Ch. 21..30

As Colton hit the gas, his car vroomed and roared, speeding away toward their destination. What was supposed to be a one-hour-long trip was shortened to only forty minutes.

Having reached their destination, Nicole lifted the skirt of her gown and picked up her pace. Ignoring the fact that she still had her heels on, she stormed up the stairs, only to discover that the door to her house was wide open. Traces of the door being pried open were apparent. The house was in a complete mess. All of the wardrobes in the rooms were opened, and even the fruit platter on the living room table was swept onto the floor. Evidently, the situation that took place earlier was rather extreme.

Feeling a tingle in her nose, she scoured the room as she yelled, “Hayden! Hayden!” Nonetheless, the house was silent, and not a single movement was heard.

Accordingly, Colton, who just parked his car, arrived at the scene, realizing that burglars must have barged in with the mess in the house.

Nicole then searched in every room without missing even one corner. Sadly, her son was nowhere to be found. All at once, she broke down in tears. Her son meant everything to her, and there was no point in living without him.

Staring at the devastated woman, Colton, for some reason, felt a sting in his heart. He subtly frowned, remembering how he was never a nosy person. However, perhaps it was because the woman in front of him could prove beneficial to Gardner Corporation, for he came up with a virtuous excuse. “I’ve got some connections. Send me some photos of your boy, and I’ll have them look for him.” Once Nicole accepted his help, she would be in his debt, and it would be nothing but advantageous were Nicole, as the Chief Designer of F&M Apparel, to repay her debt.

The woman sniffled with her eyes absolutely reddened. Regardless, she managed to remain rational. At that moment, crying wouldn’t be of any use as the most crucial thing to do was to look for her son. She didn’t even dare to imagine what would happen if she failed that.

Swiftly, she pulled out her phone and opened the photo gallery to search for her son’s photographs. Pulling up the images, she realized that she only had Colton’s number before turning to him and said, “Can you add me on Facebook? I’ll send the photos to you.”

“Okay.” Colton nodded and befriended her on Facebook.

At once, Nicole sent the photos to the man. Squinting her eyes, she attempted to hold up her collapsing mind. As she had been living overseas for many years, she basically had no close acquaintance in the country. Thus, she had no one to turn to for help. As she was hesitating, she received a call from Zachary. She then sniffled before answering the call and spoke with her shaking voice. “Hello?”

Having heard from the waiter that Nicole and Colton left the hotel in a rush with displeased faces, Zachary knew something was up. Nevertheless, now that he heard Nicole’s tone, he immediately knew the graveness of the matter. After pausing for a bit, he inquired, “Nicole, did something happen?”

“Hayden was abducted.” She held in the urge to wail.

Zachary was dazed to hear that and quickly comforted, “I’m coming right away, Nicole.”

Hanging up the call, Nicole crouched down. The weather was rather chilly in February. Despite donning only a gown, she stiffly squatted as if she couldn’t feel the wafting coldness.

With that, Colton took off his coat and draped it around her. As he gazed at the woman before him, an inexplicable pain flashed across his eyes. “I’ve instructed some men to look for your son. In the meantime, I need you to think whether you’ve offended anyone in the country,” he calmly suggested, thinking only a grudgeful nemesis would kidnap her child.

Feeling the warmth on her back, she sensed a smell on the coat that exclusively belonged to the man, in which she found comfort in. She raised her hand to brush away the tears at the corner of her eyes and shook her head. “Not that I know of. I’ve been living overseas for the past few years. I didn’t return here during that period either.” As she stammered, an idea popped up in her mind. If there were any people that held resentment against her, it could only be the Andersons.

Are the Andersons behind this? But why would they do so? Hayden is Joseph’s son, so even if they take him in, it won’t give them any benefits. Perhaps, there’s some convenience that they discovered in abducting Hayden?

Regardless, she couldn’t forgo any clue she could think of. “I got it. I’m going to pay the Andersons a visit.”

