Ch. 891..900

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 891

Justin sounded panic on the phone call, causing Michael’s heart to skip a beat. Hence, he got into the car in a hurry while reassuring him, “Don’t panic; just get me up to speed. I’m coming over right now.”

Celine had always been locked up in a secret research center established by the Fletchers in the suburbs, where there was a specific psychiatrist to diagnose her. Even though there hadn’t been any results in the past three years, the research center was heavily guarded, and so it was impossible for her to escape.

Michael also knew what it meant since Celine had escaped—Phantom Wolf’s number one assassin, Katrina, was on the loose in Bayside City. One could only imagine how many people would die.

He got into the car, and the driver started driving. On the other side, Justin reiterated everything to him over the phone clearly.

When I woke up today, I realized that Celine had cut her wrist to commit suicide.

Over the years, Celine’s mental state had been a torture for me, just as much as she was torturing herself. She had tried committing suicide countless times. This time, I rushed in to get her out and sent her to the infirmary.

However, just when the doctor was about to help Celine stop her bleeding not long after I brought her in, the knocked out Celine got up suddenly. Then, she held the doctor under duress to escape the research center.

“We found the doctor somewhere around the research center. He has been seriously injured, and they are still trying to rescue him. It seems like Celine has stolen a car, and she’s driving into the city. I managed to take a picture of the car’s number plate, which I’ve sent to you.”

Soon, Michael received the coordinates of Celine’s current location sent over by Justin. It turned out that it was none other than Carmen’s kindergarten!

Justin and some skilled masters from the Fletcher Family rushed to the site, whereas Michael desperately phoned the bodyguard who was in charge of sending and picking Carmen up from kindergarten. However, nobody answered the call.

In the meantime, classes had ended in the kindergarten. The kindergarten teacher held Carmen’s hand while they waited for her family’s bodyguards to pick her up from school.

Carmen’s bodyguards would send Carmen to and pick her up from kindergarten every day on time. Therefore, the teachers in the kindergarten were familiar with them. They would only let Carmen leave if it was somebody they recognized. However, the person who showed up today wasn’t somebody she expected.

“Eh? Mr. Michael, I saw the news reporting that you were filming out of town. Why do you have the time to pick Carmen up in person today?”

The teacher seemed confused.

A man clad in black suit got out of Carmen’s family car. He had a pair of sunglasses on, and he looked exactly like Michael.

Nevertheless, the person did not utter a word throughout the exchange, and they left the moment he picked Carmen up. The kindergarten teacher was suspicious, but she suddenly recalled that the news reported that Carmen’s mother had met with an accident. Therefore, it made sense for Michael to be in Bayside City for now.

The teacher had a feeling that Michael was different from his usual self today. Maybe it’s because there’s a stark difference between an actor’s appearance compared to when they are on screen and on television….

Hence, it was unexpected when seven to eight cars came to a halt in front of the kindergarten about a minute after Carmen had left. One of the car doors opened, and Michael got out of it. He asked the teacher hastily, “Where’s Carmen?”

The teacher was bewildered when she answered, “Didn’t you pick her up earlier?”

Michael did not answer her, and his eyes bulged in shock. It took him three to four seconds to snap back to his senses.

Celine picked Carmen up.

Michael didn’t even remember how he got back into the car. His mind was filled with the horrible state the psychiatrist was in.

Celine held the psychiatrist hostage to leave the center. Then, she demanded for the research center’s security guard to open the door for her by threatening the doctor’s life; she even brought the doctor along to escape, but she attempted to kill him cruelly in the end. Initially, she could have murdered him in one go, but she was wounded, and she didn’t have any weapons with her. She lacked strength, and so the doctor did not die.

The psychiatrist is a healthy and strong man, but he can’t even defeat Celine. My daughter, Carmen, is merely 3 years old; how could she possibly escape from her?!

Soon, they found the two bodyguards in charge of driving Carmen, whom Celine had wounded and hid in an alley. One of them was permanently disabled, whereas the other was unconscious and had to be sent to the emergency room.

Celine was currently under the control of the cold-blooded assassin, Katrina, and so it meant that she was a homicidal maniac. Her methods were extremely cruel.

The car continued chasing after Celine’s car, and they drove out of the city. Throughout the journey, Michael did not utter a word, whereas Justin, who was sitting on the front passenger seat, consoled him. “It will be fine. It will be fine.”

Michael maintained a calm façade, but his trembling hands revealed his anxiety.

He felt as if he was back to the day three years ago, when he was stuck at the stairway. His abdomen was stabbed with a knife, and he had lost consciousness. By the time he woke up, he was already lying in a hospital, and they told him that Sophia was gone…

During the time Sophia was gone, Carmen was his everything in life. He looked after her from the time she was a small bundle of joy, who was eager to move around, until she grew up into a child. Michael could not even begin to imagine how his life would be if he were to lose Carmen.

If I lose Carmen, all the joy in my life would be taken away.

Michael shut his eyes, while tears started streaming down his face.

The news of Carmen’s disappearance couldn’t be kept a secret. Once those in Villa No. 2 learned that Carmen didn’t come home, they reported the incident to Cooper and Sophia straight away.

Upon receiving the news, Sophia felt as if her world was crumbling down. Hence, she rushed to the scene as soon as she could.

Celine drove the car to a construction site outside of the city. She chased the workers out of the site before entering the building.

When Sophia arrived at the construction site, she saw a little girl standing on the balcony of the building’s tenth floor. Isn’t that my Carmen?

The balcony construction had yet to complete on the tenth floor of the building, whereas Carmen was standing on the balcony without a guardrail. She seemed as if she might fall off the balcony any time. Her small hands were tied together, while Celine held onto the other end of the rope.

She could hear Carmen’s cries from afar.

“Daddy, Mommy…”

Upon witnessing that, Sophia had a blackout, and she fainted on the spot…

When she regained consciousness, she found herself lying in a SUV. She opened her eyes abruptly, and she got up to get out of the car to look for Carmen.

She saw Carmen, who was still on the tenth floor’s balcony, when she looked up. Carmen was sitting on the edge of the balcony without the guardrail. It was apparent that she could slip and fall any time. She was still tied with a rope, and one couldn’t be sure if the rope might be able to protect her even if she were to fall off the building.

There was an inflated mattress on the ground floor. However, it wasn’t a sure thing if such a young child would fall on the inflatable mattress after falling off from the tenth floor. She might get stuck on one of the scaffolding and may very well die on the spot.

“My baby!” Sophia lost her mind, and she charged toward the entrance. Carmen, who was on the tenth floor, caught sight of Sophia, and so she stood up on wobbly legs while looking at Sophia pitifully.

“Mommy…”

She walked toward the edge of the balcony, as if she was prepared to continue moving forward. Carmen even looked over the edge to the ground, and it scared the living daylights out of everybody.

Linus rushed out suddenly while yelling at Carmen, “Carmen, my dear, go back in and sit down. Sit down properly, and your mommy will be there to pick you up soon. We are filming now, and you’ll have to act according to the script, Carmen. Please be an obedient girl. Go back in and sit still. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be paid!”

Carmen glanced at Sophia, and she pouted before sitting down again. Her skirt was dirty, and one of her shoes was missing. There was even a hole in her sock right now.

She choked back a sob while convincing herself that she was filming right now. Hence, she was only allowed to head down after the director yelled ‘cut’.

Sophia, who was on the ground floor, closed her mouth tightly because she was afraid that Carmen might just fall off the building if she were to make a sound.

Linus relaxed slightly when he saw Carmen walking back in, and he turned around to hug Sophia.

Sophia was trembling uncontrollably while staring at the building. She didn’t dare make a sound, and her tears kept streaming down her face.

“Please save my child; please rescue my Carmen…”

 

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 892

At that moment, this distance that seemed not quite far was, in fact, the distance between life and death. Her child, her most precious one, was currently in this 10-storey building before her with the risk of falling at any time, but there was nothing she could do. Sophia wept desperately, but she could not make any sound for fear that the innocent Carmen would jump when she saw her.

Linus hugged Sophia when she was having an emotional breakdown and quietly said in consolation, “Don’t worry, don’t worry. Michael has gone in to talk to her. Everything is going to be fine…”

“Linus, please save my child.” She grabbed him, as if she was clutching at straws. He supported her to one side to rest.

At that moment, Cooper and Joel were keeping the situation under control. Many people from the Fletcher and Mitchell Families were there surrounding the building, but they hesitated to send anyone in. The police were not informed of this matter yet to prevent agitating Celine and cause her to take irrational actions on the child.

