Ch. 321..330
Mistaking a Magnate for a Male Escort Chapter 321
“Charlotte! Charlotte!” Michael shouted from outside the ward. “Are you okay?”
He paused for a moment before speaking again, “Zachary Nacht! I won’t let you hurt her again!”
“Mr. Brown, please be quiet! This is a hospital!” Raina scolded.
“Mrs. Berry gave me a call and told me that the kids went missing!” Michael exclaimed angrily. “Did Zachary kidnap them? They’re only three years old! Doesn’t he know that the kids…”
“That’s enough!” Raina bellowed, cutting him off. “You’re doing nothing but hurting Ms. Windt!”
“What are you talking about? Why would I hurt her?” Michael asked incredulously as he tried to push past her. “Zachary Nacht! Get out…”
The door creaked open before he could finish his sentence.
Zachary emerged from the room, his clothes in a wrinkled mess.
Even so, his mere presence felt like a chokehold.
He glared at Michael warily. “What’s the matter now, Mr. Brown?”
“Zachary Nacht! Did you kidnap those three kids?” Michael asked, his voice shaking.
Instead of answering, Zachary merely narrowed his eyes, making the temperature in the room drop by a few more degrees.
“Michael!” Charlotte exclaimed, limping out of the room while holding her injured waist. “He didn’t kidnap the kids, and you’re not needed here. Leave!”
“Charlotte! What in the world happened to you?” Michael yelled the moment he saw Charlotte in her battered state. He rushed forward to support her. “Did you get hurt? Who did this to you?”
Zachary had kicked Charlotte squarely in the torso during the banquet that night, but Michael thought that she was fine.
However, the Charlotte standing before him looked as though she had gone through hell and back.
“I did it!” Zachary declared. “What are you going to do to me?”
“You’re a criminal!” Michael screamed, raising his fist to punch Zachary.
“No!” Charlotte yelled, trying her best to push him away on her unsteady feet. “That’s enough, Michael! You should go…”
The more Michael got himself involved in her matters, the more difficult things became.
Raina sighed. She knew how much Zachary cared about Charlotte, and he would definitely try his best to help her as long as she asked him for help.
However, Michael’s involvement would only make things thousand times more complicated.
He’s messing everything up!
“Charlotte! Let’s go!” Michael said, grabbing Charlotte’s hand.
“You’re not going to make it out of here alive,” Zachary scoffed. Without warning, he reached out and grabbed Michael’s neck. “You have a death wish, don’t you, Michael Brown!”
Michael clawed at his iron grip and opened his mouth wide in a futile attempt to breathe, and his face slowly turned a ghastly shade of white just seconds later.
“No!” Charlotte screamed, lunging forward to pull Zachary backward, only to be thrown to the side roughly.
She collapsed onto the ground and hissed in pain.
Raina rushed forward to help her up while Ben yelled, “Mr. Nacht! Calm down!”
“Shut up!” Zachary yelled, losing control entirely.
I should have been more decisive!
I would have helped Charlotte find her kids if that jerk didn’t barge in and attempt to take her away!
I can’t take this anymore!
I must kill him!
His grip tightened, and he could almost see Michael’s soul leaving his body.
Mistaking a Magnate for a Male Escort Chapter 322
“Zachary… Please…” Charlotte begged, picking herself up from the ground with much difficulty, only for Raina to pull her backward.
“Ms. Windt, you must stay still! You’ll only get Mr. Brown killed if you try to intervene!” Raina exclaimed.
“But…”
Suddenly, there was a loud scuffle outside the room, and Mrs. Berry came barging in with a broom in her hands. “You bastard! I’m going to kill you!”
Before she could land a single hit on Zachary, the two bodyguards stationed outside the ward grabbed her arms and dragged her away from Zachary.
“Let me go! Let me go!” Mrs. Berry screamed. “How dare you bully Miss and kidnap her kids? Get your dirty hands off Mr. Brown!”
She lunged forward without warning and threw the broom towards Zachary’s head.
Everyone watched in horror as the broom slammed into Zachary’s forehead and landed with a loud thud on the floor.
Charlotte’s eyes widened as she glanced back and forth between Zachary and the broom, her heart thumping against her chest wildly.
