why should Catherine tell you? If you really cared, you would've done it yourself! Are you trying to make Catherine owe you a favor? The Howard family is all hypocrites with no manners."
Catherine was caught off guard.
"Yeah, I get it! But our family's education is pretty solid. If you wanna know more, you can talk to Felix, he'd be very welcoming," Alexander said calmly.
"Forget it, why would I wanna see him? At my age, I don't wanna argue with him!"
'Just thinking about Felix's face makes me uncomfortable. Just looking at him, I feel like he's up to no good!'
Samuel got up, with Anna's help, and said, "Catherine, remember to come home this weekend. I need to ask you for a favor then! I'm beat, heading up to rest now."
"Okay, I will."
Samuel, being old, felt wiped out after talking for a bit. After saying hi to a few folks at the party, he went to rest.
The yacht docked, and Alexander led Catherine away, striding to the Rolls-Royce parked by the shore and hopping in.
The night was deep, and the whole open sea was quiet except for the brightly lit yacht.
Not far away, a taxi was surrounded by people.
Esme was being held hostage by Ethan, clearly taken as a bargaining chip.
Philip sneered at Ethan, his face dark and predatory like a hawk eyeing its prey in the dead of night.
"Ethan, you better let her go now. Trying to snatch someone from the Windsor family in Stellara? You must have a death wish!" Philip warned.
Ethan squinted at Philip standing on the dock and said, "You couldn't touch me in the International Court, and now you think you can stop me from taking her?"
Seeing the Windsor family cared so much about Esme, Ethan was almost certain she was the Phantom Doctor Moon he was after!
'I came to Stellara to find her, and now that I have, there's no way I'm letting her go!' Ethan thought.
Philip was ticked off.
'I had plans to go shopping and have dinner with Catherine tonight, but no, this had to happen. Esme couldn't do anything right!'
"Ethan, don't underestimate the Windsor family. Leave her now, or don't blame me for getting nasty!"
Esme's mouth was covered with a stinky rag by Ethan, and she was crying from the smell.
'Philip is really something. I had a chance to make money with this guy, but they must've found out about the one-billion-dollar deal and want to take it all for themselves!' Esme thought.
Esme struggled, trying to signal she wanted to speak.
But no one cared. Ethan found her too annoying and knocked her out, slinging her over his shoulder.
Philip chuckled, unbuttoning his floral shirt and slowly taking off his suit jacket.
'This jacket was bought with Catherine. Can't let it get dirty!'
Alexander looked at Catherine, frowning, "Looks like Philip's ready to throw down."
"We can't let Philip fight Ethan. He's no match for him," Catherine said.
'Ethan, being the third-ranked assassin on the dark web, is not someone Philip can handle. I can't just watch Philip get hurt in front of me. And Esme can't be taken away so easily either,' she thought.
Catherine pulled out her small laptop, removed the hairpin from her head to unlock it, and used fingerprint and iris verification to access the system.
[One-time treatment permission, auction, limited to ten minutes. Phantom Doctor Moon.]
This message instantly caused a stir on the dark web, with Ethan's phone ringing.
"Sir, since Moon just posted an auction on the dark web, the one we caught must be a fake. Let's just toss her into the sea! There's only ten minutes, and the price is already at twenty million dollars. Hurry, or it'll be too late!"
Ethan looked at the dozen people in front of him, gritting his teeth, and threw the unconscious Esme into the sea, then jumped into the taxi and fled!
Philip looked at the dark sea, impatiently waving his hand. 'I need to get back to Catherine! As for why Ethan suddenly let go, I don't care at all.'
"Fish her out and send her to the hospital. Find out what's going on."
"Yes."
Philip's men quickly fished Esme out, with the convoy disappearing from the port.
The two groups lurking in the dark also quietly left.
Catherine's phone rang.
"Miss, the auction you posted was won by Nightfall for three hundred million dollars! Weren't you having dinner together tonight? What's with the romantic game? Throwing around three hundred million dollars and involving the entire dark web, are we part of your love show?"
Catherine was speechless. 'Looks like I need to find time for some internal discipline. Or these people will spill anything!'
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