They had to rescue the child as soon as possible. The situation would become more unfavorable to them as time passed—Celine might lose her patience, and Carmen might lose control out of fear and fall.

Linus managed to keep her emotionally stable by tricking her into believing that they were just acting, but this could only buy them some time. They were now discussing the strategies after they got hold of the building plan. Joel suggested, “We can send in an assault troop and some snipers to take her down as fast as possible.”

However, Stanley immediately objected. “No, this angle is the sniper’s blind spot. Recklessly sending assault troops may cause unnecessary sacrifices, and Aunt Celine may harm Carmen.”

Katrina and Celine were one now. Celine now had both of their intelligence and skills, but the one in control was Katrina. If they were to use an assault troop, they had to first consider if the assault troop was a match for her. Besides, she had a gun with her now.

Cooper suggested, “We can use a drone to launch an accurate attack from a close range.”

Joel thought about it for a while and finally rejected it. “If we use a drone, Celie will…” Celine will die. Joel intended to try his best to rescue both of them.

Cooper was furious. “Any sacrifices are worthy as long as my granddaughter can be rescued.” He could even go as far as to kill Celine. A mere Celine was undoubtedly insignificant compared to his grandchild.

Joel wished to save both of them, but Cooper was willing to sacrifice Celine if Carmen could be saved. The conflict between their aims gave rise to an intense argument between the two parties.

…

A car was secretly parked at an unnoticeable spot. Upon getting out of the car, Nathan raised his head and impassively glanced at Carmen, who had curled herself into a ball after being driven to the balcony at the tenth floor.

Meanwhile, Michael and Justin had reached the tenth floor to negotiate with Celine. On the tenth floor, Michael first saw Carmen curling herself into a tiny ball as she squatted at the balcony without railings. Her two little hands were tied together with a rope, and the other end of the rope was stepped under Celine’s foot.

Celine’s face was pale. She was injured in the research center; her black suit was dyed red, but it was inconspicuous. As she lost more blood, her patience gradually thinned.

Upon seeing Michael, Carmen stood up happily, her little face dirty and soiled. “Daddy!”

The moment her soft voice was heard, Celine, who was resting her eyes, abruptly opened her eyes. The gun in her hand was pointed at Carmen soundlessly. The sight shook Michael to the core. He immediately uttered to Carmen when she was going to run over to him, “Baby, don’t stand up. Sit down. Sit down. I’m going to start reciting my script!”

Justin added, “Sit down now. Don’t move no matter what happens!”

Their voices trembled uncontrollably. Carmen quickly sat back down. Her dark, beady eyes revealed her fear as she looked at Michael while pouting. She was near tears.

Seeing that she had sat down, Michael felt a little relieved. He gulped before looking at Celine. The two people had the same face but entirely different lives. Michael held back his tears and went straight to the point. “Katrina, I can give you anything you want. I just hope that you won’t harm my child.”

Justin was beyond nervous when he saw Celine stepping on the rope that was tied on Carmen. She then moved her foot away from the rope, causing Carmen to lose her only protective measure. Carmen, who was squatting near the edge of the balcony, was now in the position where she would fall if she took even one step back. Frightened, Michael immediately said, “I’ll promise you anything. Please don’t hurt the child. She’s also your niece!”

Hearing that, Celine slowly placed her foot back on the rope and sneered at him. The gun she was holding in her hand was aimed at Carmen with its safety off. A gentle pull at the trigger would kill Carmen. “It’s simple. I want you guys to provide me with a clear escape route. I want to leave this country as soon as possible. I will let her go after I leave Cethos’ border.”

Michael immediately replied, “Alright. Give me some time. I will contact the relevant departments and make necessary arrangements now.” The first priority would be to pacify her.

Justin had a bag in his hand. He opened it and revealed the food and medicines inside. “Celie, you haven’t eaten anything for 12 hours. I’ve prepared some food and medicine to stop your bleeding.”

She pointed at the cement screed floor in front of her with the gun and said, “Throw them to me.”

He placed the stuff at the spot not far in front of Celine as he knew that it would be unwise to confront her head on now—Carmen might be harmed in the process. Celine used her feet and moved the stuff closer to her with the gun pointed at Carmen at all times.

As a top assassin and the King of Soldiers of the special forces, Carmen would be hurt if Justin made a move now.

Celine took a box of biscuits and ate a little before throwing a carton of milk at Carmen. With both hands being tied, Carmen clumsily picked the milk up, inserted the straw into it, and drank it. She had been starving for many hours as well.

While being wary of Justin and Michael, she took off her clothes with one hand, revealing her injured arm, and used the other hand to skilfully stop her own bleeding and bandaged her wound. As she had been through special self-rescue training, she was able to tend to her injuries while staying vigilant of her surroundings.

Seeing that she had finally calmed down and Carmen was drinking milk, Michael patted Justin’s shoulder before explaining to her, “This is a big issue. I have to go down to make some arrangements with the necessary departments. Give me some time.”

All of a sudden, Celine grabbed Carmen into her arms and pointed the gun at her head. “Someone is here!” she growled mercilessly. Her especially acute sense of hearing allowed her to capture sounds of someone coming over from three floors away. Therefore, Cooper and Joel dared not send many people in.

Carmen burst into tears out of fear, and Michael quickly raised his hands and uttered, “No, no. Only the two of us, Justin and I, are here. There is surely no one else!”

However, when he turned around, he found Nathan, who had come up without his knowledge. He stared at Celine and Carmen, who was crying in the former’s arms, with listless eyes—they were desperate to the point of numbness.

 

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 893

Michael, who had been given a fright, sweated profusely. Sweat trickled down his face as he explained, “Celie, this is your son. He is just here to see you. Don’t worry; we won’t do anything reckless.”

Seeing that Carmen was sobbing, Michael immediately coaxed her to prevent her from agitating Celine. “Carmen, we’ve started filming, so you have to be a good girl. You can’t cry now. I’m going to start saying my lines now.”

As a hardworking and diligent actor, Carmen tried her best to hold back her sobs, but tears kept streaming down her cheeks out of fear when she was in Celine’s arm.

The black gun was aimed at her messy little head, and one of the small flowers pinned on her hair had fallen off. Michael’s eyes widened, for fear that the gun would go off.

At that moment, Nathan suddenly took two steps forward. “Take me instead.”

Celine roared as she raised her hand. Bang! She shot at the floor inches away in front of Nathan’s feet, causing Carmen to tremble in fear, but she still forced herself to suppress her cries.

The gunshot alarmed the people downstairs. Cooper’s flustered voice was heard from the walkie-talkie brought by Justin. “What happened?”

Justin replied, “Nothing’s wrong. Don’t make any move. We can resolve this.”

Nathan looked at the bullet hole next to his feet in a daze, his expression still numb. Michael quickly pulled him back and said to Celine, “Stay calm! Stay calm! He’s just a child who doesn’t know what he’s doing! I’ll take him away now!”

He hurriedly dragged Nathan to the staircase and dashed down the stairs.

Wiping the sweat on his face, Micheal realized that his legs were trembling, as if every step he took landed on cotton.

Nathan, who was following behind him, suddenly asked, “Will you guys kill her?”

Michael’s footsteps came to a sudden halt. A second later, he quickened his pace down the stairs without replying.

On the tenth floor, Justin looked at Celine from afar, the tears in his eyes unconcealable. Why does fate refuse to leave us alone? Why do we have to be treated so cruelly?

Justin was petrified. He was terrified that Cooper would lose his patience and kill Celine, and at the same time, he was terrified that Celine would lose her patience and hurt Carmen.

Celine finally calmed down and put Carmen at one side. She treated her own wounds while being wary of Justin, who was coaxing Carmen lovingly. “Good girl, your daddy has gone to the neighboring film set, but he will be back in a while. You need to sit down obediently. I’ve brought you some lollipops.”

Celine’s kick earlier caused the things brought by Justin to spill everywhere, and a few lollipops were scattered all over the place. Carmen cautiously glanced at Celine before secretly picking up a lollipop from the corner and putting it into her mouth.

After Celine finished bandaging her wounds, she took some syrup and leaned against the balcony to rest while remaining vigilant.

Justin’s eyes were filled with pain as he looked at her. He sat down as well, holding a walkie-talkie in his hand to stay in contact with the people downstairs.

