Ch. 1321..1330
His Secret Lover Returning from the Dead Chapter 1321
Do Not Forget Your Place
“I’m not completely done yet, but I’ve finished at least half. Oh, right! Why did your meeting finish so soon? I thought meetings like these usually go on for quite a long time.”
Ichika’s bright eyes looked at Taylor curiously.
She was definitely a very observant young lady, having realized this after just two days in the company.
Taylor smiled, not meaning to keep it a secret from her. “Something came up with Mr. George, and he suddenly ran off after getting a phone call.”
“Oh, really?”
Ichika’s small face twisted in worry.
He left halfway? What could it be? It must be something truly urgent for him to suddenly leave in the middle of an important meeting.
Ichika was still curious, so she went up to the top floor after quickly getting her work done.
“Hi, Ms. Minamoto. You came upstairs, I see.”
“Yeah…”
Ichika felt extremely unsettled at the entire room of people that suddenly turned to look her way as she stood at the president’s office doors.
She continued to fidget at the doorway as she asked shyly, “I-is Ms. Akiko here?”
“Yes, she is!” someone piped up. “She’s in Mr. George’s office.”
A few of them gestured toward the office in question helpfully.
Ichiko was simply much too adorable and amicable to turn down. Truthfully, they all silently thought she was a much better person to deal with than the woman she was looking for.
Ichika entered with ease.
A few minutes later, she reached Solomon’s office.
“Akiko, what happened to Mr. Akiyama? Why did he suddenly end the meeting?”
“Ms. Minamoto, that doesn’t seem like something you should be asking. Right now, you’re simply a small clerk in the planning department. You don’t have to know too much about the president and what he chooses to do.”
Akiko had been busy arranging things when the young, innocent woman came to bother her. She didn’t think twice before pulling the “president’s secretary” card.
Ichika fell silent.
Within just a few seconds, the young Jetroinian woman’s pale face immediately colored as her cheeks began to redden.
She had actually forgotten that she had not come here as the rich daughter of the Minamoto family but as a regular office worker in the company.
However, within those few seconds, Ichika immediately snapped back to her senses.
“I’m not asking you as a clerk. I’m asking you as Ichika Minamoto. Where did he go? What happened?”
When she spoke again, her sweet voice was laced with a hint of severity.
Akiko paled in anger.
Ichika…
She clenched her fists so tightly that the veins on the back of her hand were beginning to push against her skin.
In the end, she didn’t dare to go against Ichika. Staring at the latter for a few seconds, she finally spoke through gritted teeth.
“His sister’s daughter is missing.”
“What?” Ichika’s small face contorted in worry. “Her kid went missing? Why? How did she go missing?”
“How am I supposed to know? When Mr. Akiyama left, he only mentioned that Ms. Sabrina had brought her kid to get her vaccination at the hospital before she went missing. Nothing else.”
“Oh.”
The tips of Ichika’s fingers had gone icy cold with the news.
Oh no. This can’t happen. Jaena is Sabrina’s life and joy. How could she bear to live without her baby?
Ichika had met Jaena before, and she couldn’t believe that such a cute and lovable child had suddenly gone missing. This can’t be happening!
Ichika’s eyes had already started to redden.
She immediately turned and ran out without another word.
Akiko called out, “Ms. Minamoto, where are you going? Ichika Minamoto!”
Akiko had to call out her full name.
This was the difference between the two.
They were both from Jetroina, but the moment Ichika heard that Sabrina lost her child, she was full of worry and concern. She was even feeling heartache and pity, and her first thought was to rush off to look for the girl as well.
As for the woman who was still in the office, she clearly couldn’t care less.
“Dad, this is Ichika.”
Ichika immediately called her father all the way in Jetroina right after she stepped out of the company.
Her father paused in surprise at the sound of Ichika’s voice and quickly said, “Ichika? Is something wrong? Are you not liking things in Avenport? Do you want me to have someone bring you back?”
“No, Dad, don’t worry. I’m doing fine here. The problem is that Sabrina lost her child. Could you help me out?” Ichika begged over the phone.
Not many people knew that the famous Minamoto family actually had a team of strong warriors under their belt. These warriors had been with them ever since they left the royal family to establish themselves as their own power.
That was why these people were considered experts in Jetroina in every area.
Her father agreed breezily.
At the sound of her father’s agreement, Ichika sighed in relief and hailed a taxi to the hospital.
All she saw was the entire hospital locked down due to the search for the Hayeses youngest member. Everyone seemed to be panicking.
“Mr. Akiyama…”
She saw the man standing tall over the crowd of anxious people, calmly directing everyone about what to do.
His Secret Lover Returning from the Dead Chapter 1322
Chapter 1322 Found
Solomon turned around and saw Ichika panting heavily. He was stunned momentarily.
“Why are you here?”
“Mr. Akiyama, I heard that Sabrina’s kid is missing, so I came to help. Don’t worry. I’ve called my dad and he promised to help her find her kid.”
Ichika’s face was red as a thin layer of sweat formed on her forehead.
Her dad?
Solomon was startled upon hearing that.
Why would she ask her dad, who is so far away in Jetroina, to help out? Even if their family is powerful, it’s not their territory over here.
Solomon furrowed his brows. “There’s no need to trouble your father. I’ve arranged my men to look into it.”
“Huh?” Ichika could not believe her ears.
Her enthusiasm vanished right away as her face dimmed.
Nevertheless, she stood there obediently while watching Solomon giving orders to his subordinates.
Indeed, with Solomon’s ability, he did not seem to need help from the Minamoto family.