 

Chapter 22 Andersons’ Interrogation

Before she could walk away, she was stopped by Colton’s grab, to which she, halting her steps, turned to look at him as she tried to shake him off. With a frown, she asked, “What are you doing?”

Colton swept his gaze across the woman’s figure. At that moment, the once-delicate makeup of the woman before him was smeared by her tears as tiny red veins surged in her eyes. She was nothing but miserable. Due to her hastiness, the bottom part of her gown was all crumpled and stained by dirt. Unlike the graceful Lisa she was one hour ago, she now resembled a pitiful stray puppy. As he withdrew the odd look in his eyes, with his raspy voice, he uttered, “Go get changed. I’ll send you there.”

Nicole lowered her head and took a look at herself, only to find that she, indeed, seemed pathetic. She then nodded and went back into her house. Followingly, she changed into a rather casual outfit, but she didn’t have time to remove her makeup. As she exited her room, she gathered her messy hair and tied it behind her head with a black rubber band. Regardless, her appearance wasn’t anywhere atrocious. Having changed into casual wear from her gown, she appeared notably younger.

“Let’s go. To Anderson Residence.” She dragged Colton, who she, in that instant, perceived as her life savior, as if she was comforted by the man’s existence.

Colton peered at the aggressive woman in front of him and how she intuitively grasped his wrist as she thoughtlessly dragged him forward. In the past, he would have confidently considered such behavior as a woman’s flirtation tricks.

Having descended the stairs, Nicole got into the car and finally calmed herself down. That was when she realized the car Colton was driving was a full black Rolls-Royce Phantom, and she felt embarrassed by the fact that she charged into the passenger seat.

As Colton was starting the engine, he caught Nicole’s awkward look and beamed. “You’re the first person to sit in my car’s passenger seat.”

“Uh…” Why’d he say that out of nowhere?! Nevertheless, thinking how the man drove her out of F&M Apparel’s annual dinner just to look for her son, she eventually blurted, “Thanks for your help.”

His deep eyes darkened. Without making a response, he concentrated on driving. Fortunately, Colton was somewhat familiar with Anderson Residence. Although he’d only been there once, he remembered the way there, thanks to his superb memory.

As they arrived at Anderson Residence, Nicole turned to the man in a suit at the steering wheel. Due to the fact that he traveled all over the city for her, his hair visibly grew unkempt. To be fair, the man, as long as he kept his mouth shut and refrained from uttering any sort of infuriating words, was actually a sight for sore eyes.

The sky was engulfed by darkness in the middle of the night, and if she didn’t have a ride, she would have to walk her way home. Looking at him, she said, “Please wait for me, President Gardner. I’ll be back shortly.”

“Okay, go ahead.” Colton nodded, willing to be a gentleman in her eyes. Regardless of the result, the partnership between Gardner Corporation and F&M Apparel was considered secured. None could blame him for his heartlessness as he was only fulfilling his role as an opportunistic businessman.

At Anderson Residence, where the lights were still on and flickering, Nicole decidedly barged into the building. The sound of the door being pushed open was loud and clear, and it had William and Lydia, who were resting in the living room, turning their heads to her.

Nicole gazed at the two of them. Without wasting a breath, she questioned, “Is my son here?”

Lydia was taken aback for a moment before recalling Nicole’s previous words. Swiftly, she concealed the nervousness in her eyes as she scowled at her. “Why’d your son be here, psycho?!”

As Nicole was in no mood to beat around the bush with the couple, she stared at them with her eyes so resolute and repeated her question. She coldly interrogated, “Did you kidnap my son?!”

Since the Andersons had always wanted to establish a connection with the Manns, their intention back when they asked Nicole to return to the family instantly became obvious, and in no way would she allow them to use her son as a leverage against her.

“Have you gone insane, Nicole? Go be a psycho out there instead of charging into someone else’s home! Who in the world would want to kidnap that abomination you gave birth to?” Lydia dauntingly replied. In her wide-open eyes were a hint of condescension.