After Michael and Nathan reached the ground floor, the former was impassive when Cooper, Joel, and Linus approached him and asked, “How did it go? What did she say?”

Michael answered, “I managed to keep the situation under control for now. She wants to leave Cethos. She will release Carmen after she leaves the Cethos’ border.” He sounded especially helpless as he was speaking.

The astute Celine knew what bargaining chip she should get hold of in exchange for the things she wanted, and she had indeed selected the right one—having Carmen alone was enough to threaten everyone.

The group of people gathered to figure out a way.

Joel was the first to raise an objection. “No, we can’t do that. That was what she said when she was in the research center before this. She kidnapped the psychologist and escaped, but she still tried to kill the hostage after she managed to escape! I won’t fall for the same trick twice!”

Cooper cast a vicious look at the tenth floor before declaring, “Send drones to launch a precise attack now! I can’t wait any longer!” Carmen is all I care for. As for Celine… Although I feel sorry for Mark, no one is comparable to my grandchild! I don’t mind being selfish!

Currently, Michael just remained quiet without saying anything. He sat at one side in dejection. His eyes wandered around and found Sophia, who was also sitting at one side.

Sophia had a deadpan expression with fresh tears at the corner of her eyes as she was comforted by Sarah, who had rushed over for her.

The two of them looked at each other from a distance. Though they were separated by the busy and anxious crowd, they felt as if all the sound in the world had quietened down at that instant.

All they had in their eyes was each other as they communicated soundlessly with their soul.

The current Michael was like a helpless child, drowning in despair.

On one side, he had his sister, whom he had always depended on, while on the other side was his daughter, who was his whole world.

Now, he had to choose between the two of them—it was a choice that was too difficult to make.

He stared at Sophia impassively and finally moved away his gaze.

She looked blankly at him before raising her head to look at the tenth floor. Carmen was eating lollipops up there. She tore open the wrappings and threw it down.

She raised her head and lowered it while tears escaped her eyes.

She then saw Nathan sitting next to Michael with his head leaned against the latter while he soundlessly wiped away his tears.

Michael seemed to be consoling a sobbing Nathan in a low voice as the latter wiped away his tears and looked at everyone around with his eyes reddened. He not only had tears in his eyes, but also hatred and hope.

Sophia heard their arrangements—they were definitely not going to let Celine go because Carmen would not survive if she escaped.

Their priority now was to keep her under control to buy them time to arrange for more people to go and save Carmen.

However, it would not be easy to save Carmen from Celine!

The situation was intense. All sorts of weapons had been secretly moved to the scene.

Sophia stroked her face and realized that it had become cold and numb after her tear-soaked face was air-dried by wind. When she was taking a sip of water, an idea crossed her mind, which caused her to immediately stand up and hurry to the people who were planning for the rescue. “I have an idea!”

Everyone raised their heads and looked at her as she said to Linus, “Uncle Linus, you must still have Quinton’s contact details, right? If we are able to find him, he certainly will have a way, since Katrina listens to him!”

It suddenly dawned on them that Quinton would definitely have a way to resolve this since Katrina was a personality created by Quinton himself!

Everyone turned to Linus. As the ex-financial backer of Phantom Wolf, he must be able to contact Quinton.

Unfortunately, Linus frowned and shook his head. “I’ve severed all ties with Phantom Wolf… Besides, even if I were able to contact him, it wouldn’t bring any help. He is now far abroad, and everything would be too late when he’d come over. Moreover, he is not stupid, so he won’t walk right into the lion’s den. Even if he would come, who knows what he’d be here for? Who can guess what’s in Phantom Wolf’s mind?”

After listening to Linus’ analysis, Sophia, who had initially gotten her hopes a little high, felt as if a bucket of cold water was just poured on her, extinguishing all her hopes.

Quinton could not come over since he was too far away. The Fletcher Family hated him so much that they would kill him, so appearing now would be no different from throwing himself into a trap. Therefore, it would be impossible for him to appear for the sake of a child.

Even if he came, who could guarantee that he would be able to save Carmen?

 

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 894

Phantom Wolf might meet up with Katrina, and Carmen would fall into his hands by then. Since Quinton was far more cunning and cruel than Katrina, he might even make the matter worse.

At that instant, despair filled everyone’s heart.

It was late; the sun had set, and the wind was cold at night. Carmen was given a blanket to cover herself. She meekly curled herself up on the balcony while looking at Justin in a pitiful manner.

“Uncle Justin, why isn’t Daddy here yet?”

Justin looked at her from afar and quietly replied, “Your daddy is in a meeting; he will be here soon, darling. Cover yourself properly so that you won’t catch a cold.”

She nodded as she burrowed her little face under the blanket. She had been sitting on the same spot as she dared not move even an inch.

Outside the building, Sophia slumped onto the ground helplessly. Raising her head and looking at the tenth floor again, she saw the red flower pinned on Carmen’s hair swaying in the wind. Two rows of hot tears once again coursed down her icy, numb cheeks.

No, I must find Quinton; only he will have a way to solve this. I’m sure he doesn’t have it in him to just let Carmen die! I believe there is still a shred of kindness in him.

Sophia wiped away her tears and spoke to Linus again. “Phantom Wolf has an email address to accept all sorts of tasks. Uncle Linus, I’m sure that you know of it, right?”

Linus nodded, whereupon she uttered, “Send it to me.”

Linus immediately sent the email address to her before she returned to the SUV with the phone in her hand. With her lips pressed, she thought and contemplated for a long time but still could not figure out how to bring this up to Quinton. Looking through the window, she glanced at Carmen, and then at Nathan, who was crying in Michael’s arms. The sight of them caused her to feel a lump in her throat, and she failed to hold back her tears.

What should I do to convince Quinton to come over? She was well aware that if he were to come, he would be walking straight into the lion’s den. Also, even if he really managed to rescue Carmen, the Fletcher Family would detain him on the spot. Therefore, why should he come? I don’t have any bargaining chip! I don’t have anything that he wants!

However, Sophia did not have much time left. She had to give it a try no matter what.

She switched on her phone and opened the selfie video mode. As she looked at the lens, tears rolled down her cheeks like pearls falling from a broken necklace before any words could be formed. Nevertheless, she still tried to explain the situation in a strangled voice. “Hope, I’m Sophia. If you can see this video, I beg for you to save my child.”

She focused the lens on the tenth floor. Part of Carmen’s little head and the red flower pinned on her hair on the balcony of the tenth floor was caught on camera.

She turned the camera back at herself and murmured, “Hope…” However, she could not bear to finish her sentence. After hesitating for a long time, the words seemed to have stuck in her throat, and she still could not say them in the end; she could only cry soundlessly. “The address is East City Road No. 28.”

Finally, she stopped the recording and emailed the messy video to the email address.

After the email was successfully sent, she lay in the car and wept helplessly.

As time went by, Justin tried his best to keep the situation under control while Celine stayed vigilant of her surroundings. Meanwhile, Carmen curled herself up in the blanket on the balcony with her beady eyes wandering around. She dared not fall asleep as she was afraid that she might fall.

The people downstairs had prepared a rescue plan.

Celine’s threat level had greatly exceeded everyone’s expectation. According to Cooper’s plan, she would not be given any chances of survival because it would be impossible for Carmen to escape this alive without killing Celine.

The Fletcher Family had no choice but to reluctantly accept the plan and give up on Celine.

Michael went upstairs to take another look at Carmen, who was obediently curled up on the balcony with her eyes wide open. She tried to stay awake although she was at the verge of dozing off at any time.

Suppressing his tears, Michael tried to make himself sound relaxed as he consoled her. “Good baby, I’m here. We are going to shoot our night scenes soon. Carmen, be good—don’t move and don’t sleep!”

Carmen seemed pitiful. “Daddy, it’s dark. I’m scared.”

He replied, “Shooting night scenes is like this. Don’t be scared. After we finish shooting for this movie, you will become famous, and I will take you to go and participate in ‘Where Are We Going, Dad?’.”

Upon mentioning joining the program that she had been looking forward to, she became excited. Her eyes were twinkling when she uttered, “But Grandpa doesn’t allow me to become an actress. He wants me to go home and rear big sheep, but I don’t want to rear big sheep.”

The father and daughter chatted with each other with a few meters’ distance between them. He smiled and replied, “No, it won’t happen. I promise!”

After a while, Carmen raised another question. “Daddy, are you going to divorce Mommy?”

