Chapter 46 The Call
Stellar Enterprises.
“Mr. Douglas, the earnings for this quarter—”
Ethan was in the midst of a meeting when his phone suddenly rang.
The conference room fell silent, deathly so.
A collective anxiety swept through the attendees, wondering who had the audacity to not only forget to put their phone on silent but even bring it into an internal meeting...
While everyone nervously exchanged glances, Ethan pulled out his own phone.
A collective sigh of relief followed.
Ethan's brow furrowed as he glanced at the unfamiliar number—only a few knew his personal cell.
"Hello?"
On the other end of the line, a tear-choked voice pleaded, "Daddy, come save me, please..."
It was Justin, sobbing and begging for help.
In the unnerving quiet of the room, everyone stared in shock at Ethan.
Since when did Mr. Douglas have a kid? Was he secretly married?
Ethan felt a tightness in his chest as he heard the crying on the phone; he stood up abruptly.
With a gesture for the Vice President to continue the meeting, he strode out quickly. "Justin, what's happened?"
"They set the house on fire, I'm scared..." Justin's voice came in broken sobs. "Daddy, they hit me, there's so much blood, I can't stop it. They hit Uncle too; his hands are drenched in blood... Mom's gone."
Ethan's face darkened to a grave hue, his mood somber.
The spectators in the meeting room watched him, with unease etched on their faces. Was Mr. Douglas on the verge of vengeance?
Outside the door, Liam, who was carrying coffee, paused when he saw the feral look on Mr. Douglas's face. Without hesitation, he passed the coffee to someone nearby and hurried after Ethan. "Mr. Douglas, what's going on?"
"Get the car!" Ethan's voice was edged with panic.
Liam rushed into the elevator, frantically pressing the button, heading to the parking lot to fetch the car, bracing for a crisis.
"Don't be afraid, I'm on my way," Ethan reassured Justin softly.
Had he made a mistake?
If only Jasmine hadn't mentioned any connection to the police and Serena yesterday... Would the Wilson Family and Daniel have left her alone?
"Daddy, I'm scared..."
Justin was still crying.
Ethan wasn't used to comforting kids because he had never had to do it before. He said to Justin, "Justin, can you count to one hundred? I will be there when you reach one hundred, okay?"
For some reason, Ethan felt an inexplicable pain in his chest, like a sharp knife was piercing his heart.
He never was one for kids, but for some reason, Justin got to him in a way he couldn’t despise; instead, he felt a hint of compassion for the boy.
“One...” Justin began to count through his tears.
Ethan couldn’t bear to hang up the phone. He strode out of his office as Liam pulled up in his car.
“Mr. Douglas, get in!”
Liam floored it and only then thought to ask, “Mr. Douglas, where are we headed?”
“To Richard's place.”
Liam slammed on the brakes in shock. “What?”
“Hurry up!”
Ethan’s face was ashen.
Frightened, Liam fumbled with his phone to look up Richard's auto shop and sped off in that direction.
…
Demolition Zone.
Justin tucked himself into a corner, his eyes fixed on the charred remnants of the house as he sobbed and counted. “15, 16...”
In the courtyard, Richard, hiding his injuries from Justin, couldn’t bring himself to head to the hospital for an X-ray. Using a few wooden splints, he shakily immobilized his fingers and clumsily wrapped them.
“89, 90...” Justin continued counting, his eyes brimming with hope as he glanced towards the door.
But his dad had yet to arrive.
“98...”
“Justin!”
A black luxury car raced in, with Ethan and Liam jumping out in distress.
Richard panicked as he looked at the arriving car and Ethan, clutching a nearby stick defensively. “What do you want? Just because you have money and power, does that give you the right to corner people?”
Richard had seen Ethan before - when he had begged Daniel to spare Jasmine, he had seen him.
To Richard, these men were cut from the same cloth as Daniel and Evan.
“Daddy!” Justin ended the call and charged out, burying himself in Ethan’s embrace.
Stunned, Richard observed Justin and then Ethan, who seemed to hold no malice, but Richard’s trust had been shattered. “Ethan, what do you want? Justin, he’s not your dad, come here!”
Tears rimmed Justin’s eyes as he looked at Richard. “Uncle, Dad can keep me and Mom safe.”
Richard stood there in silence, realizing even a five-year-old knew to seek shelter under a strong tree...
It was his fault; he had failed to give the little guy a sense of security.
“Justin, he’s no different from the bad guys, stay away from him, please...” Richard couldn’t believe Ethan had good intentions. People like him were heartless.
"Mr. Richard, you should come with us to the hospital—your hand looks pretty bad," Liam suggested with a sharp intake of breath after glancing at Richard's hand.
Richard's icy gaze met Liam's as he hid his hand behind him. "Spare me the pretense."
"Where's Jasmine?" Ethan asked, furrowing his brows.
A cold laugh escaped Richard. So, it was all about Jasmine. "Ethan, Jasmine has never wronged the Douglas family. If she owes anyone, it's the Wilsons. You have no right to touch her, so I suggest you leave."
Jasmine was gone. Maybe fleeing Silverlight City was the right move—she would at least be free from these scumbags.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