Forcing herself to cool down as her lips quivered, Nicole calmly added, “Just state your demand and release my son.”

“You have a son?” William, who had been remaining silent on the couch, suddenly inquired.

Nicole saw his expression, and it seemed rather genuine, as if he was actually clueless that she had a son. Is Hayden really not here?

 

Chapter 23 Malicious Woman

“Hayden! Hayden!” Nicole yelled in the villa, but to no avail.

Lydia, out of patience, eventually rebuked, “Hey, you psychotic tramp! First, you shamelessly got pregnant before getting married, and now you’re here looking for your son. You must be absolutely sick in the head!”

Nevertheless, Nicole, focusing on her son’s search, didn’t bother to indulge in the argument before turning around and leaving after she made sure her son wasn’t in the residence.

It wasn’t until Nicole finally left that Queenie ambled down the staircase. “Mom.” She walked to the couch and sat down with a face full of joy.

Lydia glanced at her. Recalling Nicole’s behavior, she figured that Queenie had succeeded in her plan and revealed a relieved grin. “I thought you were attending F&M Apparel’s annual dinner. Why are you home this early?”

Queenie, who went upstairs to get changed upon her return, coincidentally missed Nicole’s visit. At the mention of the dinner, a trace of vexation flashed across her eyes as she clenched her fists. She reluctantly said, “Mom, it turns out that b*tch Nicole was F&M Apparel’s Chief Designer, Lisa.” She had never anticipated Nicole to undergo such a massive change in mere five years, nor did they know what blatant tricks she’d used to achieve such a high position.

“What?!” Lydia dazedly exclaimed as she opened her eyes in dismay. Nicole has been F&M Apparel’s Lisa all along?!

Remembering the embarrassing incident back at F&M Apparel’s annual dinner, Queenie couldn’t help but feel resentful, thinking it was all Nicole’s fault that she had now become a joke in the country’s upper society.

“Wait, you mean Nicole’s the Lisa from F&M Apparel?” William squinted his greedy eyes, almost to the point where his pupil couldn’t be seen.

“That’s right, Dad,” Queenie grittingly replied as she turned to her father. “Hell, she even used her identity to accuse and insult me on purpose! I can’t be any more embarrassed at the annual dinner!”

At that moment, Lydia lowered her head, contemplating, as if she remembered something before swiftly raising her head and turning to Queenie. “Queenie, have you done the thing?”

Seeing as William was still present, Queenie pursed her lips without uttering a word, but Lydia, who couldn’t be bothered by such a minor inconvenience, grasped her daughter and said, “Tell me! Did you do it or not, Queenie?”

Weirded out by his wife and daughter, William frowned at them. “What are you on about?”

Since Queenie couldn’t hide it any longer, she came clean about everything. “It was me who abducted Nicole’s son, and we’re going to toss him into the ocean, so they won’t be able to find him even if they looked everywhere!” Malice flashed across her eyes when she said that.

Enraged, William sprung up from his seat and gave Queenie a slap, to which her blanched face immediately swelled and the smirk on her face turned upside down. She peered at her father in disbelief. William had never beaten her ever since she was a child, but the smack he just landed was drawn with unrepressed strength, leaving a scorching throb on her cheek.

“Imbecile!” William bellowed as he glared at his daughter’s pitiable face.

Having been humiliated during F&M Apparel’s annual dinner, she was now served with a ferocious smack by her own father. Naturally, her voice started to grow tremulous. “Dad?”

“Nicole is now the Chief Designer of F&M Apparel, and she has the full support of the company. Do you think they will just stand idly by and watch as her son goes missing?” William rebuked with immense rage on his face. He grew so exasperated that his body trembled just by looking at his incompetent daughter before him.

