Chapter 121 Prominent Figure
Jame asked, "Mom, did Dad serve in the military before?"
Dinner was a home-cooked meal including a main course, soup, and four side dishes, along with a bottle of wine. It wasn't extravagant, but it was delicious and well-presented.
James casually asked while serving Michelle some food. "I noticed that the kitchen knife looks like something from the military."
With its excellent preservation and the presence of a blood groove, James recognized at a glance that it was a military knife. However, he was unsure whether it belonged to Virgil himself or if it was part of his collection.
Michelle said, "Really? I guess it's your dad's butcher knife. Your dad served in the military for three years."
Michelle enjoyed her dinner time with James, so talking about the missing Virgil didn't make her too sad.
"But he didn't achieve much."
"He said he was raising cattle in the army, not even ranking as high as the cooking squad."
"He could have served a few more years, but I heard he was discharged early because he chased cattle across the border."
"After he was discharged, we met through a matchmaker, and within a month, we got married. Your dad couldn't have children, so he adopted you."
"And then we just got by for over twenty years."
Michelle picked out the bones from a piece of fish and, as usual, put it in James's bowl, while she slowly chewed on the fish head.
James tried to give the fish back to her, but Michelle gave him a stern look, so he gave up.
James reluctantly ate the fish. "You married a cattle farmer, you must be deeply in love with Dad."
Michelle smiled gently, "My feelings for your dad weren't anything extraordinary, just like countless ordinary couples."
"I chose your dad because he was honest. He told me everything about himself when we first met and handed over his paycheck to me."
"He also promised to treat me well for the rest of his life."
"I felt he was reliable and gave me a sense of security, so I agreed to be with him."
"In the past twenty years, except for occasionally coming home injured and making me worry about his safety, he never once let me down."
Her eyes sparkled with a hint of light. "If given another chance, I would still choose your dad."
Then, her face darkened again. It had been a year, and the reliable Virgil was still missing, his fate unknown.
Seeing Michelle feeling down, James knew she was thinking about Virgil again, so he asked, "Did Dad often come home injured?"
After eighteen years together, James had no idea about this. He wanted to see if there were any clues to find Virgil.
Michelle replied, "At least ten times a year. He was either stabbed during a truck robbery or shot by pirates while on a ship."
Michelle nodded. "The most serious time, his heart was almost stabbed. We didn't tell you because we didn't want you to worry."
James was slightly stunned. He didn't realize Virgil had been injured so many times and so seriously. Should he call it bad luck or a strong will to live?
But regardless, a person who had escaped death time and time again was definitely not as simple as just a cattle farmer.
After dinner and a shower, Michelle went to her room to sleep.l James sat on the couch, flipping through photos of Virgil and messaging Olivia.
He hoped Olivia could help find Virgil.
The next morning, after breakfast, James went to JZL Medical Hall to open for business.
He had just made a cup of tea and taken a few sips when a Ferrari roared up and stopped in front of JZL Medical Hall.
The car door opened, and Olivia, dressed in black, stepped out.
Olivia had her hair tied back, wore a knee-length skirt and a loose top, along with sunglasses, looking both professional and stylish.
Olivia said, "I couldn't find anything useful in your dad's records."
There were no patients at JZL Medical Hall yet, so Olivia didn't hold back. She sat down in front of James and tossed a stack of documents on the table.
"I used a lot of resources, but what I found wasn't much different from what we already knew."
"He was adopted by the Williams family at three, went to college at eighteen, joined the military at twenty-three, and, as your mom said, took care of cattle."
"Then came the incident of chasing a cow across the border that led to his early discharge from the military. After that, he married your mother through an arranged marriage, and then adopted you from the streets."
"I also checked the companies your dad worked for. They did have records of him working on trucks and ships, and the hospitals had records of his injuries."
"In short, everything has a trace, but we can't dig deeper."
Olivia finished her rapid-fire explanation and then casually took a sip from James's teacup, not minding that he had just drunk from it.
James glanced at the teacup, feeling a strange sensation from the indirect kiss with Olivia.
He then flipped through the documents, a hint of disappointment on his face. "Looks like there are no clues."
"It's hard to determine your dad's fate, but there are two possibilities." Olivia took another sip of tea. "One is that he's just an ordinary person, as the records show. What's on the surface is his life trajectory. The other possibility is that your dad is very capable, so much so that what we see is only what he wants us to see."
"My husband's so impressive, I think his father must be an impressive person too."
She teased James with a flirtatious wink, seemingly joking but actually giving him some comfort, making him believe that Virgil was okay.
James blushed slightly and played dumb. "I hope so."
"There's one more thing that's not exactly a clue."
Olivia crossed her legs, creating a seductive curve.
"There's a prominent figure who was your dad's college classmate and served in the same military unit at the same time."
"Their paths overlapped for eight years."
When she mentioned the prominent figure, her eyes showed a hint of respect.
James smiled indifferently. "What kind of clue is that? Aaron and I were also schoolmates, but he doesn't even know me."
James asked, "By the way, who is this prominent figure?"
James couldn't help but be curious.
Olivia pouted. "If it has nothing to do with your dad, I won't say. You just need to know that he's a very important person. I'll go back and check again to see if I can find any valuable clues."
Olivia looked at James with a playful smile. "But for all my hard work, what's my reward?"
James looked helpless. "What reward do you want?"
Olivia didn't say anything, just pointed to her enticing red lips with her fair fingertip.
At the same time, she slightly lifted her toe, sliding it up James's calf.
It was a clear provocation.
James played dumb. "What's wrong with your lips? Are you sick?"
"You're the one who's sick." Olivia knocked on James's forehead. "Hurry up and give me a kiss."
James smiled awkwardly. "Olivia, I'm a married man."
Olivia smiled coquettishly. "So, you're saying that once you're divorced, you can be with me."
James coughed. "In my heart, you've always been like a sister to me."
Olivia shot James an unsatisfied look. "Then why did you have to touch my thigh?"
The touch and slide during the car accident still made Olivia's heart flutter.
James almost stumbled.
"Boring. Just wait, I'll get you eventually."
Olivia grabbed the teacup, drank it all in one gulp, then tossed it on the table and walked towards the door.
Olivia said, "I'm leaving now. I'll let you know if I find anything."
As always, she was swift and decisive.
Worried that Olivia might be angry, James quickly got up to see her to her car.
Just as Olivia was about to get into the car, her high heel stepped on a pebble, causing her to slip and her head to lurch towards the car window.
"Watch out!" James reacted quickly, pulling Olivia into his arms.
He whispered, "Are you okay?"
Olivia's beautiful eyes lifted. "I'm fine."
She suddenly realized that James's embrace was very comfortable and gave her a sense of security.
Meanwhile, a red BMW driving from behind quietly slowed down.
In the driver's seat, Mary stared blankly at James.
Anger, self-mockery, sadness.
As James slowly released Olivia, Olivia's peripheral vision caught sight of the conspicuous car.
Even though they were more than 65.6 feet apart, with passing vehicles in between, Olivia could still recognize the other person at a glance.
Mary. A glint flashed in Olivia's eyes as she suddenly grabbed James's neck and gave him a fierce kiss before jumping into the Ferrari and speeding away.
Olivia never considered herself a good woman, so she didn't mind disrupting James and Mary's relationship.
Besides, Mary couldn't give James happiness anyway.
James wiped the lipstick off his neck and felt something was off. When he turned around, he saw Mary driving away.
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