Even if he did not have any resources, there was still Devin. The latter had already sent their specialized helicopters to aid in the search.
With that, Solomon continued to instruct his men to sweep the entire city.
Half an hour later, there was finally some breakthrough.
“Mr. Akiyama, we’ve matched the shoe prints and fingerprints we collected in the corridor with the police system here. These names showed up.”
One of Solomon’s subordinates took a tablet and showed him the names one by one.
Solomon looked through the list of around one hundred names. After all, there was not much of a crowd in the pediatrics department.
“Okay. Check on all of them. Don’t miss out anyone.”
“Yes, Mr. Akiyama!”
The subordinate left the place without any delay. All of them were determined to solve the case as soon as possible.
Ichika, who was observing from the side, was utterly impressed by their efficiency. With that, she did not mention her father anymore.
Solomon was so occupied that he even forgot to drink water. Noticing that, Ichika went out to buy him something to drink.
Ten minutes later, she came back with a cup of coffee. By then, Solomon had successfully located Jaena’s whereabouts.
“Mr. Akiyama, we’ve found her. It’s a woman. She noticed the little girl was following her, so she took her home with her.”
“Took her home?”
Solomon furrowed his brows upon hearing that.
Why would she do that? Generally, if a random child follows me, and we’re at the children’s health department, I would definitely send the kid to the person in charge. Why would I bring the kid home with me?
Solomon could not wrap his head around it.
But before he could ask anything further, Sabrina, who had been in the ward, heard the news and rushed out.
“Did you guys find her? Where is she?”
Suppressing his confusion for now, Solomon pursed his lips and pointed at his subordinate.
“She’s with a woman. We’ve already sent—”
“Where are they? Take me there now!” she insisted with an unyielding look as soon as she heard what the subordinate said.
Solomon had no choice but to let her follow them.
Ichika saw it and decided to tag along as well.
Just then, her phone rang abruptly.
“Hello?”
“Ms. Minamoto, I’m Akiko. Has Mr. George found the kid yet? When are you and he coming back? An important client suddenly came to the company.”
Ichika shifted her gaze toward Solomon, who was about to get into the car. She hesitated for a while but eventually caught up with him.
“Mr. Akiyama, Akiko just called and said there was an important client at the company. Do you want to go back? I can keep Sabrina company.”
Ichika volunteered to accompany Sabrina.
An important client?
Solomon furrowed his brows as he did not remember an appointment for that afternoon.
Nevertheless, since Jaena had been found, he decided to head back to the company.
With that, Ichika went with Sabrina to pick up the little girl.
When they reached the outside of the woman’s house, they saw Solomon’s men guarding the door tightly. Just then, they heard Jaena’s voice coming from inside.
“Waaa…”
Jaena, who used to smile and laugh all the time, was crying.
Sabrina’s heart clenched in pain upon hearing that, and she rushed into the house while shouting, “Jaena, Mommy’s here! Don’t cry!”
His Secret Lover Returning from the Dead Chapter 1323
Unintentional Kidnap
“M-Mommy—”
Jaena, who was crying, bawled her eyes out when she finally heard her mother’s voice.
Sabrina felt a million swords piercing through her heart.
She barged into the house and saw the woman carrying Jaena in her arms. Without hesitation, she snatched her daughter from the woman.
“All right, all right. Mommy’s here. Let’s stop crying, okay?”
Jaena’s sobbing started to fade as she felt Sabrina’s warmth.
Her face was moist with tears, and her body was trembling incessantly.
Sabrina seldom saw her in such a state as she was always an optimistic child who loved to smile.
Sabrina comforted her until she calmed down. After a while, she fell asleep in Sabrina’s embrace.
With that, Sabrina shifted her to one hand gently as she lifted her head and cast a ferocious glare at the middle-aged woman in the house.
“Why did you take her?”
“N-No, it’s not like that! She kept following me. I took her to the pediatrics department, but no one seemed to know her. I feared she might get into trouble, so I brought her back here.”
“I was there the whole time. I didn’t see you asking around.”
Sabrina did not buy what she was being told.
Ichika immediately walked over to ease the situation as she was worried they might wake Jaena.
“Sabrina, let’s bring the kid back first. Just leave it to Mr. Akiyama. No matter what her intention was, Mr. Akiyama will handle her.”
Her tone was utterly meek, but there was a sense of determination in her voice when she mentioned Solomon.
As such, Sabrina recollected herself and left with Jaena.
The middle-aged woman let out a sigh of relief upon seeing that.
Just when she thought all of them had left, Ichika came back into the house after a while.
“You guys stay here and keep an eye on her. Wait for Mr. Akiyama to come here and handle her.”
“Yes, Ms. Minamoto.”
All the warriors bowed toward Ichika simultaneously after hearing her order. After all, she was most likely the future wife of Solomon.
At that instance, the color drained from the woman’s face.
“Why do you still need to keep an eye on me? I’ve returned the kid in one piece. Why would you keep me under watch like I’m some criminal?”
“There’s indeed something suspicious about you,” Ichika responded indifferently. “Sabrina was right. You could have handed Jaena over to the pediatrics department. Even if you couldn’t find her parents, you shouldn’t have taken the kid home. That was wrong.”
The woman was rendered speechless upon hearing that.
“Besides, I have a little background in medicine. The way Jaena was crying just now seemed strange. I need to do a checkup on her before your suspicion can be lifted.”
Indeed, Ichika had keen observation skills.
She explained to the woman gently and politely, but her words caused the latter’s heart to plummet to her feet.
How could this young lady be so intelligent? How could she possibly notice that?
