Chapter 354 Then I'll Meet Tristan Directly
During the rush hour after work, the bus was crowded with people. Aaron sat by the window, surrounded by many tired-looking men and women.
He held a shopping bag in his arms, which seemed to contain various groceries, still wearing the same clothes as yesterday.
His hair was a bit messy, and he looked quite spiritless.
When te bus turned right at the intersection, Katniss was waiting at the red light, she could only watch as Aaron disappeared on that bus.
Aaron's school was starting in the next couple of days, so he was probably out shopping.
She had taken Aaron in for almost two years and was very familiar with his habits.
He changed his clothes every day and always dressed neatly before going out, a completely different person from the boy she had just seen.
Maybe he had lost his image from squeezing into the crowded bus?
The red light turned green, and the car behind honked a few times before Katniss snapped out of it, quickly driving through the intersection and heading home.
Eudora's damaged reputation made Ivy very unhappy.
After all, she had spoken highly of Eudora in front of Travis to protect her.
She didn't want Eudora to tarnish Synergy Global Corporation, especially when Sam would eventually take over the company.
So she called Eudora to warn her, but she couldn't deal with Eudora at the moment.
After all, she was anxious that Sam had disappeared without a trace after coming back to the country.
While it was night in the country, it was noon abroad, and she called Sam's biological father.
Fluent foreign language echoed clearly in the room, "What did you tell him before he returned? Why did he disappear without a trace?"
"Don't blame me," the man's voice on the other end was extremely nonchalant, "He overheard my call and was very unhappy after learning about our plan."
Ivy felt a headache coming on, "What is he unhappy about? We had no choice but to give him a clean identity."
"No," the man decisively rejected Ivy's statement, "My son even changed his last name. It's natural for him to be unhappy. This proves that in his heart, I am his only father."
The man's tone was a bit proud and arrogant.
This made Ivy's headache worse, "Didn't you think about how he would live openly in the future? Shouldn't you have persuaded him?"
"You guys are too slow," the man also began to express dissatisfaction, "Is the Forbes family that hard to deal with? I told you to act quickly when you went there, but it's been dragged on for so many years."
"Your identity is not allowed to exist internationally. It takes at least ten to twenty years to clean up your descendants. Besides, I don't want Sam to carry the burden of lives in the Forbes family! Such a person would not be clean either."
Ivy only wanted the best and cleanest for Sam.
After all, she had seen too many dirty tricks and struggles. She had fought all her life just for Sam.
"Then continue," the man replied indifferently, "Don't worry, Sam won't be in danger."
The conversation seemed to end pleasantly, but in reality, it was not.
Ivy was used to it. She hung up the phone and started ordering people to find Sam.
The man on the other end held a glass of red wine, standing in a large castle estate, his blue eyes looking at the blue sky and white clouds outside the window.
"My son has been wronged for twenty years, he can't be wronged anymore."
Behind him, a blond man with green eyes nodded slightly, "But your wife's progress is very slow. I see they are being 'beaten' badly by Tristan."
The man raised his eyebrows and said after a moment, "There are no such clean people in the world. The identity Ivy wants doesn't exist. Travis wants to use us for revenge, and... it's uncertain whether he will really hand over the Forbes family to my son after the revenge."
He lit a cigarette, and the swirling smoke added a touch of mystery to his blue eyes, "So, I have to do it myself. By the way, how is the latest scientific drug research going?"
He turned around, looking at Royce with great interest, "Is there a finished product? Do you need test subjects?"
"In a while, we will have a finished product. So far, it has only been tested on mice, but since they are not humans, it's uncertain whether it will be effective." Royce shrugged.
The man pondered for a moment, then suddenly smiled, "I remember Ivy said that Tristan is infatuated with a woman? Go check it out and grab one as our test subject. It can also help Ivy speed up so my precious son can go out and meet people."
Royce hesitated and asked, "Tristan is not an easy person to deal with. It might not be so easy to catch him. If we catch his woman, he probably won't let it go easily."
"Are you scared?" The man walked over and patted Royce's shoulder hard, "I conquered this island. Although several countries knew I'm the biggest drug lord here, they don't dare to come and catch me. Are you afraid of an ordinary person?"
He laughed arrogantly, making people feel that he was the master who looked down on everyone.
"I've never seen my butler afraid of anyone other than me. Very well, then I'll meet Tristan directly."
After Katniss returned to the country, the longest delay was Rupert inviting her to dinner.
Because she knew that Rupert hadn't divorced and was still with Ember.