Of course, Queenie hadn’t considered that far into the matter. Pressing her tingling cheek, she stared at her father with her reddened eyes. “But the child belongs to Colton, Dad! If he were to know about what happened five years ago and realize the woman was Nicole, we’d all be dead!” She frustratingly vented with her eyes thoroughly reddened. “Remember how you treated Nicole five years ago? Even if she’s now the Chief Designer of F&M Apparel, there’s no way she would ever help our family!”

Upon hearing that, William calmed down and regained his composure. Indeed, with how he’d treated Nicole and her mother five years ago, Nicole would surely hold that grudge forever. “Get the child home. I’ll handle the rest,” he wearily instructed. Having been affiliated with the business field for so many years, he was nothing but experienced.

Meanwhile, Queenie was still unable to comprehend why William would want the child back given that she could easily marry into the Gardner Family once the child was out of the picture.

 

Chapter 24 Holding Him

“But why?” Queenie questioned, baffled.

“The connections over at F&M Apparel are rather complicated, so that trick of yours will eventually be seen through,” William replied.

“No way! The men I recruited were all insignificant thugs!” A hint of malice flashed across Queenie’s eyes. She abhorred Nicole and her righteous look. She couldn’t work out how she could turn from a miserable nobody to a mighty figure, and she was annoyed by that.

“Now that F&M Apparel is working with Gardner Corporation, she won’t just receive help from her company, but also from Gardner Corporation. Do you think your lowly lackeys can hide it for long? It’s only a matter of time until Nicole traces it back to you, and by then, not only you, but the entire Andersons will be doomed!” With his perturbed eyes, he stared forward, and looking at his incompetent daughter just made him even angrier. If he had known how talented Nicole was, he wouldn’t have driven her away. Chief Designer of F&M Apparel, huh? It would be life-changing if we get to work with her.

As Queenie listened to her father, she grew slightly nervous. Biting her lips, she timidly inquired, “Then, what can we do now?”

“Have your men send the child over at once, and I’ll handle the rest. Just pretend as if you know nothing.” William extended his hand and massaged his forehead.

Hearing his words, Lydia hesitantly uttered, “But if President Gardner were to know what Queenie did…”

“Another fool, aren’t you? Nicole’s the Chief Designer of F&M Apparel. As long as we please her, we wouldn’t even need the Gardners to turn our lives around,” he sternly claimed. He was thoroughly aware of the benefits his family could use.

At her father’s words, Queenie clenched her fists even tighter and panted as she was boiling with fury. What gives?! Dad’s idea is to please Nicole?!

Nicole had been gone for five years, and during those five years, Queenie had shamelessly gratified Colton for the sake of getting her family’s life back on the right track. But right now, William was highly astonished, not by “Lisa,” but by Nicole, and he even hit her for Nicole’s sake.

Watching as Queenie was still standing idly, he loudly shouted, “Well, what are you waiting for? Go bring my grandson back!” After getting to know that Nicole was, in fact, Lisa, William’s attitude had undergone a drastic change, and he even referred to Hayden as his grandson.

Although Queenie was still irate, she could only endure it and grit her teeth as she made the call.

Meanwhile, Nicole, like a lunatic, was still searching for her son. As it hadn’t been long since her return to the country, she basically knew no one other than the Andersons as well as Joseph and Colton, so she couldn’t fathom who would want to abduct her child.

After Colton sent her home, she was all out of clues. And so, she kept on calling her son’s number, hoping he would pick up, but his phone was still turned off.

“Wah…” She ultimately broke down. As she crouched down on the ground, she forcefully pressed her face against her knees, agonizingly sniffling and whimpering.

Staring at the woman crouching under the shade of a tree and listening to her sobbing, Colton strangely grew upset. He then walked to her and slightly lowered his head to look at her. He had seen many sides of the woman, be it her optimistic or lively side, but it was his first time seeing her so sorrowful and restless.

He gulped and blinked his inky eyes before squatting down to take a good look at her. “Miss Anderson, I’ve sent some men to look for him. We’ll receive news latest by tomorrow.” His thickly voice was somehow reassuring to listen to.