With that, the woman paled in fright.
…
Soon after that, Ichika went back to the company.
Taylor asked upon seeing her, “Ichika, you’re back. So what happened? Did you find Ms. Sabrina’s kid?”
“Yes. Everything is fine. Sorry for delaying the work. Is there anything you need me to do now?”
She displayed an apologetic smile.
Taylor could not bear to blame her.
Not to mention, as she was newly hired, she did not have many ongoing tasks.
The only task she got assigned was to follow up on some advertising projects.
With that, Ichika carried a pile of documents and went out.
“Ms. Minamoto?”
When she got out of the planning department, she ran into Akiko, who had just come down from upstairs.
Ichika had no choice but to stop in her tracks.
“What is it, Akiko?”
“Nothing. I just want to remind you that Mr. Akiyama won’t be happy that you stuck your nose into his business. You should know that he has no intention to marry you for now.”
Ichika felt a blow to her heart upon hearing that.
Indeed, he never said he would marry me. Not only that, but he has never once brought me to any important occasions after I came here. He’s never explained to anybody about me either. At most, he only introduced me as the daughter of the Minamoto family when somebody asked.
Upset, Ichika’s face fell.
“is that so?”
“Of course. That’s why you should ask your men to come back right away. If Mr. Akiyama finds out he still needs to handle some trivial matter after meeting the client, he will dislike you even more.”
Ichika froze on the spot upon hearing Akiko’s advice.
She pondered for a while and eventually nodded in agreement.
His Secret Lover Returning from the Dead Chapter 1324
True Colors
“Okay.” She complied with Akiko.
With that, Akiko let out a sigh of relief and went back upstairs.
It was a peaceful afternoon in the company, and Akiko occupied herself with work in the president’s office.
Finally, Solomon came out of the meeting room. Upon seeing that, Akiko put aside her work and went over to take the documents from Solomon’s hands.
“Mr. Akiyama, it’s almost time for you to get off work. Do you want me to order your diner for tonight?”
“It’s fine. I still need to handle the woman who took away Jaena. You may leave work as you like,” Solomon uttered while packing his stuff.
What did he say? Is he going to the woman’s house?
Akiko was stunned momentarily as she stared at Solomon confusedly. Her mind went blank, not knowing how to react.
Solomon noticed her strange behavior and asked with a frown, “What’s wrong? What’s with that look?”
Akiko immediately cleared her thoughts and denied, “I-It’s nothing. Would you like me to go with you? Let me prepare the car now.”
“No need,” Solomon rejected without hesitation.
A few minutes later, he grabbed his briefcase and his car key before walking out of the office.
Akiko was dumbstruck as she felt as though her whole world had collapsed.
Overwhelmed with panic and anger, she grabbed the phone on the desk and made a call.
“Hello?”
A sweet voice came from the other end.
Akiko exploded with rage upon hearing that. “Ichika Minamoto, how dare you lie to me! Didn’t I tell you to send your men away? Why didn’t you do so? And how dare you even ask Mr. Akiyama to go over there?”
“What?”
Ichika was still at the planning department, and she was dumbfounded upon getting scolded by Akiko.
“Is that you, Akiko? Yes, I’ve thought it through, and I’m certain there’s something suspicious going on. I thought Mr. Akiyama shouldn’t brush this incident off and must look into it personally. It would be troublesome if the woman had taken Jaena away intentionally.”
Akiko was left speechless.
“And Akiko, who allowed you to talk to me with that tone? Please don’t forget your place.”
Ichika’s sweet tone turned stern abruptly.
Absolutely furious, Akiko was lost for words.
She gripped the phone tightly and stood there for over a minute before slamming the phone down wrathfully.
Ichika Minamoto!
Utterly enraged, Akiko packed her stuff and left the building.
Around ten minutes later, she rushed to the woman’s apartment. After a while, she saw the middle-aged woman escorted out by two men.
This is bad!
Overcome by fear, she took out her phone and began typing desperately with shaking fingers.
Your mom was captured. I’ll give you another 500 thousand if she keeps her mouth shut!
She sent out the message as quick as she could.
After that, she saw Solomon and his men push the woman into the car and leave.
Akiko’s hands clenched onto the driving wheel tightly, her body trembling incessantly.
…
Half an hour later, at an entertainment center in Avenport.
Solomon’s men threw the woman right onto the ground.
“Speak now. Did you do it intentionally?”
“Ahh…”
The woman looked around her with horror written all over her face.
She bit her lip and shook her head desperately. “No… I didn’t mean it… Please.”
“Get to work,” was the indifferent reply from Solomon as he lit up a cigarette and puffed on it casually.
Then, he walked over to the bar to order a drink.
Every day at this hour, young men and women would start partying in the bar. Solomon, on the other head, could not be less entertained by dancing and singing.
Hence, whenever the dance floor started to heat up, he would prefer to order a drink and have a light chat with the bartender.
“Mr. George, you appear well recently. Is there any good news?”
“Good news?”
Solomon cast a glance at the bartender, feeling amused.
“Nope. I’m a lonely guy. If I’ve got good news, I wouldn’t be drinking here alone, would I?”
“How could you say that? If you want it, I’m sure there will be countless beauties lining up for you in Avenport.”
The bartender smiled as he shifted his gaze toward the dance floor. Then, he placed the cocktail he had just made in front of Solomon.
After two rounds of drink, Solomon’s men approached him.
“Mr. George, she’s still unwilling to speak.”
“Is that so?”
Solomon put down his glass upon hearing that.
Half drunk by then, he wandered toward the woman who had been beaten so badly that she could not even get up from the ground.