I’m done for… It’s over… I’m dead meat…
What a painless but insulting attack!
Zachary’s expression turned stormy almost immediately, and he let go of Michael’s neck to glare at Mrs. Berry instead.
Mrs. Berry shivered upon seeing his deathly glare, making the bulging rings of fat on her body wobble like jelly.
She began to regret her actions.
Charlotte could tell that Mrs. Berry was doomed, and she almost fainted from despair.
“I think there’s a misunderstanding here, Mrs. Berry,” Raina said hurriedly. “Mr. Nacht did not kidnap the kids…”
“Who would it be then?” Mrs. Berry asked, her voice trembling. “Ms. Cheney called me this morning and told me that the kids were gone! I couldn’t get in touch with Miss, so I told Mr. Brown to search for them at Miss’ place. Little did I know that Miss had gone missing too!”
She raised a trembling finger and pointed at Zachary accusingly. “I overheard the nurses talking about how you sent Miss here, and that’s how I found you. Why is it that she’s falling sick and getting hurt so much recently? Why are people breaking in and planting bombs in our house? Where are the kids? It must be you!”
She lowered her finger as she began to sob uncontrollably. “They’re only three and a half years old… What did they ever do to you? Why must you hurt them?”
“Mrs. Berry, Mr. Nacht isn’t involved in this,” Raina said, panicking a little. “This must have been…”
“Mrs. Berry, am I right?” Zachary said all of a sudden as he approached her menacingly. “Who told you that I was the one behind the kids’ disappearance, hmm?”
“I-It’s…” Mrs. Berry stammered, glancing hesitantly at Michael. “It’s me! I had a hunch!”
“Mrs. Berry! Zachary did not kidnap the kids!” Charlotte screamed, rushing over to grab Mrs. Berry by the arms. “Listen to me and return to your ward! You need to rest! I’ll take care of this!”
Mrs. Berry opened her mouth to protest, but Charlotte fell to her knees and pleaded for her to leave. “Please, Mrs. Berry, I need you to leave…”
No one had ever dared to hit Zachary with a broom, and the last thing she wanted was for Zachary to hurt Mrs. Berry because of it.
Mrs. Berry had gone overboard, and Zachary would make her suffer for it if she stayed any longer.
“B-But you…” Mrs. Berry said, only to gasp in shock when she was shrouded in Zachary’s massive shadow.
Charlotte rushed forward and threw herself between Zachary and Mrs. Berry. “Don’t touch her or my family members! Kill me if you want!”
“Huh,” Zachary huffed as he nodded with a smirk. “I’m not one to hurt the elderly or kids, so you’re going to be the one suffering my wrath!”
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Mrs. Berry panicked and pushed Charlotte behind her. “Don’t touch her! I dare you to beat me up!”
Zachary simply sighed and signaled to his bodyguards, who dragged Mrs. Berry away. “Help! Somebody help me!” Mrs. Berry was terrified as it happened.
One of the bodyguards reached over and covered her mouth with his hand.
“Mrs. Berry…” Charlotte called, worried that she might get hurt.
“Don’t worry, Ms. Windt,” Raina whispered. “Mr. Nacht won’t hurt her.”
“But…”
Before Charlotte could finish her sentence, Zachary grabbed her chin roughly and twisted her neck around to face him.
His eyes flashed dangerously as he asked, “Am I some sort of convicted criminal, huh?”
“W-What do you mean?” Charlotte asked, terrified. “I never thought of you as the one…”
“Ben!” Zachary shouted, ignoring her attempt to explain herself completely. “Capture the three little rascals now!”
“Yes,” Ben said, glancing at Charlotte before rushing out of the room.
“No…” Charlotte pleaded, lunging forward to stop Ben. Before she could even get close to the door, Zachary gripped her arm tightly and dragged her back towards the bed.
“Zachary Nacht! How dare you!” Michael screamed. “What do you think you are? I’ve already called the police, and if you don’t let go of Charlotte now…”
“I don’t care about the cops!” Zachary shouted, cutting him off. “Take him away!”
“Yes, Sir!” two bodyguards chorused before dragging Michael out of the room.
Michael screamed and struggled the whole way out, and a curious crowd had already formed by the time he got to the door. However, the moment he emerged from the ward, they took a step back in fear of getting themselves dragged into the fray.