Sniffling, Nicole raised her head with her vision clouded by her tears. Her mind was nothing but perturbed, and she needed a shoulder to cry on more than anything else now. As she peered at the man before her, she directly threw herself into his arms.

 

Chapter 25 Envious Zachary

At once, Colton was taken aback. He could feel Nicole helplessly shaking in his arms. His arms stiffened, but he eventually raised them and gently patted her, comforting her with his hoarse voice. “It’ll be okay.”

After crying for a while, Nicole sniffled and incidentally sensed a unique smell on the man. It was a subtle scent of tobacco, but it wasn’t appalling. She then nodded and raised her head.

At that moment, Zachary came and found Nicole and Colton snuggling against each other under the tree, as well as how Colton’s hand was on her back. The sight was rather intimate. Withdrawing his gaze, he hurried over and stood beside Nicole. With a sympathetic tone, he muttered, “Are you okay, Nicole?”

Flickering her sore eyes, Nicole lifted her head and revealed her damp eyes that were stained with a hint of redness. She seemed awfully pitiful. Accordingly, she pulled herself out of Colton’s arms, and since she had squatted for a long time, her legs started to numb. Thereupon, when she tried to get up, she tripped herself and almost fell down, but luckily, Zachary managed to grab her. Drained, she shut her eyes. The makeup on her face was smeared by her tears and marred her appearance.

Looking at her captivating face, Zachary bitterly caressed her cheek as a trace of guilt flashed across his eyes.

Nicole had her eyes closed. Because of her tears, her long eyelashes clumped together and were clinging to her skin.

As Zachary had come, Colton stood up and blandly stared at the two as they embraced each other. He wordlessly pursed his lips.

On the other hand, while Zachary was tenderly fondling her head, he gazed at Colton as if he was looking at a stranger. “President Gardner, thank you for taking care of Nicole. We shall postpone the discussion for our partnership to a later time. It’s not quite appropriate to do it now.”

Colton’s ebony eyes twitched. Watching Nicole, who was in his arms earlier and now in Zachary’s embrace, he, for some reason, felt disturbed, but that might have been him overthinking. Regardless, he did not reveal his thoughts and simply responded with a light smile and a nod. “I’ve had my men look into it. I’ll give Miss Lisa an answer as soon as possible.”

Zachary grew relieved. “Thank you very much, President Gardner.”

Beaming, Colton replied, “Don’t worry about the meeting. After all, it shouldn’t be hard to actualize the partnership between Gardner Corporation and F&M Apparel.” Having said that, without further chatter, he came up with an excuse before getting into his car and leaving.

Seeing as he left, Zachary lowered his head to look at the woman, who stopped crying but was still hyperventilating, in his arms and dolefully wiped the tears off the corner of her eyes. “Nicole, how’s Hayden?”

Nicole raised her head and looked at the man’s benign smile as she blinked her irritated eyes before rubbing them and shaking her head. “I don’t know either. During the annual dinner, Hayden called over and told me there were some bad people at home. But when I got home, my house was already turned into a mess. I couldn’t find him and my calls wouldn’t go through.” She gritted her teeth, and as she was speaking, her eyes, once again, started to moisten.

Zachary had known her for about four years, but that was his first time seeing her crying and her downhearted look. That was also the first time he held her in his arms and let her depend on him. Followingly, he grasped her shoulders as he revealed determination in his eyes. “I’ve asked some of my friends in the country to investigate the matter on my way here. We’ll definitely find him. Don’t you worry, okay?”

Nicole nodded and wiped her tears off. Right now, Hayden was her only hope. Her emotional outburst earlier might have been excessive. “Yes, Hayden will be fine,” she resolutely stated, as if she was also encouraging herself at the same time.

 

 

Chapter 26 A Night of Search

Hopelessly sitting on the couch, even Nicole herself didn’t know how she managed to live through the night. Under her eyes were the stains of her ruined makeup which she had yet to remove that made her seem extremely petty. It wouldn’t even be an overexaggeration to describe her as a banshee.