“You’ve got balls. You don’t want to give in, do you? Fine. Bring her son here then. I think she has a son.”
“No!”
The woman let out a horrified shriek.
His Secret Lover Returning from the Dead Chapter 1325
Lose Control
“I’ll speak! I’ll speak. That’s right. I did it on purpose. I saw her keep following me, so I was tempted to sell her away for a fortune.”
The woman finally admitted to it.
“What did you say? You were going to sell her?”
Solomon was beyond furious upon hearing that.
How dare she try to sell my one-year-old niece? What would have happened if we failed to find her? I can’t imagine it!
Just then, his childhood memories flashed across his mind. He recalled when his mother and he were wandering on the streets when he was young.
His mother would leave him at the front door of others to con them for money.
He could not imagine how he managed to survive the fear back then.
He thought he had forgotten about all that. Yet after he heard the woman mention she had been planning to sell Jaena, the trauma came back to haunt him.
A chill ran down his spine as he started to tremble.
Bang!
Losing his mind, he grabbed a chair and smashed it down on the woman.
The woman let out a scream before collapsing to the floor. Blood spilled out from her head.
Despite so, Solomon had no intention to stop at all.
He seemed to have lost all his rationality. After smashing the chair, he picked up the ashtray, the wine bottle, and anything he could get his hand on, and one after another, he hurled them at the woman.
Eventually, the woman stopped moving completely. Solomon’s subordinates immediately stepped over to stop him by grabbing his arms, and only then did he stop, panting heavily.
“Mr. Akiyama… are you okay?”
Everyone at the scene was shocked, including the bartender, who was pale with fear upon seeing what happened.
Solomon was panting heavily, trying hard to recollect himself.
After a while, he regained his senses and shifted his gaze downward.
She’s dead.
The woman was no longer breathing, and the scene was incredibly bloody. Some of her blood even stained his pants.
Solomon’s pupils began to constrict.
“Mr. Akiyama?”
“I’m fine…”
Solomon tried hard to suppress the panic in his heart. He signaled his men to clean up the mess while he walked out of the place in a daze.
He panicked not because he killed someone.
It was not his first time taking a life, so he was not that bothered about it, especially since she had committed a crime.
He panicked because he never expected to lose his mind over his childhood tragedy.
As such, he decided to go home.
Little did he know that the moment he got out, someone was observing him in a black car across the street.
Moments after Solomon left, a corpse was carried out from the nightclub.
The woman in the black car displayed a satisfied smile upon seeing that.
Great. This is what I want.
…
Meanwhile, at Frontier Bay.
Devin and Sabrina brought their daughter to the personal physician to conduct a thorough checkup.
Just then, they heard the news that Solomon had beaten the woman who abducted Jaena to death at a nightclub.
They were left in utter astonishment.
“Why?”
“The woman did not take Jaena home out of the goodness of her heart just because Jaena was following her. She wanted to sell her for money!”
“What did you say!”
Sabrina was infuriated upon hearing that.
Fortunately, the composed Devin grabbed her arm and gestured at her to calm down.
“Since the woman had already admitted to her crime, he should have handed her over to the cops. Why did he kill her in front of so many witnesses? Has he always been that impulsive?”
“That’s not it. Something didn’t seem right with him at the time.”
The subordinate elaborated the whole incident to them.
Upon hearing that, Devin’s expression turned extremely solemn.
Sabrina’s rage also faded and was replaced with utter befuddlement.
Did he lose control? How could that be? He doesn’t seem like a rash person, though.
“Fine. I’ll go check on him.”
After pondering for a while, Devin decided to find him.
Sabrina wanted to go too, but Jaena was still in the middle of the checkup.
Half an hour later, at a local apartment complex.
Solomon’s lifestyle seemed somehow unreasonable. By right, he should be living in a more luxurious place since he was now the president of Hayes Corporation.
But still, he chose to stay in his previous apartment, which was a relatively old building.
It was the same apartment back when he first started his company.
His Secret Lover Returning from the Dead Chapter 1326
She Was Blind
Devin was a little astounded as he looked at the apartment area. He remained stunned for a moment before following the people who came with him to Solomon’s apartment.
Ding dong…
“Mr. Akiyama, Mr. Jadeson is here to see you.” After pressing the doorbell, the person who led Devin to the apartment mentioned Devin’s name. He was concerned that Solomon would refuse to open the door even though he was inside the apartment.
There was no response at first. After some time, someone finally came to open the door.
“Good evening, Solomon,” Devin greeted immediately when the door opened.
Overall, he doesn’t look out of the ordinary. However, I can’t rule out the possibility that he cleaned up his appearance before opening the door.
Devin quietly glanced at Solomon’s wet sleeves.
“Good evening. When did you reach here? Is Jaena all right?” Solomon avoided Devin’s gaze and went into the apartment to get him a glass of water.
Devin entered the apartment.
“Oh, she’s all right. The kidnapper only gave her a little sleeping pill. Since the dosage was small, there wasn’t much effect,” Devin explained and tried his best to assuage Solomon’s fear.
Devin was still a little puzzled over this matter.
If the middle-aged woman wanted to abduct Jaena to sell her, she would have given her a higher dosage to make sure that Jaena remained quiet.
However, when he arrived at Frontier Bay this evening, Sabrina had recovered their daughter and told him that Jaena was awake and crying when she found her.
Devin found it strange.
Furthermore, if the woman had abducted Jaena to sell her, why didn’t she leave the city immediately with Jaena? It had been more than six hours between the abduction and when they found Jaena.
