Chapter 297 The Fruit of Love?
"Why are you still awake?" Darwin walked over, gently caressing her cheek. "Thinking about Anniston?"
Fiona scooted over, gesturing for Darwin to sit beside her.
Darwin sat down beside her, casually wrapping an arm around Fiona's shoulder. She hesitated momentarily, then relaxed, leaning her head against his chest.
The terrace overlooked the scattered lights of the city at night.
"There's a new post online," Fiona started calmly, "claiming to reveal the true nature of your strained relationship with Anniston, exposing all the things she did over the years to secure control of the Solomons, including what really happened during that car accident."
Fiona looked up at Darwin as she spoke, then continued, "It included the truth about your accident."
Darwin's brows immediately furrowed.
Fiona gently pushed the furrowed brow on his forehead away with her fingertips, a subtle display of strength in her touch. " You know, I've been aware of it for some time.”. Remember once when you found out that one of your guys had secretly kept evidence about the real cause of that car accident? You lost your temper big time. You were so worked up that night, I couldn't sleep well and I overheard pretty much everything."
Darwin paused, taken aback.
Then, his face brightened into a smile as he dipped his head and planted a kiss on Fiona’s forehead. "That must have been around six months after you came to work with me, right?"
"Mhm." Fiona nodded in affirmation.
"I was new to the game back then, a little too rough around the edges, didn't have a handle on things," Darwin admitted with a sincere tone of apology. "Sorry about that."
Fiona rolled her eyes and pinched him in the palm of his hand. " That's not what I'm getting at, Darwin. Be serious."
Darwin chuckled.
With a click of her tongue, Fiona leaned back against his shoulder. "Besides, it wasn't just the beginning when you went too hard. It wasn't much better later on. I saved a lot on gym memberships—thanks to Mr. Solomon.”
"Mrs. Solomon, it goes both ways," Darwin said with a chuckle, whispering close to her ear.
Fiona could only respond with a speechless pause, yet she had to admit that she and Darwin were incredibly in sync.
The kind of bond they had didn't require testing the waters with other men; her body and soul had already provided all the answers.
They sat cuddled up together for a while longer.
Fiona fiddled with Darwin's fingers, returning to the topic they had left hanging. "Darwin, what I really wanted to say is... If you owe anything to Anniston, between all those times you hurt her and then protected her, you've more than paid your debt.
Darwin's gaze fell softly on Fiona.
"Don't beat yourself up about it," Fiona pressed on, her eyes locked on his. " Bring her back home, give her a proper funeral, find the person responsible for her death, avenge her, and then let it go. Can you do that?"
During the years Fiona had been with Darwin, she had witnessed countless times how he dealt with traitors and those who sought to harm him.
He was always decisive and ruthless.
Even those who were favored by his grandmother weren't spared his merciless hand.
And though Darwin had stripped Anniston of her power within the Solomons, he had always preserved her dignity.
It wasn't for the sake of preserving his image of filial piety; it was genuine difficulty in letting go of his mother.
"Alright."
A hint of red tinged the corners of Darwin's eyes, and his voice tightened.
With a soothing touch, Fiona stroked his cheek and snuggled closer into his embrace.
Due to the flood season, the retrieval operations were challenging and took three days to recover what was lost.
On that very same day.
Darwin boarded his private jet to Kuala Lumpur.
By the time he arrived,
The inspection results of the vehicle had just come out.
"Mr. Darwin, the vehicle had no issues. From our preliminary findings, it appears that Ms. Anniston's mishandling while driving caused the accident," stated the technician after examining the vehicle.
Darwin, stone-faced, reviewed the report himself.
"When can we expect the autopsy results?" he asked, handing the report to his assistant with a cool detachment.
"The body was submerged for quite some time, so it needs more time for examination. We're probably looking at results by tomorrow," replied the technician.
"As soon as possible," Darwin ordered.
"Understood," was the terse reply.
Ending the conversation, Darwin glanced in the direction of Anniston's body without any discernible change in expression and strode off.
The officers in charge of the case let out a sigh of relief as they watched Darwin's retreating figure.
"Have you guys heard about the leak from Armie County?" one of them asked.
Quick acknowledgments followed.
"Of course, it's been on both the morning and lunchtime news!"
Anniston's case was buzzing locally, as she was once a giant in the financial world.
"Given the look on Mr. Darwin's face, the leak must be true. Even the death of a pet wouldn't warrant such coldness, right?"
"Someone tried to take him down more than once. Anyone would have their feelings worn out under such circumstances," another chimed in.
"I really regret that his wife didn't show up!"
"What are you regretting?"
"She's gorgeous, right? I wanted to see if she looks as good in person as she does in photos!"
The chatter continued amongst the group.
Meanwhile, Darwin had made it to the parking lot.
Just as he was about to get into his car, someone called out, “Darwin!”
Hearing that voice, Darwin paused, turned with a look of surprise, and furrowed his brow at the person behind him: "Lilian, what are you doing here?"
"I got here yesterday," Lilian approached him, "With everything that's happened and you still recovering, I wanted to come to see if there was any way I could help."
It was the first time Lilian had seen Darwin since the explosion.
Darwin had lost some weight.
Yet, his posture remained erect and, if anything, the thinning out made his features and his eyes seem even more intense, causing Lilian's heart to skip a beat.
The boy she had once been worried about protecting had grown into a towering tree.
And she...
She carried within her their love's blossom.
"Is everything settled with your mother?" Darwin asked.
"Yes," Lilian nodded, her voice softening. "Actually, it's not just about Mr. Potter’s issue. Some relatives of ours have moved here, and I wanted to inquire if Thomas had been in touch with them."
Darwin's thoughts immediately went to Thomas's girlfriend's death and the still-missing Thomas.
"Did you ask them?" queried Darwin.
"I haven't had the chance to go yet," Lilian said, shaking her head. "Where are you headed now? Mind giving me a ride?"
In the past, Darwin would have probably agreed to it. But now…
His arrival had already caused a media frenzy. There was no telling how many people were waiting to get a shot of him.
"It's not convenient," Darwin replied indifferently. "I'll arrange a car for you, and the driver will be at your disposal all day."
Lilian managed to maintain her smile, though it took some effort.
"That'll work. I appreciate it, Mr. Solomon."
Darwin nodded slightly without saying anything more and got into his car to leave.
Moments later, a security vehicle pulled up next to Lilian. The driver stepped out, respectfully opened the door for her.
Lilian took a deep breath.
She still maintained the poise of Mrs. Solomon as she got into the car.
—
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