Meanwhile, Zachary practically tossed Charlotte onto the bed, making her wince as her injured waist protested painfully.
“Stay put if you don’t want to die!” he yelled, looking at her as though they were strangers.
“Don’t be like this, Zachary…” Charlotte said weakly, her forehead shimmering with sweat. “Michael might have had some misgivings, but I’ve always believed you…”
“Oh, really?” Zachary asked, grinning coldly. “Did you really think that I kidnapped your kids?”
“No, I…”
“I can’t just sit around and be accused of something I never do,” Zachary said as he sat on the sofa and put one leg over the other elegantly. “So you think I’m a criminal? I’ll act like one then!”
“No!” Charlotte sobbed, shaking her head vehemently. “Please…”
“Why don’t you shut up and save some energy to plead for your kids’ lives later?” Zachary huffed before getting up and leaving the ward.
Charlotte yelled his name over and over again, but he did not look back.
After he walked out of the door, a paramedic closed and locked the door from outside.
Charlotte limped to the door and pounded on it several times, only to receive no response. She fell to the ground in despair.
With Mrs. Berry ill and the kids missing, she was already under a lot of stress. Zachary’s outburst was the last straw on the camel’s back.
She refused to think about what would happen if Zachary managed to find her kids and capture them for good.
Suddenly, someone knocked on the door a couple of times. It opened seconds later to reveal Raina, who was pushing a cart filled with medical supplies.
“Dr. Langhan…” Charlotte cried, tugging on Raina’s coat desperately. “Please tell Zachary to leave my kids alone!”
“There’s no need to do that,” Raina said calmly. “In fact, I don’t think it’s a bad thing.”
“What?” Charlotte said, confused. “He’s going to capture my kids! How is that any good?”
She froze as realization hit her like a truck. Wait… If the kids are missing, he will have to find them first if he wants to capture them, right?
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“Mr. Nacht is just brutal with words,” Raina said, sighing. “He could have just told you that he’s going to find your kids…”
“Really?” Charlotte said, still not entirely convinced. “Is he really that nice?”
“He found you lying unconscious on your apartment floor last night, and he rushed you to the hospital immediately. He stayed by your side the whole night when you were asleep. Don’t you remember all that?” Raina asked, a little annoyed at how dense Charlotte could be.
Charlotte glanced at the sofa—Zachary’s blazer, the Nacht family’s exclusive wine glasses, and the unfinished pastries and fruits sitting on the table. She recalled how he had held her hand and spoke to her in a soothing voice when she woke up screaming and crying for her kids.
She recalled how he had hesitated instead of outright rejecting her when she begged him to help her find her kids, and how he had only lost his temper when Michael appeared out of nowhere.
Maybe, just maybe…
“He loves you, Ms. Windt,” Raina said with a sigh. “Even I can see it. He’s hot-tempered and stubborn, but he’s a simple man with a pure heart. Things wouldn’t have turned out like this if you treated him with equally pure intentions.”
Charlotte nodded absentmindedly. “I’ll be eternally indebted to him if he leaves my family alone and helps me find my kids.”
“I’m sure Ben will find them soon enough,” Raina said as she picked up some bandages from the cart she pushed in. “Please lie down, Ms. Windt. I need to change your bandages. Your family needs you, so you must do as I say and take some time to recover.”
“Thanks…” Charlotte said, clambering onto the bed obediently.
Raina left after she helped Charlotte change her bandages, and the paramedics came in just moments later with a light breakfast.
After breakfast, Charlotte groped around for her phone to give Mrs. Berry a call, but she could not find it no matter where she looked. Sighing, she borrowed a nurse’s phone and dialed Mrs. Berry’s number from memory.
The first thing Mrs. Berry did was to fuss over her the moment the call went through, and she only calmed down when Charlotte confirmed that she was fine.
When Charlotte found out that Mrs. Berry was staying in a ward just upstairs, she heaved a huge sigh of relief. Looks like Zachary kept his promise and left her alone!
“The kids will be going home soon, Mrs. Berry,” she said. “You need to rest and recover.”
“And you need to be careful of that devil!” Mrs. Berry added anxiously.