Michael fell silent for a moment before forcing a smile on his face. “This will depend on you, Carmen. If you behave yourself, your mommy won’t divorce me.”

Deep down inside, he knew that he would lose Sophia if he lost Carmen this time.

He looked at her with teary eyes and uttered, “You will always be my sweetest baby.”

After that, he turned to Celine, whom he currently felt was a complete stranger!

Her eyes were dangerous and cautious, resembling a snakes’, as they silently watched him from the darkness.

He turned around and lowered his head, warm tears on his face.

He really could not make a choice between losing a child or losing his only sister—he couldn’t afford to lose any of them!

At the same time, Justin, who had just received the news from downstairs, uttered to Michael in disbelief, “He is here.”

Just now, Quinton had arrived at the scene.

An hour ago, Sophia’s email was sent out; an hour later, he showed up.

Step by step, he emerged from the darkness alone as the searchlights exposed his figure. Sophia could not see his face vividly; she could only see his tall build under the strong beam of lights. As he paced closer, his face gradually became visible—it was Quinton.

He was wearing a black tuxedo with a neat bow tie and a bouquet of flowers in his left hand; he resembled a gallant gentleman who had returned from attending a ball. Yet it was the same gentleman who was the main reason for Phantom Wolf’s notoriety—underneath the exquisite surface lay a psychotic devil.

Countless guns were instantly aimed at him, but that did not make him retreat—he continued approaching them instead. But when the safeties were turned off, signaling that they were ready to open fire at him at any time, he slowly stopped his pace and raised both his hands, completely revealing himself under the enemies’ gun without any hesitation.

“Hope!” Michael dashed at him like a gust of wind and called out his real name. However, when he arrived in front of him and saw his face, which was exactly the same as his father’s, he was unable to do anything to him. His fist was clenched so tightly that he nearly hurt his own palm, but he was still unable to throw him a punch.

He was the only person who could save both Carmen and Celine!

The two of them looked at each other from a distance—one of them had indifference in his eyes, while the other one’s were filled with overwhelming rage.

If it weren’t for him, Michael would not have been separated from Sophia for so many years; Carmen would not have almost died; Celine would not have become how she was now; and the situation tonight definitely would not have happened!

He was the person responsible for everything!

 

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 895

Sophia suddenly rushed out and stood between Michael and Quinton, blocking the former behind her while she pleaded, “Please let me talk to him, alright?”

Michael had no choice but to release his clenched fist and step to the side while glaring at Quinton.

She took two steps forward and stood in front of the man who had accompanied her for two years.

She never thought that he would actually come!

Her throat tightened. She had thousands of words in her mind, but they were all stuck in her throat.

Back then, she had cruelly abandoned him and unhesitatingly left with Cooper. But now, he was actually willing to venture into such a dangerous place after listening to only her words.

Quinton took her into his embrace without saying anything.

He initially thought that he would never see her again for his whole life. When he learned of her injuries, he secretly sneaked into Cethos at great risk, but he’d never thought that he would receive her request for help so soon.

Looking at the two people hugging each other, Michael nearly rushed at them, but he restrained himself in the end.

Quinton embraced her, greedily wishing that he could hold on to her warmth for a longer time, but he suppressed his urge to do so. After a fleeting moment, he said to her, “Take me to her.”

Hearing that, she returned to her senses and brought him to the entrance of the building. Everyone gave way to them.

Cooper glared at Quinton, and the latter gave him a smug smile. “Mr. Michel, long time no see.”

Cooper clenched his teeth. If it weren’t for the fact that his granddaughter’s life was still in danger upstairs, he would have chopped him up into minced meat in a matter of minutes.

Quinton strode to the building while listening to Michael explaining about the situation upstairs. Justin suddenly sent them a message from above. “Celie is running out of patience. I can’t hold her back any longer!”

Justin’s words from the walkie talkie nearly made Sophia collapse. She subconsciously gripped on Quinton’s sleeve, making a crease on the immaculate black suit.

He took Michael’s walkie-talkie and instructed, “Tell her that we have dealt with the customs at the borders. I’m coming up there to confirm with her the path to leave the country.”

He then put down the walkie-talkie and spoke to Michael and Sophia behind him. “I will deal with this. Don’t go up there.” With that, he entered the building alone.

Sophia looked at him disappearing into the darkness at the end of the path while a complex feeling filled her heart.

Seconds later, tears streamed down her face. She gently threw herself into Michael’s embrace and cried desperately in his arms.

With Sophia in his arms, Michael raised his head and looked at the tenth floor, where a tiny red flower was swaying in the wind.

Quinton arrived at the tenth floor. He heard the sound of a child crying and adults quarrelling from afar.

“Don’t play any tricks. I will give you ten minutes—I want to see my plane!”

“Calm down, calm down, Celie. Your plane will be arriving soon. It will be here right away!”

“Sob—Daddy!”

“Carmen, come over here. Don’t go any further outside. Daddy will be here soon!”

Upon hearing the childish, helpless cry, Quinton involuntarily quickened his pace and arrived on the tenth floor. He gazed around and saw that in the tiny space barely illuminated by a simple bulb, a tiny body was sitting on the balcony. A rope was stretched from the balcony into the room with the other end stepped under Celine’s foot.

Celine was irritably shouting at Justin, causing the latter to sweat profusely out of anxiety while his eyes were bulged.

“Katrina.” The cold, merciless voice sounded like an order, causing the agitated Celine to instantly calm down and look at him with extreme devotion. “Master,” she uttered.

Quinton Clark! Upon seeing his face, Justin almost could not control his fist.

Quinton slowly walked to them, as if he did not see Justin, in his clean, elegant outfit that seemed incredibly out of place.

He ordered Justin in a low voice. “Back away.”

Justin glared at him. He looked at the agitated Celine, and then at Carmen, who was curled up in a ball on the balcony while crying, before deciding to silently retreat and wait in the darkness to watch the commotion from behind.

The moment Quinton made an appearance, Celine instantly calmed down, as if she had found her faith. She raised her head and looked at him.

As he was stepping forward, he fished out a pocket watch from his pocket and held it in front of Celine. He then spoke to her in a kind, gentle voice. “Look at it.”

Her highly tense spirit became relaxed at that moment. She looked at the pocket watch without any resistance while her pupils followed the movement of the swinging pocket, which then caused her to be unconsciously hypnotized. Her eyes became glassy, and her mind turned blank.

At the same time, the gun that she had been firmly holding in her hands fell to the floor. Meanwhile, Quinton impassively continued to swing the pocket watch with one hand. “Look at it… If you feel tired, close your eyes and take a rest.”

His voice, which was full of magic, caused Celine to almost fall asleep with her eyes half-closed. He quietly picked up the gun with his other hand, turned off the safety, and removed the bullets. At the same time, he stepped on the rope that had been released by her.

Thud! She finally fell asleep and collapsed onto the ground. She seemed to be soundly asleep.

Exhaling in relief, Quinton looked at the corner of the balcony, where the light could not reach, before squatting down. He then held the rope and gently clapped his hands. “Your name is Carmen, right? Carmen, quickly come over!”

The small black figure on the balcony squirmed and asked in a soft voice, “Are we done shooting?”

Quinton replied, “Yes, we are done filming. You can go home now, Carmen.”

Hearing that, the tiny figure made a move and got on her feet. She wobbled a little due to her numb legs, causing his heart to skip a beat, so he subconsciously gripped the rope tightly.

A little girl was seen slowly walking to him from the darkness. Her face was soiled, but her familiar features were still clearly visible—she had inherited her mother’s features and her father’s temperament. As a girl with a male’s features, her looks showed that she would grow into an extraordinary beauty in the future.

He could still remember her, but this was not the case for her—even though he was the person who delivered her.

When they were on the run with Michael and the Fletcher Family chasing after them, Sophia gave birth in the chaotic town. He delivered her baby—a tiny, thin baby girl.

When she was just born, she looked like a lump of filthy flesh, resembling an ugly monkey. Due to the complication during delivery, she was not breathing when she was born.

However, he refused to give up on her. As a person with a doctorate in medicine, he used everything that he had learned and successfully saved her.

When the blob of dirty flesh cried loudly and started moving, his eyes felt hot with tears, as if he had attained a treasure.

He had initially wanted to take her along with them, but he was aware that she would not survive for long with her poor health condition if he were to do so. In contrast, leaving her with her father would at least give her a chance to survive.