The woman even stayed at home and waited for people to catch her.
However, Devin could not bear to continue with his explanation.
He saw Solomon’s initially calm expression suddenly turn furious and threatening right after he finished explaining.
Furthermore, he could see a deep hatred in Solomon’s expression.
“Solomon?” Devin asked carefully.
Solomon did not answer, but he recovered a few seconds later.
Then, he began to panic and tried to hide his momentary relapse. “Erm, have you had dinner? Would you like to have something to eat?”
“No need. I’ve had dinner. I came here to thank you. Jaena is lucky to have you as her uncle. You brought her back home safely.” Devin pretended not to see Solomon’s strange expression just now.
He took the glass of water Solomon gave him and went to sit down on the couch as he explained the reason for his visit.
He was not a doctor, but he had years of experience in war. That enabled him to develop keen observation and analytical skills.
Therefore, he was sure that there was something wrong with Solomon’s expression just now.
However, he was uncertain about what it was.
Therefore, Devin decided to consider this further after he returned.
“Don’t worry about it. It’s something that I should do. You should console Sabrina later. She must have been frightened badly today,” Solomon said calmly. He appeared to have returned to normal.
Devin nodded. “I understand. That’s why I’m planning to bring her and Jaena back to Jadeborough. Truthfully, I still have a lot of questions about this incident. I suspect that Eddie might still have followers around.”
“Eddie?” Solomon was stunned for a moment. He had never thought of that possibility.
Devin nodded. “Yes. I guess you don’t know about this, but Edmund met one such person when he went to Jetroina and nearly died in his hands. At the same time, Sabrina was in some trouble too.”
Solomon did not speak for a moment.
He had never considered this. Then, he recalled the woman he killed in his fit of anger and felt remorseful.
After chatting for a while, Devin decided to leave. Before leaving, he informed Solomon that he would bring Sabrina, Ian, Matteo, and Vivan back to Jadeborough tomorrow.
“The kids are leaving with you too?” Solomon was surprised for a moment.
Devin nodded. “Yes. Their parents are now in Jetroina. If I leave Frontier Bay with Sabrina and Jaena, no one can care for them. You’re too busy to take care of them either.”
Devin smiled at Solomon.
On the other hand, Solomon felt a little awkward.
Devin left soon after. Sabrina had been waiting for him in Frontier Bay all this while. When she saw that he had returned, she quickly asked him what was wrong with Solomon. However, Devin did not answer her and immediately called Grayson in Jadeborough.
He explained the matter to Grayson. After listening to him, Grayson told him that it was a psychological issue. He was a surgical doctor, so it was not his area of expertise.
Psychological issue? Isn’t this Sasha’s area?
Devin recalled this fact and immediately messaged Sasha in Jetroina.
However, he did not know that Sasha had lost her sight. It was Sebastian who was holding her smartphone.
Devin: This is the situation. Can you tell me what is wrong with him?
However, Sasha did not reply.
After a long while, Sebastian finally got up from a bench outside the enclosed ward and went to the medical lab. He threw the smartphone at Haruto, who was busy examining the remains of the fetus.
Haruto was surprised.
He was still holding a pair of tweezers and had no choice but to look down for a moment.
His Secret Lover Returning from the Dead Chapter 1327
Clear All Obstacles
A moment later, Haruto answered, “It could be the effects from traumatic events, causing him to react in such an extreme manner.”
Trauma?
Sebastian stood at the side and watched Haruto cut a small slice of the fetus’ remains and put it in a fluid. Then, he ground a part of it into a paste and put it under the microscope.
The sight made Sebastian uncomfortable, so he looked away quietly.
“Psychological trauma?” Sebastian asked.
“That should be it. You can ask the person whether he has experienced any traumatic events in the past. Then, you can easily find the reason for his extreme behavior. Mr. Hayes, stop bothering me with this matter. Your wife is blind, so aren’t you worried?” Haruto said.
Then, Sebastian took the smartphone and left the lab.
…
In the end, Devin and Sabrina still could not figure out what was wrong with Solomon.
The following day, both of them brought the four children with them and left Avenport.
Solomon watched them leave.
After that, he returned to his car.
“Mr. Akiyama, now that they’ve left, Frontier Bay is quiet again.” Akiko, who was driving the car, could not help but sigh upon seeing Devin and the others leave.
Solomon did not reply, but he felt a little lonely. It was apparent from his expression that he was not in a good mood.
After that, both of them returned to the company. To prevent himself from overthinking, Solomon devoted himself to work.
Meanwhile, Akiko also returned to her post.
However, in the following few days, the employees in the planning department realized that Akiko was giving their new colleague, Ichika, a hard time.
“Ichika, the president’s office called again just now. They’ve rejected your proposal. Now that Mr. Lawson is not around, they keep rejecting everything. What should we do?” said an employee in the planning department.
“Yes, this is so annoying,” another employee added.
Everyone was indignant on behalf of Ichika.
Ichika, too, was at her wit’s end.
However, when she saw how everyone was concerned about her, she felt bad for making them worry. Therefore, she comforted them by saying, “It’s all right. I’ll meet with Mr. George and discuss it.”
“Yes, that’s a good idea.” Her colleagues perked up upon hearing this.
Therefore, Ichika brought a stack of her rejected proposals and went to the top floor.
She went there intending to ask Solomon for his guidance. After all, she had just started working here and was unfamiliar with the projects. Therefore, it was not surprising that they rejected her proposals.
Previously, she could ask Taylor since he was the director of the planning department. However, he was now away on a business trip. Therefore, she believed that it was okay for her to consult Solomon.