Charlotte grimaced. She had always kept Mrs. Berry and the kids out of the drama with Zachary, but her knowledge of the kids’ disappearance came as a surprise.
Upon realizing the kids were missing, Mrs. Berry called Michael—who saw Zachary as an enemy—for help and this led to the massive showdown that morning.
Things were getting out of hand, and Charlotte feared another confrontation between Mrs. Berry and Zachary.
If Mrs. Berry lost control and tried to accuse Zachary of kidnapping the kids again, the consequences would be terrible, to say the least.
Charlotte decided to have a chat with Mrs. Berry after the kids were found.
“Hey! What’s wrong with this little parrot?” a paramedic asked all of a sudden as she picked up an unconscious Fifi.
Charlotte rushed over to take a look, and she panicked when she noticed how Fifi had not moved an inch despite all the noise. She patted Fifi’s body gently and called her name several times, only to receive no reply.
“Is it dead?” a nurse asked before covering her mouth in regret.
Charlotte panicked and picked Fifi up gently. She managed to find a pulse, but it was weak and almost nonexistent.
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“Oh dear, what happened to your shirt, Mr. Nacht?” At the same moment, another paramedic exclaimed, “What’s this?”
“Let me take a look at that.” The younger one between them went in for a closer inspection. “If I’m guessing this correctly, it should be bird droppings.”
“Did it come from that little parrot?” The two of them looked at the unconscious Fifi in astonishment.
“Right, that has to be it.” A third paramedic came out of the washroom and sounded agitated. “I saw that bird poop on Mr. Nacht last night and he didn’t seem too pleased…”
“Could it be…” The trio looked upon Fifi with considerable sympathy.
Charlotte was taken aback as she looked blankly at the bird. It crossed her mind that Fifi could have been strangled by Zachary.
Her strength escaped her as she nearly collapsed onto the bed.
“Ms. Windt…” The younger paramedic propped her up and offered her some gentle words of consolation, “Please take care of your health. The parrot is still alive so you might be able to save it if you could get it to a veterinarian.”
“As we have other matters to attend to, we should be going.”
The paramedics appeared tense and left as quickly as they could.
“Hey, wait up.” The younger one also followed suit, afraid that Charlotte might be upset. That could mean trouble for them.
Charlotte sat in the room by herself and was extremely upset with Zachary as she looked upon the half-dead bird.
Notions about being considerate or a teddy bear at heart were all empty talk.
The man was brutal enough to throttle Fifi for merely pissing on him.
She thought him an absolute monster.
The more she ruminated about it, the more she wanted to choke the man right back.
At the same time, she considered another problem that may arise. If he could bring himself to do this to a mere parrot, she shuddered to imagine what would he possibly do to her three children.
As Zachary had already borne a grudge against her triplets in the mistaken belief that they were Michael’s, she was afraid that he might really cause them harm.
That got her so nervous that she started to pace around inside the room.
Just then, she noticed that the door was slightly ajar. When she got close and peeked out, she saw a female paramedic outside talking on the phone.
For some reason, the Nacht family bodyguards were all scrambling in the same direction.
Charlotte took the opportunity to sneak Fifi out. She didn’t even put on her shoes while she made a break for the elevator.
When the paramedic on watch took notice, she shouted, “Heavens, Ms. Windt…”
Charlotte darted into the elevator and jabbed at the button repeatedly.
By the time two of the bodyguards reacted, the door had already closed upon them.
She panted and swallowed hard as her eyes transfixed upon the changing numbers, hoping to be able to free herself of Zachary’s grasp.
It was fortunate that she was on the fourth floor and therefore able to descend quickly.
The moment the doors opened, she ran like a bat out of hell.
“Ms. Windt!” the guards shouted after her from behind.
She only wanted to escape at that point and she couldn’t care less about anything else.
However, the men were faster on their feet as they quickly gained upon her.
Charlotte’s heart was racing when a Lamborghini ground to a halt by the side of the road. The roof of the convertible was open and Michael was at the wheel. “Get in, Charlotte!”
“Michael?” She hesitated as she stopped in her tracks, uncertain as to whether she wanted to drag him into this.
“Come on!” He unbuckled himself and pulled her in.
“Ms. Windt…” The car had sped off by the time the guards came out. However, one of them managed to spot Michael in the driver’s seat. “Call Ben now.”