Meanwhile, accompanying by her side was Zachary, who was constantly making calls and contacting everyone he knew to scour for Hayden’s whereabouts.

Every minute that passed agitated her more as she remained in a posture, stationarily sitting on the couch until the sun rose. Because she had kept her eyes still for too long, when she eventually moved her eyes, she felt a sting in them.

At her zoned-out look, Zachary couldn’t help but feel pained. Pouting his lips, he turned to Nicole and suggested, “Nicole, why don’t you go get some rest? I’ll tell you as soon as I receive news about Hayden.”

Upon his timbre, there was finally movement on her frozen face. She turned to Zachary with a forced grin, and with a feeble voice, she replied, “I’m fine.”

Hearing that, Zachary hesitated to say anything knowing he wouldn’t be able to persuade her given her immense worry for her son. Subtly, he heaved a sigh and continued contacting his peers. He gave up sleeping for the entire night as he was, too, concerned about Hayden.

Right when Nicole spaced out, her phone beeped in her pocket. Immediately, she grabbed her phone and saw it was a call from Colton. Hastily, she answered the call and put the phone by her ear.

“My men found some news about your son. He was last seen at Pine Harbor. A witness saw some thugs carrying him onto a ship,” Colton stated.

At once, Nicole’s heart began to palpitate as she gripped her phone so hard that her hand paled. Ship? Hayden was brought to the sea? All of a sudden, her vision turned dark, but fortunately, Zachary managed to hold her up, or she would have collapsed onto the floor. Gasping, she quickly pursued the matter, asking, “President Gardner, have you found the thugs yet?”

“Only information about them. If everything goes according to plan, we’ll be able to locate them today. I’ll update you as soon as I can,” Colton said.

“Thank you, President Gardner,” she immediately thanked.

“You may drop the courtesy,” he faintly replied. After hanging up, Colton lay backward and rested his entire body against the back of his chair, visibly fatigued. With his slender fingers, he pinched the bridge of his nose, gently massaging it. As he was about to rest for a bit and shut his dreamy eyes, the phone on his desk rang. He answered the call, one hand on his forehead, and asked coolly, “What is it?”

“President Gardner, the thugs were just done with their traveling procedures. It seems like they’re going to hide themselves. We’re now sealing the airport, and all there’s left to do is wait,” the informant on the call conveyed.

Colton nodded. In order to look for Nicole’s son, he hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep the entire night. He then inquired with his hoarse voice, “Have you seen the kid?”

“Not yet. For now, we can only look for those thugs, and then we’ll force the kid’s whereabouts out from them.” Having received the commission from Colton, the informant and his crew had searched for Hayden the whole night. Hence, they, too, were exhausted. They first started with scrutinizing surveillance footage to track down the child before finding the thugs, leading to their progress now.

“Mm. Find the kid at all costs,” Colton icily ordered. He loosened his fingers that were pressing his brows as he figured that his effort was worth it. Once he succeeded in helping Lisa, Gardner Corporation would certainly thrive in the clothing industry.

After all, a businessman’s purpose was to amass profits.

 

Chapter 27 Son Found

As the day gradually brightened up, a shadowy anomaly occurred from the horizon.

Meanwhile, Nicole was supporting her head with both her hands, pondering. Once again, her phone rang, but this time, it was a call from an anonymous line to her business number. Frowning, she rejected the call as she was too disrupted to talk about work. However, it only took a few seconds for the unknown person to call her once more. After pausing for a while, she picked it up.

“Nicole.” As soon as she answered the call, she was greeted by a gruff, gratifying voice. With that, she already knew who the caller was. It was none other than her biological father, William Anderson!

With an antagonistic tone, she coldly blurted, “What?”

Despite her apathetic utterance, William remained amicable as he chucklingly said, “Nicole, I’ve prepared the things you wanted to retrieve last time. Why don’t you come and take it if you have the time now?”