Finally, on Rupert's umpteenth attempt, he said, "Katniss, I want to invite you to dinner alone."
Only then did Katniss agree to have dinner together, but she was busy with work, so they arranged to meet at a restaurant in the commercial street not far from White Corporation.
Rupert knew her status was different now and didn't want to embarrass her, so he took a day off from delivering food and bought an expensive set of clothes.
Even so, he still seemed out of place.
Katniss arrived ten minutes early to wait and saw him riding an electric bike and running in. She raised her hand.
Rupert quickly walked over to her, "Katniss, have you been waiting long?"
"Not long, I just got here." Katniss noticed that everything he wore seemed new, feeling both comforted and uneasy.
Another reason she avoided Rupert was that she felt guilty facing his sincerity because she couldn't tell him about Evie's existence.
It wasn't that she didn't trust him, but she didn't trust Jessica.
Jessica had helped Rupert pay off his debts, and Rupert was undoubtedly more obedient to her. If Rupert knew she had a daughter with Tristan, he might tell Jessica.
And Jessica had betrayed her before.
She had to be cautious and decided not to tell anyone.
"Katniss, you're really amazing now." Rupert grinned, noticing that Katniss's demeanor had changed, "I heard from Jessica that you're a general manager now, that's impressive."
He deliberately lowered his voice, afraid of embarrassing Katniss.
Katniss listened to his happiness and secretly observed him.
She saw some new scars on his hands, probably severe frostbite from the winter that hadn't healed even after a summer.
"Katniss, this place is too expensive." Rupert said after looking at the menu, "I said I would treat you."
But he couldn't afford it.
"Having a meal with me, you don't need to pay. Order whatever you want." Katniss pointed to a few dishes in the pictures, "You can try these."
Rupert looked at the prices and shook his head, continuously flipping through the pages to find the cheapest options.
Katniss simply handed the menu to the waiter and directly ordered a few signature dishes.
"How have you been? Is work hard? Have you saved up the funds for opening the store as planned?"
"I've saved up." Rupert nodded quickly, "I give Jessica eight thousand dollars a month, and our mom fifteen hundred dollars. Jessica's salary covers our living expenses, and we save about ten thousand dollars a month. Plus the hundred thousand dollars you gave me, we can open the store in two or three years."
He spoke enthusiastically, making Katniss feel sad.
These two or three years would be hard to endure.
She lowered her head and sent a message to Ryan on her phone, then continued chatting with Rupert.
"Katniss, Jessica isn't like she used to be. She feels guilty for how she treated you before and wants to invite you to dinner to apologize." Rupert hoped Katniss and Jessica could 'get along.'
Katniss was silent for a moment and said, "We'll find time to arrange it, there will be plenty of opportunities."
Rupert nodded vigorously and added, "Mom's health hasn't been great lately, and she keeps saying she wants to see you."
"What's wrong?" Katniss asked, "If she's sick, she should get treatment. Don't worry about the medical expenses."
Seeing her wasn't necessary; she wasn't a doctor.
Rupert quickly shook his head, "It's not about the medical expenses. She refuses to go, always saying she has a headache, and occasionally takes leave from work. If this continues, she'll be fired."
Such a work attitude was bound to be eliminated.
Katniss was almost certain that Ember wasn't really sick; she just wanted an excuse not to work.
Fifteen hundred dollars a month wasn't much, but if she stopped earning, she would spend a lot of money.
"I'm busy with work lately. When I have some free time, we'll have a meal together. In the meantime, if she's sick, she should get treatment. If not, she should work properly."
Rupert also suspected Ember didn't want to work, "I just didn't know what to say when I saw you. Otherwise, I wouldn't have mentioned mom. Don't worry, I can handle her."
Then Rupert talked about many good locations he saw while delivering food, some with good geographical positions where the annual rent alone was hundreds of thousands of dollars.
As he spoke, Katniss could see his longing for the future life of running a pasta restaurant.
After finishing their meal, they walked out of the restaurant. Katniss saw Rupert off, and as they walked towards his motorcycle, they were suddenly stopped by someone.
"Hello sir, miss, would you like to try your luck with the lottery?"
Rupert didn't even look and said, "No, thanks."
"Give it a try. Our lottery is from a new company. If you don't win, you don't pay a cent. If you win, you only need to give us a one percent commission." The person eagerly promoted the lottery tickets in his hand, "And you scratch first, pay later."
Rupert widened his eyes and turned to Katniss, "Is this a scam, Katniss?"
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