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The wound that Michael had at the corner of his lips was still raw. However, he did not let that distract him as he took Charlotte away from there.
Her heart was still pounding from all the adrenaline as she cupped the bird to her chest.
Despite having eluded the guards whose silhouette vanished into the distance behind them, she felt neither exhilarated nor relieved, but a profound sense of apprehensiveness.
She felt as though she had done something wrong.
“Hey,” Michael said comfortingly. “You’re safe now!”
“The kids are still nowhere to be found, and Mrs. Berry is still at the hospital.” Charlotte was distraught. “Would Zachary harm her if he learned that I’ve escaped? And the children…”
“Not to worry, I’ll figure something out,” he said as he held her hand. “No way that Zachary Nacht is above the law!”
After a brief pause, he continued, “Worse comes to worst, I’ll go look for old Mr. Nacht. I’m sure he would handle this justly!”
“Old Mr. Nacht?” Charlotte furrowed. “He’s a bit of an oddball. I’m unsure if he would help as he doesn’t seem to like me very much.”
“He’d be helping himself more than helping you,” Michael replied with a frown. “If he wants a successful union between the Nachts and the Blackwoods, he’d have to see to it that Zachary stays away from you!”
“It may be worth a shot should we run out of other options.” Charlotte’s mind was in a disarray. “We should try to locate the kids first as I’m really worried about them. Also, Fifi’s still unconscious. Can we get her to a vet?”
“No worries. I’m on it.”
…..
In the president’s office on the sixty-eighth floor.
Zachary was completing some paperwork when Ben knocked on his door with something to report. “Uh, Mr. Nacht…”
He hesitated before uttering cautiously, “Ms. Windt has fled!”
Zachary’s hand hovered over the keyboards as he lifted his eyes. “Come again?”
“Ms. Windt…” Ben steeled himself before he reiterated that last part, “She’s escaped!”
“Escaped?” Zachary was dismayed. “Are you telling me that the stupid woman had escaped from the hospital in the full view of so many?”
“Michael and a couple of his men were there. Ms. Windt took the opportunity to break free when Marino was distracted. They fled in their car before our guys could catch up.”
Zachary frowned intensely, and a bone-chilling glint flashed across his eyes. His hand clenched around the fountain pen he was using.
The pen snapped between his fingers like a twig.
Ben’s face turned as white as a sheet. “Please calm down, Mr. Nacht. I’ve already tracked them to a villa in the western suburbs and will be taking a team over…”
“Leave them be,” Zachary interjected. “She’ll be back on her own!”
“Those who were posted at the hospital. What good are they if they cannot even keep an eye on one woman?”
“Yes,” Ben said as he lowered his head hurriedly. “I know what to do.”
There was knocking upon the door before Bruce entered. “An update, Mr. Nacht. I’ve found out that the three children alighted from the school bus at Happy Avenue after class at three in the afternoon. As Mrs. Berry was indisposed and could not be there to pick them as usual and Ms. Windt arrived about twenty minutes late, they…”
Zachary leafed through the file as his eyes fell upon the photo of the three children.
The adorable trio had fine features and radiant smiles.
Those bright eyes of theirs were communicative and sparkled with life.
Pure and delightful—they were like angels from heaven.
The beauty of innocence!
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The man oddly felt his own heart softened as he looked at the photograph of what was obviously someone else’s kids.
It took a while before he spoke up, “Go to the Ministry of Transportation and dig out all the surveillance footage from Happy Avenue. I’ll handle this personally!”
“Understood!”
…..
Michael brought Charlotte to his own villa, and he summoned a doctor each for Charlotte and Fifi.
Preoccupation with thoughts of the children and Mrs. Berry compounded the woman’s restlessness.
It was well past eight in the evening when Michael finally hit upon a breakthrough after he had mobilized his network of contacts. He eagerly brought his laptop to Charlotte. “Come take a look at this.”
“What is it? Have you found them?” she said as she drew close.
Michael pulled up surveillance footage showing the children alighting from the school bus. They stood by the side of the road for around a couple of minutes, possibly to listen to Ms. Cheney before the vehicle drove off.
The three children remained there as they talked amongst themselves before they departed in the direction of home.