She came to Solomon’s office, knocked on the door, and opened it. However, she did not expect to see Akiko working there busily.
“Akiko?” Ichika said in a surprise.
“Yes, Ms. Minamoto. Mr. Akiyama is not here. Why are you looking for him?” Akiko said with an indifferent tone.
Ichika furrowed her brows.
She showed the proposals she was carrying to Akiko and explained, “It’s about these proposals. I wanted to ask Mr. Akiyama why he rejected them and understand what the issue is with them?”
“He’s rejected these proposals, and you dare to ask him why?” Akiko’s expression darkened instantly.
She glared at Ichika and thought that she was naive and stupid.
“Ms. Minamoto, do you still not remember? I’ve reminded you many times that Mr. Akiyama is the president, and you’re just a lowly employee in the planning department. You have no right to speak to him directly,” Akiko scolded.
“But…” Ichika said.
“That’s enough. You can leave now. I won’t inform Mr. Akiyama about this matter for now. However, don’t let me see you here again.” Akiko did not give Ichika any chance to explain and scolded her sternly.
After that, she ignored Ichika and continued to focus on her work.
Ichika did not know what to say.
For a moment, she panicked and did not know what to do. As she stood there, her round face flushed red in distraught.
I don’t want Akiyama to hate me.
Therefore, she hugged the proposals to herself and decided to leave.
When Akiko saw that Ichika was about to leave, a smirk appeared on her face.
“That’s not right, Akiko. Mr. Akiyama did say that I could see him whenever I have any problems,” Ichika added.
“What?” Akiko was startled.
“Also, you have been rude to me more than once now. Akiko Sato, you’re becoming more and more impudent. What gives you the right to behave so arrogantly with me?” Ichika said sternly.
Ichika was usually sweet and cute, but when she became stern, unwavering authority emanated from her, making her seem regal. No one dared to look down on her when she was like that.
Akiko was rendered speechless.
Her expression changed, and she quickly left her seat and came to Ichika. “Ms. Minamoto, I…”
“Get out!” Ichika commanded.
“What?”
“I order you to get out, didn’t you hear? From now on, wherever I am, you have to follow Jetroina’s rules of nobility strictly and never appear within my line of sight.” Ichika glared at Akiko sternly and refused to relent.
Akiko’s face went completely pale.
At this moment, Solomon suddenly returned to the office.
The moment he opened the door, he immediately saw a tense scene before him and asked puzzledly, “What’s wrong?”
Ichika turned to him and asked, “Mr. Akiyama, do you see me as a lowly employee who has no right to consult you?”
His Secret Lover Returning from the Dead Chapter 1328
Reversal Of Right And Wrong
Ichika spoke to Solomon directly.
There was no room for Akiko to interrupt.
Therefore, Akiko began to panic, and her face paled even further.
“No, I don’t. Who told you that? I remember saying that since you’ve entered the company, you can look for me anytime if you have any questions,” Solomon answered with a frown.
In an instant, the atmosphere in the office turned cold. The origin of the chill was none other than Ichika, who was so furious that a coldness seemed to emanate from the depth of her eyes.
No one expected Ichika to be capable of expressing such a chilling gaze.
“Akiko!” Ichika snapped angrily.
“Ms. Minamoto!” Akiko immediately kneeled before Ichika. “I’m sorry, Ms. Minamoto! It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have given you fake information regarding Mr. Akiyama’s wishes. I thought I was doing it for your sake so that Mr. Akiyama would have a better impression of you. I was wrong. Please forgive me, Ms. Minamoto!”
Ichika did not expect Akiko to carry out such a countermeasure when she saw that her lie was about to fail. She admitted her mistakes and even kneeled to apologize humbly.
Solomon still could not understand what was going on and was a little stunned.
Ichika remained standing on her spot, unable to voice a single complaint. She felt uncomfortable and awkward standing there.
Furthermore, she had never seen a commoner behaving so outrageously.
No servant dared to decide for their master in the Minamoto family. If a servant did that, they would be severely punished and chased out of the residence.
Ichika was bursting with fury. “You… You’re too much! Who gives you the right to decide for me?”
“Yes, yes, I was wrong, and I admit my mistake. No matter how you decide to punish me, I won’t hold it against you.” After saying that, Akiko prostrated herself on the floor.
She looked like a slave begging for mercy.
Solomon was rendered speechless.
Suddenly, a scene appeared in his mind.
It was a memory from when he was eighteen years old when Yancy brought him to the Tsurka family in Jetroina for the first time. At the time, to convince Yamada to let him stay and adopt him as his son, he had to kneel in a way that was almost as humiliating as what Akiko was doing now.
Furthermore, after Yamada finally adopted him, he had to leave his room daily to kneel and bow to Yamada and his sons.
He had to do that all the way until he graduated from university. Then, he left to carve his own path.
Solomon’s pupils constricted, and he stared at Akiko prostrated on the floor and shouted without thinking, “Why are you prostrated before her? Are you her slave? Why do you have to prostrate before her like that?”
The office fell into complete silence.
Ichika turned to him with a pale expression as tears quickly filled her almond-shaped eyes.
“Mr. Akiyama, you…” Ichika was utterly dumbfounded.
Her chest suddenly felt constricted. It felt so uncomfortable that it was painful to breathe.
Solomon did not say anything.
He stared at her for a second, but that was enough for Ichika to bury her face in her hands and run out of the office.
Bang!
The office door slammed shut, causing Solomon to tremble for a moment.
What was I doing? How could I say something like that? Ichika is a noble lady. Isn’t it normal for Akiko to kneel before her? Have I gone mad again?