Recognizing how his speaking attitude contrastingly varied compared to the last time they spoke, Nicole could easily tell what was happening even with half her brain gone. She subconsciously revealed a sarcastic grin.

The only reason William’s attitude would change so radically was indubitably the result of Queenie telling him about her identity as Lisa, and him trying to please her right now was proof enough. Indeed, she wanted to retrieve her mother’s belongings, but the current circumstances wouldn’t allow her to. Rolling her eyes, she answered, “Not now.”

Fearing that Nicole might hang up, William quickly continued, “My grandson’s here too. He’s been playing around for the entire night. If you have the time, come and fetch him home. I’m getting old. I don’t think I can keep up with him.”

Hearing that, she was dumbfounded. The iciness in her eyes instantaneously turned into shock as her lips trembled. “Hayden’s with you?”

“Yeah. What an adorable child,” he laughingly said.

“I’ll come over right now.” Without saying more, she swiftly hung up and dragged Zachary up from the couch.

At her nervous look, he curiously asked, “What happened?”

“Hayden’s at Anderson Residence. Come with me,” she speedily explained as her heart rapidly thumped. Hayden’s safe! Although there was no telling whether William’s words were true, she at least found a new direction to go.

“He’s with your father?” Zachary skeptically questioned. Having been in F&M Apparel for so many years, he had never heard Nicole talk about her family. The only thing he knew about her family was her deceased mother, which was stated in her resume, while information about her father was left blank.

“Yes.” She lowered her gaze, and she was visibly trying to be patient.

In response, Zachary knowingly nodded before grabbing his coat on the couch and draping it around her shoulder. “Let’s go. I’ll send you.”

Swiftly, Nicole got into Zachary’s car, a silver Maybach, and as soon as she told him the address, he immediately drove off.

Having reached the gates of Anderson Residence, Nicole hastily alighted, while Zachary, worried about her, parked his car and quickly followed after. She charged through the doors into the well-lit living room, where four individuals were sitting on the couch, including her son who was sitting in the middle. “Hayden!” Nicole dashed to him and hugged him, holding him tightly in her arms.

Seeing his mother, Hayden immediately wailed out loud. “Mom!” No matter how mature and well-behaved he was, the abduction had certainly shocked him. He spent the entire day being uptight, and it wasn’t until he met Nicole that he started to cry at the top of his lungs.

Looking at her son snuggling in her embrace, Nicole bitterly caressed his silky hair, relieved that her son was intact. She continuously comforted her son as she whispered into his ear, “You have nothing to worry anymore, Hayden. Mom’s here.”

There was a trace of redness on Hayden’s milky cheeks, which seemed to be the doing of the chilly sea winds. After all, how could a child’s frail skin withstand the torment of the sea winds?

 

Chapter 28 Where’s Your Respect?

Hearing her child’s sobbing, Nicole felt devastated as if a thousand needles were pricking her heart. She tenderly patted him and waited for him to calm down before asking, “Where did you go, Hayden? You got Mom so worried!”

Hayden lifted his head from Nicole’s arms and revealed his sorry eyes, muttering, “A bunch of bad guys barged into our house and carried me away. They brought me to the sea. And my face hurts from the wind blowing.”

At once, Nicole hugged her child’s head as her heart thumped. The sea… As she was comforting her son, she raised her head to look at the remaining three on the couch. She pulled a freezing, straight face as she glared at the three, coldly interrogating, “Why is Hayden here?!” She squinted her eyes. I was right after all. It was all their doing!

“Don’t be so angry, Nicole. Hayden’s my grandson. There’s no way I would hurt him, right?”

At that moment, Lydia stood up with a gratifying look and walked over to caress Hayden.

Nevertheless, Nicole took a step backward and evaded her hand. Standing still, she swept her gaze across the Andersons. “You said you knew nothing of his whereabouts, so why is he here?!”