“Robbie, Jamie, Ellie…”
Charlotte teared up when she saw her children.
“Let’s watch on. There’s more.”
He went on to play the next clip.
The first clip cut off halfway when the children were walking on the road.
The next one showed them walking hand in hand. They had stopped to fool around for a while when Ellie pointed towards the forested area nearby. Jamie then started to run towards it.
Ellie and Robbie followed closely behind.
As these were captured on a traffic camera, there was no audio. Charlotte reckoned that the kids had gone in there because they were playful.
The footage ended there with the frame fixed on Robbie.
Charlotte asked anxiously, “Are there others?”
“That’s all I’m able to gather,” he replied. “I’ve inspected the site but have found no tracks there. That area isn’t monitored either. There’s a road on the other side though, but it seems like someone had erased the surveillance footage from there. I wasn’t able to find any other leads.”
“How could that be?” The color fell from the woman’s face. “Unless…”
She had an ominous feeling that the children might have met an accident on that road.
Could that be why the perpetrator had erased the footage?
“Let’s not try to get ahead of ourselves,” Michael said as he held her hand. “I’ve inquired at all the hospitals in H City that I’m able to poke my nose into. There isn’t any child admission that fits their description.”
“Are there any hospitals to which you don’t have access?” she inquired anxiously. “Is it Raina’s?”
“More than that,” Michael said with a furrow. “There’s a Serene Hospital under the management of the Nacht Group. It’s an exclusive private facility. Thus, I wasn’t able to get anything out from there.”
Charlotte felt a shiver down her spine when it occurred to her that her children’s disappearance may have something to do with Zachary.
“And also…” Michael continued, “I’ve not been able to locate that missing footage despite spending a considerable sum and drawing on some strong connections, which could mean…”
“That whoever had deleted the footage had more influence than you do?” Charlotte immediately caught on.
“That’s right.” The man nodded.
“It’s really him…” Charlotte howled through gritted teeth. “Zachary, you bastard!”
“But I don’t understand why he would want to kidnap the kids?” Michael was perplexed. “Does he know about their parentage?”
“I don’t know…” The woman replied in distress. “I wouldn’t be as worried if he did.”
If he knew, he might, at worst, want them back with him. Conversely, they would be in greater danger if he did not.
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“Why would he try to harm them?” Michael asked. “You have to help me understand this so I would be better positioned to talk to Old Mr. Nacht.”
“Zachary had mistakenly believed…” Charlotte looked at him in embarrassment. “That they are yours.”
“What?” The man was quite astounded and took a moment to recover. “No wonder he’s so hostile every time we crossed paths. He acts as though he wants me dead.”
“I’m so sorry, Michael, for dragging you into this mess,” Charlotte said in remorse.
“No. You did the right thing.”
Michael then took the time to analyze it critically.
“Although it was reasonable for him to be angered by something like this, a rational person would not hurt you out of jealousy, much less go out and kidnap your children. His actions proved that he’s violent and paranoid to the extreme. You have done well to keep your children and yourself away from him.”
“It was never my intention to use you as a shield…” Charlotte explained. “He kept pressing when he found out about the existence of the kids. It was just coincidental that Mr. Brown and you showed up at his place and led him to the wrong conclusion about you. I had no choice but to go with the flow then, but I really tried to distance myself to avoid implicating you. Unexpectedly, his misunderstanding has only deepened since, so much so that it gave you distress every single time. I am sorry, I truly am…”
“It doesn’t matter,” Michael replied nonchalantly. “There wasn’t much he could do beyond hitting me in the face. However, you’ve had no end of trouble since getting mixed up with that man. It would be better if you steered clear of him.”
“I wish I could, but what am I to do now?” Charlotte was slightly panicky. “Do you think he would harm the children?”
“Try to calm down first. I’m going to call old Mr. Nacht right away,” Michael said as he got onto his feet. “Stay home and rest up. I’ll call as soon as I have news.”
“I’m coming with you.” Charlotte tugged at him. “I can’t rest easy until I see my children.”
“Alright.” He held her tightly. “Put on an extra layer. I’ll wait for you outside.”
“Okay.”
…..
On board the Rolls-Royce Phantom.
Zachary frowned as he viewed the clip on his tablet.