“Mr. Akiyama, thank you for defending me just now, but Ms. Minamoto—” Akiko started to say.
“Get out!” Solomon growled through gritted teeth. Even after he calmed down, his gaze remained murderous.
His words instantly extinguished Akiko’s glee. She looked at him fearfully and did not dare to disobey him. Therefore, she stood up from the floor and walked out.
Ever since Solomon’s mother died, Akiko believed she understood him better than anyone in this world.
When Solomon came to Jetroina at eighteen years old, Akiko and the Sato family were working as servants for the Tsurka family.
Her elder brother, Ken, served Yamada since he was young.
Meanwhile, her elder sister, Hanako, served Yancy ever since Yancy came to Jetroina.
Only Akiko was not given any task due to her young age. Therefore, she followed by Hanako’s side. One day, the eighteen-year-old Solomon arrived in Jetroina.
Thus, she knew how his life was all these years.
She frequently heard from Yancy about how he was mistreated from a young age. Truthfully, Akiko never believed that Yancy was fit to be a mother.
It was because Yancy frequently used Solomon as a bargaining chip since he was a child to gain money and benefits so that she could show off.
She had never once cared about how much trauma and emotional damage that might cause to him.
After realizing this fact at the time, Akiko hated Yancy and pitied Solomon.
His Secret Lover Returning from the Dead Chapter 1329
Chapter 1329 No One Blames Her
It was not her intention to tear his scars open. She had merely wanted to protect him. However, drastic changes happened all around her as time went by.
Now, her protective feelings for him had changed.
She no longer felt the need to protect him. Instead, they had mutated into an overwhelming desire to possess him. To her, he could only belong to her and no one else!
Akiko left the company to find a news agency incognito and revealed Ichika had dashed out from the Hayes Corporation president’s office crying.
Soon, the news was making waves.
The entire Avenport community was in an uproar. Not long after, the news had spread to the entire nation, then overseas, including Jetroina.
“What is Ichika doing? How could she do something like that to humiliate the family name there?”
“Exactly. The entire Terrandya is talking about the Minamoto family now.”
“Hmph!”
The entire Minamoto family had gathered to ask for an explanation from Ichika’s father Giichi when they saw the news.
Giichi had no choice but to call Ichika, who was in Avenport.
“Ichika, what happened? What have you done to make the situation so terrible? All of Terrandya is laughing at the Minamoto family now. They’re saying we’re the ones who are throwing ourselves at Yamada. You better have an explanation for all this!”
Giichi’s strict words caused the only just calmed-down Ichika to plummet into a state of panic.
How did the news even reach Terrandya?
She instantly wiped the tears off her cheeks then reached for her phone to surf the web.
The first thing she saw was her name plastered on every headline. Each of the headlines had large font and an exaggerated title to gain publicity. They said she was desperately clinging onto Hayes Corporation and refused to leave it, making her seem like a shameless person.
Desperately clinging and refusing to leave?
The news was another blow to the already battered Ichika. The rim of her eyes turned red from anger.
Stumbling upon one of the videos, she clicked play.
She saw herself rushing out of Solomon’s office. The video seemed to have been recorded secretly.
I’m a daughter of the Minamoto family. How can anybody take a video of me secretly? Not to mention it was uploaded online almost instantly!
Anger poured through her at the thought.
She stood up determinedly, suppressing the grievance she felt earlier, then left the hotel and took a taxi to Hayes Corporation.
Meanwhile, all of Hayes Corporation’s employees were also discussing the news.
However, no one looked into who recorded the video. That was because everyone knew all the reporters had been camping out front of the building, fighting over who got the first scoop ever since Ichika entered Hayes Corporation.
Hence, no one had the slightest inkling of suspicion that there was a chance it wasn’t the reporters’ doings.
When Ichika arrived at Hayes Corporation, the rims of her eyes were still red while her round face still showed evidence of her crying.
However, she didn’t care about looking like a bullied doll. She merely headed to the elevator with determined steps.
“Ichika does look quite pitiful like that.”
“Right, I think so too. I was in her company these past few days. She didn’t seem anything like the calculating person the news made her out to be.”
“Agree. She’s a friendly girl who always greets us first. The way we’re treating her now isn’t right.”
“Yes, so stop laughing.”
“I’ll go check on her.”
Nobody could have thought that within a few minutes of Ichika’s return, the employees in the building would stop blaming her. They didn’t have the heart to after seeing her doing her best to suppress her tears despite how angry and sad she was.
Some even took the initiative to ask her how she was doing.
And so, Ichika wiped her tears after finally waiting for the elevator doors to slide close.
Suddenly, the doors slid open again, and a female employee entered the small space.
“Ichika?”
“H-Hi…”
Ichika spun around swiftly and wiped her tears dry awkwardly.
The employee felt bad for Ichika after catching her looking so lost.
“Ichika, don’t be scared. You must be on your way to see Mr. George, right? Don’t worry. I’ll accompany you there.”
“Huh?”
Ichika was surprised by the sudden friendliness.
No, I actually wasn’t on my way to see him. I was going to investigate the video.
However, she was thankful to this kind person who was willing to help her. She was surprised because she had thought everyone would dislike her after this incident, thinking she was a sticky bubble gum who clung persistently to Solomon.
“Don’t you all hate me?”
“What’s there to hate? We all like you. I want to accompany you there so that you won’t get bullied by Mr. George. Don’t worry. I’ll still help you even if I lose this job.”
The employee even pumped her fist determinedly.
Ichika didn’t know what to say.