Therefore, he sent her away, but he would sometimes dream of the scene where the soft, dirty lump of flesh was squirming in his palm. It was unexpected to him that he would actually meet her today in such a situation.

Carmen was all dirty; her hair was messy, and she had lost a shoe. Terrified, she walked over to him, only to find a handsome man; her parents were not in sight. “Where’s Daddy and Mommy?” she asked pitifully.

He untied the rope that was tying both her hands together before answering, “Your Daddy and Mommy are waiting for you downstairs!”

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 896

She had grown up and become prettier, looking healthy and beautiful. It was obvious that her father doted on her and had raised her well.

After he untied the rope, Carmen placed her shoeless foot on the ground, but the rough surface of the brick tiles on the ground hurt her foot, so she had to lift it up. She then wobbled and fell into Quinton’s arm, while the latter carried her up and uttered, “Carmen, I’ll bring you to your daddy and mommy.”

“Okay,” she replied in a childish voice as she buried her face into his fragrant embrace.

He gave her the bouquet. “Carmen, you have finished your last shot for the movie. This is a little present for you as a celebration.”

She happily accepted the flowers with two rows of tear stains on her dirty face. Although she was exhausted, she carried the flowers in her arms in delight and innocently asked him, “Mister, what was your role?”

Quinton carefully went down the stairs while carrying her in his arms and answered, “I used to be the bad guy, but today, I acted as the good guy!”

Seeing that the two of them had gone down, Justin verified that Carmen was now safe and communicated the message to the people below before eagerly rushing to Celine.

Celine had fallen into a deep sleep; her breathing was stable, and her face seemed rather rosy.

Carrying his wife in his arms, he cried so badly that words could not be formed. Just now, he thought that the whole world had given up on her.

At the ground floor, Sophia heard the sound of footsteps and Carmen’s sweet voice coming from the incomplete building.

“Mister, do you think that I’d acted well?”

Quinton replied, “Yes, you were amazing. Carmen, you were born to be an actress. I look forward to working with you for my next movie too!”

Upon hearing that voice, Sophia’s body froze; tears uncontrollably streamed down her cheeks, rinsing her numb face. Quinton was seen slowly walking out from the darkness to the spot illuminated by the searchlights, carrying a small figure in his arms.

He looked at the crowd that swarmed at him before slowly squatting down and placing Carmen on the ground. He helped her to put on the shoe that he had found earlier, gently stroked her head, and said, “Good girl, you can go to your parents and grandpa now!”

As soon as she was put down, she dashed at Michael and Sophia. “Daddy, Mommy!”

“Baby!”

Both of them came running at her and embraced her, as if they were embracing their entire world.

As for Quinton, after he put Carmen down, he slowly rose to his full height with his hands raised. The Fletcher Family’s men slowly approached him, and after confirming that he had no weapon on him, they surrounded him and caught him.

When Carmen saw Quinton being captured after she left Michael’s embrace, she innocently asked, “Why is Uncle Joel capturing him?”

Michael wiped away his tears of excitement and joy for getting back something that he had nearly lost. “They are still shooting for the movie. That mister is acting as the bad guy! Uncle Joel is acting as the police today, so the police have to catch the bad guy.”

She pouted and muttered, “But he said that he was acting as the good guy today.”

Sophia, who had embraced Carmen, was overwhelmed by a complex feeling when she watched as Quinton was being caught.

He really came and saved Carmen.

At the same time, Justin came down with Celine in his arms, and he then put her on a stretcher. Nathan ran over to take a look at his mother, then at Carmen, and finally at Quinton, who was being escorted into the car.

Quinton seemed to have noticed him as well. The former smiled at him, as if he was greeting him.

Nathan watched as Quinton was captured and escorted into the military vehicle, his expression still nonchalant. His expression remained indifferent regardless of if he felt devastated or overjoyed. It might have been because he had experienced too many ups and downs in life despite his young age, causing him to become numb to the joy and sorrow in life.

He was only twelve, but he had thoroughly experienced the great joy and sorrow of life, which made him unfeeling to both emotions.

In the end, Quinton was captured, and Celine was caught and taken back to the research center, while Nathan and Justin followed her there.

After Michael made sure that Celine was fine, he caught up with Sophia, who was seen getting into Cooper’s car with Carmen in her arms. He immediately quickened his steps toward her but was suddenly stopped by Cooper, who was standing in front of him with one arm held up.

Cooper turned around and faced him with his back, his voice especially cold and merciless at that moment. “Mr. Fletcher, you don’t need to follow us. I’ll take care of my granddaughter. Don’t you worry.”

Cooper was cold and distant to him. However, Michael could feel that in the past, Cooper disliked him but had to reluctantly accept him since Sophia fancied him. But today, he was absolutely cold and harsh.

Stunned, Michael stopped his hasty footsteps for he knew that it would only be natural for Cooper to treat him this way.

His first love had hurt Sophia, and his sister nearly harmed Carmen. It all happened because of him. If it were not for him, Carmen and Sophia would not have suffered such harm.

Holding back the heart-stabbing pain, he took out 200 from his pocket and let out a wry chuckle. “It’s better to follow through the entire act. This is the fees I’d promised to give Carmen—”

“There’s no need for this.” Cooper coldly interrupted him. He then directly got into the car and closed the door without looking back. The car of the Mitchell Family sped off.

Soon, the car of the Fletcher Family and military unit left, while Harry and Sarah, who had come to help, went home as well. Only then did Michael leave and head off to the research center.

In Cooper’s car, Sophia was hugging her baby, who had finally returned to her, while sobbing uncontrollably.

She really did not know how she would live without Carmen! She felt as if her heart was stabbed by a thousand knives when she saw Carmen held imprisoned on her own at such a high place earlier.

Linus gently cleaned Carmen’s face, wrapped her in a blanket, and put aside her bouquet of flowers before handing her 400. “Carmen, your performance today was superb. This is your salary given by the filming company. You have earned 400 in total since shooting for night scenes pays better!”

She delightfully took the money and tightly held it in her hands. “Mommy, why are you crying?” she innocently looked at Sophia and asked.

Sophia sniffled and wiped away her tears before forcing a smile on her face as she answered, “It’s because today was your first time shooting for a night scene, but you did a great job, so I’m very happy for you.”

Cooper hugged her and stroked her messy hair. “The situation earlier is how shooting for a movie is like—you will face all sorts of sudden events, and the actors’ acting skills will be so excellent that they may startle small children, just like how you were so afraid that you cried today. Carmen, if you wish to become an actress, you will face more similar situations!”

Carmen leaned sluggishly in Cooper’s arms with the four banknotes tightly held in her hands. She wished to continue acting to earn money, but everyone’s acting skills were so good that they seemed real when they acted as the villain, which made her cry out of terror.

She was in a dilemma.

Sophia wept soundlessly as she glanced at Linus in gratitude. Linus, who was considerate in nature, acted meticulously in order to protect Carmen’s tiny yet fragile mind—a traumatizing experience would affect a child for a lifetime! Now, Carmen thought that she had merely acted in a police action blockbuster movie—the type of movie with a commission of 400 per day. Therefore, she was able to happily count the money now. The treacherous scene today would probably remain in her memories as a mere surprise.

 

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 897

As the car headed home, Cooper hugged Carmen in his arms while Sophia continued sobbing in the silence. The injuries on her face had not fully recovered. She weakly leaned on Linus’ shoulder and buried her face in his arms as he comforted her. As she was highly tense for the entire day, the current opportunity to relax for a split second immediately caused her to loosen up and fall asleep within seconds.

Even if she fell asleep, there was a trace of tears at the corner of her eyes.

His body stiffened as he was afraid that he would wake her up.

Upon looking at Carmen, who was dozing off in his arms, Cooper wrapped her up tightly with the blanket, causing her to fall asleep almost instantly. Even while she was asleep, she still held onto her money and refused to let anyone take it.

While looking at the sleeping mother and daughter, he felt blissful yet pressured—as if he owned the whole world, but had to bear the weight of it.

Nevertheless, his daughter would eventually have to settle down as his granddaughter needed a father. Theo had own sons. The biological father is definitely not a choice and the other one is worse, so I definitely won’t hand Sophia to any of Theo’s sons.

Although he loved Sophia and Carmen, where they were his everything, it was impossible for him to keep them for himself forever since his daughter would have to marry someone someday. Therefore, he was determined to find her the best man in the world!

…

After waiting for a day and a night in the research center outside the city, Celine finally woke up. When she regained her consciousness and found out what she had done, she broke down emotionally and hid in the corner before crying.