He had managed to get his hands on the security footage of the three children ahead of Michael. Besides, he found out one of the kids was hospitalized after being hit by old Mr. Nacht’s car.
It was Zachary who issued instructions to have the last clip erased, which was why Michael was not able to access it.
Zachary was now making his way towards Serene Hospital.
“Never would I have expected that the child involved in the accident was Ms. Windt’s,” Ben said cautiously. “If she were to find out the truth, I fear there might be more misunderstandings to be had.”
“As though she hasn’t had enough of those already,” Zachary said coldly. “All things considered, it wouldn’t make that much of a difference. The important thing is to keep the child’s identity from Grandpa.”
“Understood!”
Ben only realized now the depth of Zachary’s feelings for Charlotte. Zachary probably opted to hide things from the old patriarch to keep the possibility of a future between Charlotte and himself together alive.
“Information sent from the hospital, Mr. Nacht.”
He passed along the hospital’s report on Jamie and Ellie before he gave Zachary an overview.
“The one who was struck is Jamison, the second youngest. He suffered a mild concussion, a fracture on his left ankle, and multiple abrasions. He has recovered consciousness this morning.”
“The youngest is Elisa. Her tonsil was inflamed, probably due to all the crying when she saw her brother hurt. The fever she had subsided over the night. The eldest boy, Robinson is fine.”
He continued, “After the incident, Old Mr. Nacht had been overseeing things himself at the hospital, and only left at midnight. He was in around eight this morning and even stayed around to keep the children company.”
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In the hospital.
Jamie had come to. He leaned back on the bed as the nurse fed him some nutritional oatmeal.
Robbie and Ellie were there as well sharing in the meal.
Robbie would use a napkin to wipe at Jamie’s lips from time to time. “How are you feeling, Jamie? Does it hurt?”
“A little bit, but it’s alright.” Jamie tightened a fist and flexed his arm. “Real martial artists can take a beating.”
“Put down your arm! It is still all wrapped up,” Robbie commanded with the authority of an older brother.
“That’s right, Jamie. You’re not well, so you’ll have to be careful!”
Ellie put on a frown as she, too, got in on the act of disciplining Jamie.
“Alright, alright,” Jamie replied with a pout as he continued to have his food. He then turned to the youthful nurse. “You’re really cute, Miss. Have you got a boyfriend?”
“Oh my!” The young woman could not keep herself from cracking up. “Not yet. Are you going to introduce someone to me?”
“What do you think about me?” Jamie’s brows danced as he smiled roguishly.
“Hahaha…” The nurse was quite tickled, as were the few doctors who were also in the vicinity.
“What’s so amusing?”
Old Mr. Nacht’s voice was accompanied by the sound of his crutch and footsteps.
He was helped along by Spencer. Standing behind them were the medical superintendent, two pediatricians, and a few bodyguards.
“Hello, Grandpa Nacht!” Robbie and Ellie chirped in greeting.
“Is this that Grandpa who knocked me down?” Jamie tilted his head to scrutinize old Mr. Nacht. “You look so kind. Not like a bad guy at all.”
“Hahaha…” The old man laughed heartily. “Of course I’m not. Otherwise, I wouldn’t visit you!”
“Oh, then I suppose you didn’t do it on purpose.” Jamie licked the oats off the corner of his lips as he analyzed with earnestness. “I guess I’ll forgive you for that.”
“Thank you for being so magnanimous!”
The elderly gentleman smiled as he looked at Jamie. The boy resembled the older brother Robbie to a tee, but the two had completely different personalities.
Robbie was similar to Zachary in temperament—rigorous and imbued with wisdom and reason.
As for Jamie, he was more like the innocent and carefree Zachary before the tragedy that befell the Nachts. Or to be exact, he was the kid that Zachary wished he could be.
Ellie was like a hallow—the better angel of Zachary’s nature that the old man wished to preserve.
Although the three children were vastly different in their own unique merits, every one of them appealed to him equally in their own ways.
“You are welcome. From now on, we are family.” Jamie appeared generous and even offered the elderly man a shrimp dumpling. “Good things are better when shared. This is for you, Grandpa!”
“Haha, thank you!” Old Mr. Nacht did not mind the boy’s oily hand at all as he received the dumpling. He was contemplative as he ate. “My grandson used to enjoy these dumplings when he was younger, but not anymore.”