Feeling touched, the tears she had suppressed welled up again and flowed from her reddened eyes.
“No, I’m not looking for Mr. Akiyama. I’m investigating the video. I want to know who uploaded it.”
“Huh?”
The employee was baffled by Ichika’s correction.
“The video? Wasn’t it the reporters who secretly recorded it?”
“Reporters?” Ichika dabbed at her red eyes. “It wasn’t them. The video wouldn’t have been so clear if the reporters were the ones who had recorded it. Also, angle-wise, it was shot from the president’s office area and wasn’t from outside the window or some hidden corner.”
Wow! This girl is amazing!
His Secret Lover Returning from the Dead Chapter 1330
The Outcome Is Death
There was a tinge of brittleness in Ichika’s usual chirpy voice as she explained.
Yet she had explained distinctly about her findings on the secretly recorded video. Her detailed observation and extensive knowledge of videography were impressive.
The employee was stunned.
This girl is good! Merely a glimpse of the video, and she already has it analyzed to every little detail.
The employee was thoroughly impressed.
The other employees working in the president’s office were bewildered by the appearance of Ichika since it was a sensitive time for her. Hence, the moment Ichika stepped into the office, everyone’s eyes were on her.
“Ms. Minamoto, you—”
“Everyone stay silent. Our Ichika has a mystery to solve.”
The female employee accompanying Ichika hushed the rest.
And so, under the scrutiny of the rest of the employees, Ichika stood there scanning the office. They were surprised to see the young woman wearing a determined and solemn expression on her face.
Ichika had a few positions in mind judging from the angle of the video. She walked to each position to verify her suspicion.
This one is not quite right.
This second one doesn’t really fit the bill either.
She hit the jackpot at the third position. She even posed as though she was recording a video from that angle.
“It’s here!”
Once she confirmed that the spot was correct, she spun around to glance at the work desk behind her.
The rest of the employees were shocked when they saw her location.
“Isn’t that Mr. Luke’s desk?”
“That’s right. Ms. Minamoto, that’s Mr. Luke’s desk!”
Everyone was telling and reminding Ichika simultaneously.
However, Ichika wasn’t listening to any of them. Instead, she was searching Luke’s desk. Soon after, she found a camera in the drawer.
Oh my god!
The entire office was in an uproar.
At that moment, Akiko finally returned from an offsite errand.
The moment she stepped into the office and saw the scene, her face paled. She immediately crossed the office to Ichika.
“Ms. Minamoto, what are you doing? How could you touch other’s things without the owner’s consent?”
Crash!
The camera in Ichika’s hand fell onto the floor with a well-placed smack from Akiko.
Everyone was stunned by Akiko’s over-the-top reaction. Everything had happened so quickly that none of them could grasp the situation. They were pondering what the two women were doing.
Ichika stared at the camera that had smashed into pieces upon contact with the floor. By the looks of it, it couldn’t be used anymore. She shifted her gaze from the fallen camera and focused it on Akiko.
At that point, Luke came over after hearing all the commotion.
“What’s this?”
He was dumbfounded at the entire scene. Anger surged through him when his gaze landed on the camera on the floor.
Who the f**k did this?
I can’t even explain myself at this point. How can anyone believe my words when the evidence is so damning?
“Ms. Minamoto, I—”
“Calm down, Mr. Luke. I know you didn’t do this. Can you do me a favor and bring Mr. Akiyama here?”
He was surprised by her request.
She hadn’t blamed or accused him of being the perpetrator.
Instead, she requested him to bring Solomon over.
Luke stood there in a daze, blinking in disbelief for a while. Soon snapping out of his thoughts, he left the office again to bring Solomon over.
“What’s wrong? What happened? Why is everyone here?”
Solomon tried to grasp the situation after having arrived at the scene.
Pushing the office door open, the first thing he saw was the entire office staff standing there, gawking. He was not happy about that.
Soon, a petite woman squeezed through the crowd and rushed toward him.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Akiyama. I know our earlier meeting didn’t end on a happy note, but because of that, someone spread a nasty rumor on the Internet. My family has now become the butt of every joke in Terrandya.”
“What?”
Solomon narrowed his eyes.
“Who did it? I was in a meeting earlier, so I wasn’t aware of the news.”
Ichika nodded her head immediately. “I understand. Hence, the reason for me asking you to come here is to act as a witness to see whether I have done something to disgrace the Minamoto family name.”
Then, she pointed toward the broken camera on the floor.
Solomon questioned, “What’s that?”
Ichika answered, “This is a camera, which Akiko smacked from my hands just now. It’s broken, but that’s fine. Now let me show you the perpetrator who did all this to me.”
She then picked the camera up from the floor under everyone’s scrutiny.
What is she trying to do?
Everyone simply stared in confusion.
Ichika set the camera on the desk, then took out a piece of cling film and wrapped the camera with it. Finally, she unwound the cling film, setting it flat on the desk, and poured a liquid she had brought with her onto the film.
Shortly after, an astonishing scene unfolded before the crowd’s amazed gaze. Many distinctive fingerprints emerged on the cling film.
“What is this?”
“Mr. Akiyama, please be patient. Let me input it into the system and have a quick cross-check against Jetroina’s system,” informed Ichika calmly.
She took some photos of the fingerprints, fired up her computer then swiftly hacked into Jetroina’s security system. Then, she uploaded the fingerprints.
Within three minutes, the results were out. One of the prints belonged to Ichika, while the others all belonged to Akiko.
The entire room fell into a dead silence.
In actuality, for someone of Ichika’s status to crush Akiko was as easy as a flick of the fingers.