She was still locked up in the transparent cage. Nobody had the courage to get close to her because they could not tell whether she was Katrina or Celine.

Justin and Michael watched as she curled up in a corner and wept, but they could not get close to her either.

Celine had always been the big sister, the female boss, and leader among their peers since she was young. She had always been stronger and more poised than most males as she never cried. However, over the last few years, she seemed to have shed all the tears that she could possibly have in her whole life.

She nearly harmed Carmen with her own hands, which was something that she could not accept when she was in her right frame of mind. What terrified her the most was she still retained her original personality when Katrina appeared, so she saw how she went on a rampage to do those things that she had never wanted to do.

She had almost killed Carmen and her son!

A bulletproof glass had separated Justin from Celine. Tears silently escaped from his eyes as he leaned on the glass in the silence. Upon looking at his wife curling up in a corner while crying in despair, he wished that he could embrace her, but he was not even able to give her any warmth. What exactly have we done wrong? God, why are we being treated like this?

They had joined the military when they were 18 and underwent training for many years before pledging a lifetime of loyalty and service to their country. They led honorable and honest lives while living up to the expectations of the country, their ancestors, future generations, as well as their own consciences, but why were their good deeds not being rewarded?

Through the glass, Michael gazed at the person who had the same face as him. He wanted to blame her, but he could not bear to do so. Ever since she helped Phantom Wolf to kidnap Sophia three years ago, Michael sent her to the research center and did not dare to visit her ever since.

He was well aware that it was not her fault as she was also the victim, but how could he willingly accept that fact?

Michael turned as large droplets of tears fell on the floor.

He found Quinton, who was also being confined in a cage made of bulletproof glass. The entire research center was now as impenetrable as an iron barrel with ten times more military forces than usual. It was because the institute now harbored the most dangerous man in the whole world.

Phantom Wolf was responsible for countless murders and deaths and he was wanted by dozens of countries around the world. His bounty in the black market had reached up to several billions, which also meant that numerous people from all over the world wanted him dead. He entered the lion’s den by himself and was detained instead.

Quinton had regained his original looks—it was a face that was extremely similar to Theo’s. He had fully inherited Theo’s looks, character, boldness, intelligence and talent as a commander. In fact, he was more similar to Theo than Michael and Celine.

On the other hand, Michael and Celine were blessed with their mother’s kindness and gentleness, but Quinton had inherited his father’s cunning and vicious personality. Therefore, the siblings resembled angels and he resembled a devil.

Both Quinton and Michael looked at each other through the glass. It was the first time that they glanced at each other in that manner since they used to fight to the death without much reasoning.

Michael moved a chair over and sat while looking at Quinton. As Quinton was a few years younger, he looked boyish and more handsome. Theo had passed away when he was at Quinton’s age, which made the latter look exactly the same as their father in Michael’s memory.

Quinton was still wearing his black suit, which was so immaculate that it did not have any creases. He seemed like the perfect gentleman who had returned from a ball when he raised his hand to adjust his gold-rimmed glasses, causing the ring on his pinky finger to shine. He was a gallant gentleman on the surface, but a scum on the inside.

“My dearest brother, how much longer are you going to keep watching me?” He slowly uttered a few words, which sounded like a casual chat between close friends.

Michael went straight to the point. “I want Celine to return to normal—with only her in her body and no one else.”

Quiton smiled as he adjusted his gold-rimmed spectacles. His manner was elegant while his voice was clear and sounded handsome. “She’s the one keeping me alive now. Do you think that I will do it easily?”

Michael expressed his conditions with a cold expression. “I guarantee to let you go if you cure my sister.”

Quinton lowered his head and burst into a guffaw, as if he had heard the joke of the year. “Haha! haha! Guarantee? How are you going to give that guarantee? Do you think that I’ll believe you? Let me tell you the truth—Katrina had already merged with your sister and the boundaries between their personalities will gradually vanish. There is no one in this world who can really save her except me,” he uttered.

A person as astute as him was well aware that Celine was the key to keep him alive. Otherwise, he would not have the courage to enter the place.

Since the Fletcher Family had saved Celine, they definitely would not give up on her. They tried everything that they could think of, including domestic and foreign psychiatrists and hypnotists, but to no avail. There were no other ways to save her unless he was willing to do so.

However, Michael knew that he had no power to make such a decision.

As the Phantom Wolf had committed many crimes, Michael would not be able to save him—if he could not do so, let alone the Fletcher Family.

The two of them fell silent for a while before he threw another question. “Can Sophia’s memory be recovered as well?”

Upon the mention of that topic, the disdain on Quinton’s face was replaced by a shred of seriousness. In the end, he sighed before rising to his full height and walking to the bulletproof glass. Tilting his head to one side, he gave a contemptuous smile. “Sure, I can help her to recover her memories without anything in return—her entire memory… With that, she will remember that she was once together with you.” Disdain was obvious in his tone as he spoke.

Michael kept quiet for a moment before finally replying in a low voice, “It’s fine then… If she has forgotten about the past, just let it be then.” He sounded extremely helpless when he said those words. His voice was so low that it sounded like a melancholic sigh.

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 898

After saying those words, he remained silent for a while before getting up to leave. As Quinton watched him leave, the sarcastic smile on his face had completely vanished.

When Michael entered the garage and sat in his car, he took out his phone and found Sophia’s contact. He looked at the profile picture that he set for her in a daze, but did not give her a ring in the end. How I wish I could trigger her past memories to return! She will immediately return to me if that happens. However, once she recovers her memories, the trauma and pain will accompany her forever! She has already forgotten all of her bitter and painful past and is already living a great and blissful life now. Why do I want her to experience pain again?

He clearly saw Quinton’s mockery.

If she experiences pain again just because I want to have her by my side, I am not worthy to receive her love!

After remaining silent for the longest time, Michael still did not dial the number and went to the Fletcher Residence instead.

Once Sophia and Carmen had arrived home, they headed to bed after taking a quick shower. Carmen obediently slept next to her mother and kept her hard-earned money away before saying in between yawns, “Mommy… Goodnight.”

Sophia lowered her head to kiss Carmen’s plump cheeks. “Baby, you are tired after a day of filming today, so you should sleep earlier.”

Carmen took out her wristwatch and punched a button to directly call Michael.

He was still on his way to the Fletcher Residence and after receiving a call from her, he quickly answered it.

Then, Sophia heard his voice from Carmen’s watch. “Baby, aren’t you going to sleep?”

Carmen replied sweetly, “Daddy, I’m sleeping soon. Goodnight, Daddy.”

He replied, “Sleep earlier and say goodnight to Mommy for me too.”

“Okay.”

After hanging up, she turned and told Sophia, who was sleeping next to her, “Goodnight, missus.”

Sophia smiled. “Where did you learn this from?”

Carmen replied, “Mel’s father calls her mother ‘missus’, so I presume that Daddy calls Mommy the same too. I’m saying goodnight on Daddy’s behalf.”

A lump formed in Sophia’s throat, but she did not say anything in the end and switched off the light, leaving only a small night lamp for Carmen.

Carmen added, “Sleep well, missus.”

“Alright.”

…

After Sophia woke up and got ready the next morning, she saw that people were packing things at her place. She knew that Cooper was about to move houses. Even though he was not planning to leave Bayside City for the time being, he would still move out from the Imperial.

Since everything had arrived to that stage, she felt that she did not have a choice anymore. For Carmen’s sake, we have no choice but to move.

Carmen did not go to kindergarten today—instead, she woke up early in the morning to prepare for the move. She emptied her little husky bag and placed her hard-earned money in it before entering the car.

As it was a hasty decision to move, they still had not chosen the right place—Cooper did not purchase any property in Bayside City and Sophia wanted to live in a comfortable place. In order to make her life easier, she suggested to move to Riverdale

The house was rather spacious, so Carmen had a place to play and it was within a driving distance to the kindergarten and the company.

Sophia owned a house in Riverdale—the former Harper’s Mansion now belonged to her. She had taken quite a liking to the garden there, so it was the right time to move.

While holding her pair of alpacas and entering the car, she suddenly felt that someone was looking at her. After turning, she saw that it was Nathan holding Snowball at the entrance of Villa No. 8, looking at her wordlessly, as if he had something to tell her.

“Nate!”

After placing the alpacas on the car seat, she opened the car door and walked over to Villa No. 8. However, he seemed to have left for some time. The front door of the villa was also tightly shut and she could not open it.