“Why?” the children asked.
“It’s nothing…” The old man smiled as he tried to change the subject. “So how is it? Did you manage to reach your mother?”
“Not yet…” Robbie’s little face dimmed as he lowered his head.
Ellie pursed her lips and tears started to pour when she heard that. “Mommy didn’t come to look for us. I think she doesn’t want us anymore.”
The misery in her childlike voice instantly tugged at the heartstrings of those around her.
“There, there. Don’t cry.”
Old Mr. Nacht fretted at the sight of the tearful child and immediately pulled out his own handkerchief to wipe at her eyes. “I’m here for you, aren’t I? I’ll take good care of all of you.”
“Come here, Ellie.” Robbie embraced his younger sister and tried to put on a brave face for her sake. “Mommy wouldn’t abandon us. She must be away at work, as you know she has a nasty boss who’s always making her work overtime.”
Mistaking a Magnate for a Male Escort Chapter 330
“Right on!” Jamie said with his mouth still stuffed with dumplings. “It must be the psychotic boss who’s keeping Mommy in the office and not allowing her to go home.”
“Yeah.” Ellie’s plump cheeks were covered with tears as she pouted. “I’ve seen him before. He’s so fierce, and he almost killed Fifi. I hate him.”
“He is so arrogant that he would only talk through his men when he came to the kindergarten.” Robbie frowned in contempt. “I hate him too.”
“What a detestable guy,” Jamie seethed as his fingers tightened around themselves. “Next time I see him, I’ll make him pay for bullying Mommy, Robbie, and Ellie!”
“Who is this man who bullies women and children?” The elderly gentleman too got riled up just hearing their exchange. “Tell me so I could teach him a lesson!”
“You’re too old to fight him, Grandpa Nacht,” Jamie said solemnly as he regarded the old man. “The man’s got many bodyguards. He’s big and tall and looks like a meanie!”
“Yeah, his eyes are scary…” Ellie added as she recalled with fear her encounter with that bad guy at the mall. “He has the look of a lion who wants to eat me!”
With that, the little girl pursed her lips and started to bawl pitifully again.
“Hey there, don’t be afraid.” Mr. Nacht almost melted when he pulled her into his arms to comfort her. “Even if he’s a lion or a tiger, I can tame him!”
“Yup, your Grandpa’s the best,” Spencer said in amusement. “There’s no one in the world that he cannot subdue!”
“Really?” Jamie became excited as he came close and tugged at the elderly man’s sleeve. “Do you know martial arts, Grandpa Nacht?”
The old man laughed. “I don’t, but I have this!”
He then pointed to his temple. “A person who has wisdom and talent has nothing to fear!”
“Grandpa Nacht’s right! That’s what Mommy says too,” Robbie said staidly. “That’s why we need to study hard and become someone useful so no one could trifle with us!”
“Good lad,” Mr. Nacht’s heart ached for the boy as he tenderly patted his little head. “You’re still so young. Just enjoy your childhood days in the meantime.”
These were the words that he had always wanted to say to Zachary, but never got the chance to.
Now he was saying them to Robbie with the same sentiment.
He silently made a decision and thereupon, decided to announce it.
“Fate must have brought us all together. I wasn’t around before, but now that I am, I’m going to be your guardian angel. I’d never let anyone pick on any single one of you, ever again!”
“Grandpa Nacht…” Tears flowed ceaselessly from Ellie’s eyes as she wrapped her stubby hands around the old man’s neck.
“Oh, sweetie. There, there.” Mr. Nacht was charmed off his socks as he hurriedly wiped way above her cheeks. “It hurts me to see you cry like this.”
“Thank you, Grandpa Nacht!” Jamie felt a stinging in his nostrils as his eyes reddened, but he fought very hard to contain himself. “You’re so nice to us. When I grow up, I’ll protect you too!”
“As will I!” Robbie added as he thumped upon his own little chest. “When we grow up, we shall all protect Grandpa together!”
“Good children. Excellent!” The elderly gentleman was reduced to an emotional wreck as he huddled with the children. He then turned towards the people behind him. “All of you are to bear this in mind. These children are closer to me than my own grandchildren. No one is to bully them!”