Chapter 262 Big Trouble
Thalia's phone buzzed out of nowhere.
Seeing the caller ID, Thalia quickly told Joe and Isolde, "It's Thalassa. Probably about the restaurant mess being sorted out!"
"Thank God for Leander, or those folks at the restaurant would've never let me go so easily!" Joe sighed.
"Yeah, who would've thought the one to stand up for us wouldn't be our own son-in-law, but Thalia's. It's really ironic!" Isolde said, shaking her head.
"Oh, come on, we're all family." Thalia waved it off with a smile, then answered the call, "Thalassa, did you and Leander handle everything?"
"Mom, it's huge. The vase Uncle Joe broke is some kind of antique. Mr. Hayes says it's worth forty million dollars, and now he's demanding we pay for it! He said if we can't come up with the money, he won't let us leave!" Thalassa's voice was shaky, almost in tears.
"What... what did you say?" Thalia was stunned, stammering.
"Mom, you need to get Uncle Joe over here fast!" Thalassa was so agitated she could barely speak.
"What about Leander? Doesn't he know Mr. Hayes?" Thalia hesitated.
"He doesn't know him at all! It was all a misunderstanding!" Thalassa was even more frustrated and snapped, "Mr. Hayes delivering wine today has nothing to do with Leander. I don't have time to explain right now. Come over quickly, or Mr. Hayes will have me taken away!"
"Alright, don't worry. I'll be right there!" Thalia reassured her quickly and hung up.
"What happened?" Joe asked, hesitating.
"Joe, you've really messed up this time. That vase is some kind of antique, and now Thalassa is being held by the restaurant staff. We need to go rescue her quickly!" Thalia said, grabbing her bag and heading out.
Joe and Isolde were clueless but seeing Thalia's urgency, they didn't waste any time and followed her out.
A few minutes later, they left the hotel and drove towards The Golden Elm Bistro.
Because the situation was so sudden, Joe didn't call Laura and James.
In Joe's eyes, James was just a poor student delivering food and couldn't solve anything.
Meanwhile, in James's room, Laura was chatting happily with him. They hadn't seen each other for a while, and they had been dragged to the restaurant by Thalassa and the others as soon as they met. Now they finally had some private time.
James listened to Laura talk about her company.
Laura wanted James to understand these things so he could help her in the future.
After chatting for a while, she saw that it was getting late and got up to leave.
"James, don't take what my family said today seriously. Thalia's family has never been as well-off as ours, and Thalassa has always felt inferior to me since we were kids. So, they always like to compare themselves to us. They weren't targeting you on purpose; they were targeting me!" Laura said seriously to James.
"It's okay, as long as you don't think I didn't embarrass you," James said with a faint smile.
"Why? How could I?" Laura rolled her eyes. "The fact that I brought you to meet my family means I've already accepted you. And I believe that as long as you work hard, one day you'll achieve great things. By then, no one will dare say you're not good enough for me, and no one will question my judgment!"
"Don't worry. I'll work hard!" James replied softly, looking at Laura.
No one had ever said such supportive things to him before.
Throughout his life, everyone had mocked and humiliated him. No one believed he would ever amount to anything.
But Laura was the first person to say such things to him without knowing his true identity, which made James even more certain that he hadn't chosen the wrong person. Laura was the woman he had always been looking for.
"I'll be heading back now!" Laura waved at James and then left.
James lay on his bed, thinking about what Laura had said, feeling a mix of emotions.
Laura returned to Joe and Isolde's room, but after knocking a few times, there was no response.
"Could they have gone to bed already?" she muttered to herself, then took out her phone and called Isolde.
The phone rang for a moment before Isolde answered.
"Mom, are you and Dad already asleep? Why didn't anyone answer when I knocked?" Laura asked.
Isolde said, "Laura, I forgot to tell you. Your dad is in big trouble this time."
"Big trouble? Why?" Laura asked, puzzled.
"The vase your dad broke seems to be quite expensive. Thalassa and Leander are being held by the restaurant staff. We're on our way there now. I gotta go!" Isolde replied anxiously and then hung up.
Laura hesitated for a couple of seconds, then turned back to James's room and softly called out, "James, I need to go out for a bit. If you need anything, you can ask the hotel staff!"
"Why are you going out so late?" James asked instinctively.
"My mom just told me that the vase my dad broke today seems to be quite expensive. I'm going to see what's going on," Laura replied hurriedly.
Upon hearing this, James was deep in thought.
He had already guessed that the vase at The Golden Elm Bistro wasn't cheap, but since Leander wanted to show off, James didn't say anything. He wanted Leander to pay a price for it.
But now that Leander hadn't resolved the vase issue, it meant that the vase's value was beyond Leander's means.
So, James was hesitant about whether he should step in to help. If he stepped in, the issue would be resolved immediately.
After all, the entire restaurant belonged to James. Even if the whole restaurant was destroyed, Atticus wouldn't dare refuse him.
But if he did that, James might expose his identity.
However, if he didn't step in and the vase was indeed very expensive, Laura and Joe probably couldn't afford it.
In that case, The Hall Family's company, which had just gotten back on track, would face a financial crisis again.
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