After knocking, only Nicholas replied to her from inside.

“Mom, are you moving away?”

His tone sounded resentful and sad. He was so smart that he was no different from a child.

Sophia bent her body and looked at Nicholas through the door. “I’m moving to a huge house in Riverdale. You can also come and stay with us, Nicholas.”

However, Nicholas seemed to be angered and immediately left.

I’m afraid Nathan feels this way too.

Since Cooper was in a rush to leave, she returned to the car thoughtfully. After closing the door, the car engine was started as the driver prepared to leave. However, she saw Nathan once more after a glance at the rearview mirror.

As usual, he looked indifferent in the silence—he looked numb, no matter whether he was happy or sad. Sophia had no idea how much pain he had experienced to wear a stoic expression on his face. However, she saw desire in his eyes.

Nathan looked like he wanted to tell her something, but he did not know how to say it, so he could only look at her like that.

The car sped away. In the end, she still did not have the chance to speak with him.

…

After traveling back and forth between the research center and Fletcher Residence, Michael was unable to catch forty winks for an entire day and rested on his way home. The moment he arrived, he realized that Villa No. 2 was now empty.

Sophia had left with Carmen—with only a few maids cleaning up after them.

While standing at the ground floor of Villa No. 2, he raised his head to look at the windows—the door on the balcony was sealed shut and no one would open it anymore.

After he returned to his place and opened the door, the living room was also quiet since the liveliness was gone. In the past, once he opened the door, a bunch of furry animals would rush over to greet him.

However, only Snowball was left alone. The white ball of fur rushed to him and circled around him, but the rest had followed Sophia on her move.

Nathan had also returned and quietly looked at him from a corner.

Nicholas walked to Michael. “Dad, Mom moved to Riverdale.”

Michael hummed in reply before heading to his room in exhaustion. After he closed the door, he did not head out again.

He took a short rest. After all, he was still a human, not a robot, so he could not work the entire day without rest. However, once he closed his eyes, he started to have nightmares. He dreamed that Sophia and Carmen were in an accident and the ambulance picked up both of them, who were covered in blood. In the dream, he howled as he ran behind the ambulance for a long time, but it showed no signs of stopping. On top of that, the ambulance even howled, “Meeeeeeooooooooooowwwwwwwwww!”

A terrified Michael opened his eyes and realized that he was still on his bed. He had no idea when Chrysanthemum had entered his room and jumped on him, but it was the one meowing at him.

“Meeeeeeooooooooooowwwwwwwwww!”

After glancing at it, Michael rubbed its head. “Why didn’t you leave with your mom?”

It gently snuggled toward Michael’s hands. He got up from the bed with the cat in his hands and looked at the time—it was already dawn and he had slept for nine full hours. However, his head felt like it was about to split into two. Nevertheless, he called Justin.

Quinton still refused to reveal the way to cure Celine’s dissociative identity disorder and she was in an unstable condition, attempting to commit suicide multiple times.

It would spell a lot of trouble if she tried to kill herself, as they could not tell whether it was a ruse to escape her situation or if she really wanted to do that.

She had once attempted suicide to escape from the research center, which almost culminated in a disaster.

However, if they did not save her in time, she would die!

Celine used to be a confident, strong woman in the military. However, living was a state of pain for her because she could not die as well!

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 899

Justin could not wait to kill the mastermind behind all the mess, who was Quinton. Yet, Quinton was the only one who knew how to cure Celine’s illness.

Of course, Quinton would not simply reveal the cure to them as it was the only information keeping him alive.

The military wanted him dead whereas the Fletchers tried their best to keep him alive. Their discussion had arrived at standstill as they could not come to a consensus. On the other hand, Celine had repeatedly tried to kill herself and almost succeeded in the process.

Stanley had followed up on the matter and followed Michael for the entire day. He returned today to the seaside villa to bring Judge back to the Imperial.

Judge clawed at the door of Villa No. 2 for a long time. Upon seeing that no one came to open the door, it finally realized that Sophia had moved and howled angrily at the door.

Sophia! You are such a jerk! Return my kittens!

Return my son as well as my mansion and my lolita!

I babysat your child for many years! You can’t just leave like this!

When Judge was tired of howling, it went to Michael’s place to have a sip of water before returning to continue its howls. Upon realizing that nothing would bring Sophia back, it was angered to the point where it went to Villa No. 8 to trash the place.

Its plans were to destroy the place and bite her husband!

Judge had bitten the corner of Michael’s pyjamas into pieces, but it was still not satisfied. It continued to bite the couch and table in the living room—and even destroyed the pillow that she made out of dog fur. As a result, the entire area was scattered with its fur and no one was able to stop the husky.

Stanley initially wanted to chat with Michael for a bit. However, after Judge threw a tantrum, Stanley could only bring it home almost immediately. Before he left, he added, “Uncle Michael, you can ask for Sophia’s help in this. She can summon him with a sentence. If she appears, he will definitely spill the beans.”

Michael shook his head with a vacant expression in his eyes and did not even know when Stanley left.

Ask for Sophia’s help?

He could not bring himself to do it.

She’s so kind; she will definitely agree to it.

What if Quinton takes this opportunity to ask for something outrageous in exchange for the information?

She probably will agree to that as well.

Because of me, she owes Quinton a favor. As a result, she has suffered the consequences and the pain. How can I be so selfish and cruel?

Michael sat in the dark living room and smoked one cigarette after another before standing up. After quickly changing into his clothes, he rushed out of the door.

Meanwhile, in the research center, a guest had surprisingly arrived—it was Mark Fletcher.

Mark seldom went out—he had only gone out once to meet Carmen, recognize Celine’s presence in the Fletcher Family, to attend Cooper’s funeral and the other time was today.

In the research center, Mark met his grandson, who looked different each time he visited.

At that moment, Quinton looked like a younger version of him and resembled Theo as well!

Mark had carefully perused the documents about Quinton. When compared to Michael and Celine, Quinton was the one who resembled Mark the most and even inherited the old man’s attributes. Unfortunately, Quinton took the wrong path.

Thud!

Quinton slammed a chess piece on the chess board, blocking his opponent’s moves. “Sorry, old man—I’ve won.”

A chessboard was placed between both of them.

Mark was also quite relaxed as well. He came over to the research center and played chess with Quinton for the entire afternoon. On top of that, they were in the same room. Apart from the handcuffs on Quinton, he had a normal range of movements while Mark sat opposite him to play chess.

To quote the words that Mark once said, “I have already lived for more than a century with children and grandchildren based all over the world. That in itself was enough for me, so if Quinton captures me, you don’t have to save me. Just open fire immediately. If I die, I will definitely drag this unfilial grandson called Quinton down with me. He’s only in his thirties while I’ve already lived over a century. If we are both killed by the machine gun, he will suffer a greater loss than me.”

However, Mark was no match for Quinton in chess.

Another kill in seven moves!

After a few rounds of chess, Mark had been completely defeated by Quinton.

Unlike others who would try to go easy on Mark, Quinton immediately launched his attack on the chess board. If he could defeat Mark in seven moves, he would never waste another move.

Unwilling to concede defeat, Mark barked, “One more round!”

Quinton frowned, but he continued to return the pieces to their original positions while saying, “Old man, my time is precious. I can’t play chess with you for the whole day.”

Mark replied indignantly, “I’ve already lived for more than a century—I don’t have much time left. Your time is valuable, but that’s my life ticking away with every second. So, do you think your time—or mine—is more valuable?”

Quinton knew that he could never win the argument against Mark, so he continued to play chess with the old man in exasperation.

After Quinton entered the research center, he was completely stripped down. They confiscated his exquisite suit and gold-plated glasses. In exchange, they gave him an attire that only a patient in hospital would wear. The flimsy outfit made him feel insecure, but his slender fingers looked clean and fair in contrast. After he took a sip of plain water, he continued to play chess with Mark.

Halfway through their game, Mark suddenly sighed and said meaningfully, “You really look like your father.”

Without using any ruse, it was the conclusion that Mark arrived at when he saw Quinton.

However, Quinton pretended that he did not hear Mark’s words and continued with the game.

Mark continued, “Your father is like you—he has patience, endurance, and foresight. With every step that he took, he could predict a hundred steps ahead. When I played chess with him, I never lasted more than seven moves.”

Quinton remained silent with his head hanging low as he continued the game.

Mark sighed again. “How nice it would have been if you were born in the Fletcher Family instead. I bet your success will be even greater than your father by now.”

