Chapter 47 My Mom's Name is Madison
In the Nightshade Bar, the doors hadn't yet opened for business, but in a dimly lit corner of the private room on the second floor, Matthew sat quietly fiddling with his glass. He tilted his head back and drained it in one gulp.
Mitchell received a notification from the server that Matthew had arrived and was drinking alone in the private room on the second floor of the bar. As he entered, he saw Matthew appearing to be drowning his sorrows, and he couldn't figure out what had happened.
Mitchell approached and took the glass from Matthew's hands, "Matthew, stop."
If he kept it up, he'd need to go to the hospital. Matthew didn't respond. He rested his head on his hands, which were folded atop his knees.
Soon, Victor, Liam, and Patrick all showed up. Not knowing what was up with Matthew and why he wasn't talking, Mitchell grew worried that something might happen, so he called everyone together.
Patrick walked in, oblivious, loudly asking, "What's the occasion? Why summon us to the bar in the middle of the day?"
Liam, standing beside him, patted his shoulder, "Hey, Patrick, if the rest of us behaved like you, the JK Group would probably be bankrupt by now."
"It's not... not about drinking then... why are we here?" Patrick, still unaware of Matthew's condition, looked to Mitchell for answers.
Mitchell jerked his chin toward Matthew, who was sitting on the couch, "Look."
Only then did Patrick realize something was off with Matthew.
"What's wrong with Matthew?"
"I don't know. I rushed over as soon as I got the server's message, and he was already like this," Mitchell explained.
"Has Matthew encountered some trouble recently, something we don't know about? Victor, do you have any idea?"
Liam speculated reasonably and looked to Victor. Victor usually worked more closely with Matthew, especially in the entertainment sector, which the other guys weren't involved with much.
"Madison returned to Horizon. A couple of days ago, someone kidnapped her children, and Matthew was asked for help. Beyond that, I'm not sure," Victor shared what he knew about the events he was involved in over the last few days.
"Madison is back? Really? Ohh... Madison left for such a long time, and she's finally returned." The most excited was Patrick since he used to be quite close to Madison.
"The children were kidnapped? Is it that serious? Who’s the father?" Liam was especially concerned about this.
"Looks like she’s remarried," Victor mentioned casually, wondering aloud about the paternity of her child since Matthew had asserted it wasn't his.
"What! Madison got married again? To whom? Who swept her off her feet, and why didn't you tell us she was back?" the others exclaimed in disbelief.
Victor poured himself a glass of wine and said nonchalantly, "Matthew has his own issues to deal with, and since he didn't ask me to say anything, how could I tell you?"
Patrick, upset by the news, sat down with a huff, "Hmph."
Throughout this exchange, Matthew kept his head down, not engaging in the conversation.
Then, his phone on the table started chirping with a series of notification sounds.
Seeing that Matthew didn't react, Patrick grabbed the phone, "Who could this be, blowing up your phone like that?" He saw the screen filled with over a dozen heart emojis from someone named Hannah.
"Goodness, who is Hannah? Does Matthew have a new flame?" they wondered.
Mitchell, thoughtful, recalled the time Matthew had been ill and hospitalized. He and Willow had gone to tidy up at Matthew's villa. Willow had found a black gown in the room and suspected Matthew was hiding something. Could Hannah be that secret woman Matthew was seeing?
Victor felt like he had encountered the name somewhere before but couldn't quite place it.
Liam, intrigued by the gossip, leaned in to snatch the phone from Patrick's hand. To their surprise, an incoming call came through. In a mess, they accidentally accepted the call. The room fell silent as they all exchanged anxious looks, and Patrick worried about Matthew's reaction, was about to hang up when they heard an adorable, child-like voice say,
"Daddy!"
Startled, Patrick dropped the phone onto the carpeted floor.
*
Madison arrived at the gate with her two little ones, sitting in the chairs waiting to board. Quentin and Hannah sat on either side of Madison. Quentin, truth be told, was somewhat reluctant to be heading back to Frostpine so soon. The situation with their dad was still uncertain, but he knew they had to leave because the kidnapping incident had worried everyone. He hoped they could leave Horizon City as soon as possible. If it came down to choosing between dad and mom, Quentin would choose mom without hesitation, so he obediently followed her and even comforted his sister. They had their dad's contact so they could keep in touch after returning.
Little Hannah, although aware that she should listen to her mom, couldn't resist the urge to call her dad to say goodbye before leaving. So, she deceitfully said she needed to go to the bathroom, and Madison took both Quentin and Hannah to the family restroom. After the recent events, Madison was on edge, not feeling safe anywhere and insisting on accompanying them. But at the door, Hannah declared she was big enough to go to the bathroom alone, so Madison had no choice but to wait outside with Quentin.
Once inside, Hannah quietly took out her smartwatch and sent loads of heart emojis to her dad. When he didn't reply, she dialed his number and to her surprise, the call connected immediately. "Daddy!" Hannah exclaimed cheerfully.
Matthew had looked up when Patrick and Liam were struggling for his phone. The room was silent, and Hannah's call of “Daddy” resonated with Matthew as if it had also landed in his heart.
Hearing no response on the other end, a puzzled Hannah asked, "Dad, are you listening? I'm going back today with my brother and mom. We were supposed to leave before, but my brother and I had an accident and couldn't go."
An accident, was it serious? Are they okay? Matthew thought, worried about their current state upon hearing Hannah’s words.
Hannah, without waiting for a reply, continued, "But we're okay now, so we're planning to go back today. I don't know when I'll see you next, Dad. Remember to reply to my messages, okay?"
Listening to the sweet, childish voice, everyone was thinking that there must be an adorably cute child on the other side of the line. But when did Matthew have a kid? They were clueless.
As Hannah was about to hang up, she remembered the last time she had lied to her dad, telling him her mom's name was “Rachel.” Now that they were about to leave, the little sweetheart was ready to apologize to her dad.
“Also, Dad, I'm sorry that I lied to you last time when you asked about Mom's name. Her name isn't Rachel, she’s my godmother. My mom's name is Madison..."
Hearing that familiar name, Matthew was stunned, staring at his phone, visibly overwhelmed and unable to hide his shock. He snatched the phone and ran out like a gust of wind.
Except for Victor, everyone was dumbfounded as they watched Matthew sprint away.
Victor thought that it seemed that the two kids of Madison really were Matthew's.
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