Thud!

Quinton placed the chess piece down again, performing another kill in seven moves and left Mark with no opportunity to retreat. After doing so, Quinton slowly got up. “Sorry, old man. I’m taking a rest now. Please help yourself.”

With that, he returned to his cell and lay on the bed with his back facing Mark.

Although Mark was furious, he left in the end.

Right after he exited, the cell that detained Quinton was locked multiple times, as if he was a violent beast as they kept him locked inside.

After Mark walked out, he looked at the sky and sighed. “Theo, why did you have to leave so early?”

In Riverdale, the former Harper’s Residence was now the Edwards Residence.

After Sophia moved over, she had selected a room that she liked and opened the windows. Immediately, she could see the beautiful view of the garden.

The place used to belong to the Harper Family and they had spent at least two centuries building the mansion. The garden was the combined effort of the Harper Family’s few generations, but in one way or another, it was now Sophia’s.

She loved the way that the garden was designed and its view—each spot was as beautiful as a painting, radiating an artistic aura.

Once she had settled down in the mansion, she peeked out from the window with flowery frames on the second floor as it was the best location to have the best scenery. The view from that particular spot was also the most beautiful.

After a day of moving, she was also tired. Carmen had already climbed onto the huge flowery bed and dozed off.

Before sleeping, she called Shae over while playing with her toes, insisting that she had to call her daddy to say goodnight.

However, Shae replied, “I don’t have Daddy’s contact.”

In the past, Carmen had always asked Nicholas to call Michael. However, Nicholas and Chrysanthemum continued to stay back at The Imperial instead of following her and Sophia.

Carmen took out her wristwatch to call Michael, but after the call went through, she heard Cooper’s voice.

“Darling, why aren’t you asleep?”

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 900

Carmen was extremely disappointed after she could not hear her father’s voice. After she chatted with Cooper for a bit, she hung up on the call, but still could not call Michael after testing with different settings.

Sophia knew that Cooper had changed the settings of the watch when Carmen was asleep. The only number that she could call now was his number.

Sophia quickly calmed her down. “Darling, you should sleep earlier. We can talk about it tomorrow.”

Tears flowed out of Carmen’s eyes instead. “But, I can’t sleep if I don’t talk to Daddy.”

Sopphia hugged her and asked in a low voice, “Not even when Mommy is here?”

Carmen was still saddened. “I want Daddy…”

Sophia’s eyes swam with tears as she took her phone. As she looked at the nickname that she set in her list of contacts—‘Carmen’s dad’—she did not have the courage to call him. However, Carmen was still sobbing next to her, making her feel that she should not be selfish.

She knew that it was cruel for Cooper to have separated Carmen and Michael.

After Michael brought Carmen home from Africa, the little girl was on the brink of death and often fell sick. He would accompany her in the hospital for the entire year as she was irreplaceable to him. How could he possibly accept the fact that they had to be separated?

Carmen has been close to her father since she was born. How could she not have him?

Hence, Sophia opened Messenger and found Michael—his profile picture was a photograph of her from three years ago, so it made it easier to spot him.

She sent a word. ‘Here?’

He instantly replied, ‘Yes.’

She quickly video-called him and passed the phone to Carmen, who wiped her tears away and looked at the phone. As soon as Michael appeared, she immediately smiled and greeted in her baby voice, “Daddy!”

Michael was in a bright room, looking rather busy.

After seeing the face that he was thinking about the entire day, he smiled and asked gently, “Baby, did you behave yourself today?”

Carmen replied, “Yes, I was obedient. I moved into a big house with Mommy. It’s very big! You have to come over to visit me soon!”

He said, “Sure. You are a good baby. Sleep soon, alright? I still have some work to do.”

She replied, “Goodnight, Daddy! I love you!”

Carmen gladly went to bed after chatting with her father. She tucked herself to sleep and said goodnight to Sophia for Michael. “Good night, missus.”

Sophia bent over to kiss her as she replied, “Goodnight to you too, baby.”

With that, she switched off the light but left the night lamp on. However, as she was not sleepy, she merely looked at Carmen.

It was already midnight in the research center. After Michael hung up, he looked at his phone and stared at the wallpaper he chose in a daze—it was a picture of the three of them.

They took the picture at the film studio—he was filming and Carmen was one of the extras at another set. In the afternoon, Sophia took her home for lunch. He donned a military outfit during the war period while Carmen wore a traditional outfit and Sophia had a loose T-shirt with a baseball cap. The three of them looked very different from each other.

Carmen tried her hardest to eat as Sophia fed her while Michael lowered his head to look at them with a mellow expression. Danny had perfectly captured the entire scene.

After looking at the picture for ages, Michael finally kept his phone away and brought a bunch of documents to the place where Quinton was locked up. Then, he placed the documents in front of Quinton with a loud thud.

“This is a special pardon by the military and ZF organization. You can use it in all of Cethos as long as you promise not to cause any more trouble. After you sign it, we’ll arrange for you to head abroad.”

After glancing at the special pardon, Quinton looked away coldly. “It’s obvious that it’s fake. I don’t believe you.”

Michael did not want to beat around the bush. “I can guarantee you with the Fletcher Family’s name that if you can cure my sister, you can leave anytime you want.”

Receiving the special pardon was beyond his expectation as he could not believe that the military would pardon a killing maniac like Quinton.

Apart from the Fletcher Family interfering with the matter, there were also elements of competition among the powerful nations.

Many huge powers outside the country had bribed terrorists to carry out attacks in Cethos and once they successfully did so, they were able to escape to other countries and openly gain protection. Apart from that, those former terrorists could easily earn more money by giving speeches on their experience all around the world and publishing books on the ‘tough experience’ of being oppressed by Cethos. Some of them could even receive the Nobel Peace Prize, a very influential achievement, and become an ambassador for peace as well.

How ironic and unbelievable!

Although Phantom Wolf killed many people on an international spectrum, he never committed his crime in schools or in Cethos. To be precise, he had landed himself in hot water thrice—one was at Time Square years ago when he received an order from Kayla to assassinate Sophia, but before he could do so, two people from his side had already been killed. His second time was when he tried to kidnap Mark and Sophia to bring them away, but his plans were foiled. The third time was when Phantom Wolf tried to kidnap Sophia again.

Every crime that he committed in Cethos was all related to the grudge that he bore against the Fletcher Family. When Celine and Justin were ambushed, it was at the time of an anti-terrorist movement by the United Nations in other countries. So, the Fletcher Family did not pursue that matter and the military adopted the same approach.

Since the powers abroad could openly provide sanctuary to those terrorists who killed the citizens of Cethos, the Cethos government could do the same as well.

Even though Phantom Wolf was cruel, he was an assassin who would not murder innocent people as his victims only consisted of politicians and big shots. All in all, he was merely an assassin who accepted money in exchange for lives. He was a tool—a dog whom anyone could purchase. The people who had blood on their hands also included the politicians and big shots who wanted to use illegal methods to gain advantage. Since they were afraid of staining their hands, they thought of Phantom Wolf.

The details were extremely complicated to be discussed and Quinton had something that the Cethosian military was interested in. Phantom Wolf’s crimes paled in comparison with what the advantages that the country could gain.

However, Quinton never cared about the special pardon. After looking away, he answered, “I’ve already regretted it. The special pardon is not enough. I want to see her. I want to bring my wife, Sophia, away with me.”

All was good until he brought up that name. At the mention of Sophia, a cool and collected Michael completely lost control. He went berserk like an awakened beast and grabbed Quinton by his collar and threatened in a menacing manner, “Don’t even think about seeing her again!”

Upon looking at the irate Michael, Quinton chuckled in a low voice before saying, “Brother, you are still less patient than me.”

Gritting his teeth, Michael looked at Quinton before releasing his grap. Then, he placed the special pardon in front of Quinton again.

“Ten days later, both the military and the Fletcher Family will announce that you have been captured and hold a public trial. At that time, even the special pardon is useless. This is your only chance. Treasure it.”

With that, Michael quickly left.

Upon looking at the seemingly warm special pardon with the military stamp on it, Quinton suddenly raised his head and looked at Michael’s direction.

“Actually—” Quinton deliberately dragged his tone.

Michael’s flurrying steps came to an immediate stop.

Then, Quinton continued, “I can’t recover her memories anymore. They have been completely erased by me.”

Michael did not turn around. After stopping for a few seconds, he continued to head off.