Queenie looked up, disdain and resentment evident on her face. If it weren’t for William’s persistent hindrance, the little rascal would have drowned in the waters by now. “No matter whose child he is, he is still Dad’s grandson. What’s wrong with Dad wanting to see him?” she questioned, her voice hostile.

Hearing that, Nicole lowered her head and looked down at Queenie, revealing a belittling smile. “What you did was abduction!” Her eyes were evidently red, and having spent the night without slumbering left her extremely energyless. Nonetheless, now that her son was right in her arms, she couldn’t be more relieved by the vivid sensation.

“Don’t be mad, Nicole. We’re family, right? Come, sit down, and we can have a nice chat,” Lydia, standing at the side, suggested.

Disgusted by their pretense, Nicole intensely leered at them. She would never forgive the people behind her son’s abduction. “Be prepared to get sued. Imprisonment is coming for all of you.”

Eventually, Queenie lost her patience and sprung up from her seat, gazing at Nicole as she sternly yelled, “Why are you being so difficult, psycho? Even if Dad divorced your mother, he’s still legally your father. And since when has a father meeting his grandson become kidnapping?”

Queenie was infuriated just by thinking how William’s behavior changed after knowing Nicole was Lisa. Enraged, she continued, “You’re not trying to disown your own father after becoming the Chief Designer of F&M Apparel, are you?”

At those ridiculous words, Nicole burst out laughing. There was nothing but delight on her face, realizing how they spoke nothing of Hayden’s journey to the sea, but kept going on with the grandfather-grandson talk, and only a dimwit couldn’t tell why.

“My own father, you said?” She turned to William with a fierce gaze. “Since when has he treated me as his daughter?”

Meanwhile, Hayden, growing tired after crying for some time, shut his eyes and fell asleep in Nicole’s arms.

“Oh, Nicole. I’m really sorry for the past few years,” William softly uttered. “I’m getting old, and my heart can no longer take any conflicts. All I want right now is to have both my daughters by my side…”

Before he could finish, Nicole interjected, “Oh, Mr. Anderson. I don’t deserve so much kindness, for I’m not part of the Anderson Family.”

Initially, William intended to continue pleasing her, but seeing how Nicole was so eager to cut ties with him, he instantly scowled in embarrassment. Subconsciously, he raised his voice. “What the hell are you talking about? Regardless of what happened, I’m still your father who raised you for eighteen whole years! And this is how you speak to me?!”

Nicole snickered. If it weren’t for the fact that her child was sleeping, she would have fired back. Regaining her composure, she turned around to leave as she lost her desire to entertain her corrupted “family.”

“What’s wrong with you, Nicole?! Dad’s talking to you! Where’s your respect?” Right as Nicole landed a foot out the door, she heard Queenie yelling.

Before she could make a response, Zachary came in and defended her. “If you want others to respect you, fix your own conduct before you start blabbering about respect!”

 

Chapter 29 Gratification

Surprised by Zachary’s presence, William nervously dropped his jaw.

F&M Apparel wasn’t just popular around the world, but it was also dominating the local market. Anyone in the clothing industry could instantly recognize Zachary, F&M Apparel’s president. After all, the man’s face always made it to the cover page of fashion magazines as the trendsetter for the country’s fashion.

Hastily, William sprung up from his seat and revealed an expression of humility. “I didn’t realize you were here, President Yates.”

Zachary stonily glared at the Andersons. He stayed outside and overheard their conversation, choosing not to get involved to avoid troubling Nicole, only for the conversation to gradually grow overbearing. “My chief designer was being ridiculed right here, and if I pretended not to hear it, outsiders would surely look down on F&M Apparel and its members.” His intonation, his face, and his aura were nothing but cold and belligerent.

On the other hand, with Hayden resting in her arms, Nicole remained silent.

Panicking, William responded with a smile and crossed his hands as he lowered his eyes. “It’s nothing like that. We’re a family, after all. The quarrel you heard earlier was simply a joke.” With such a powerful figure before them, the Andersons wouldn’t dare to oppose Zachary.

“Family?” Zachary’s voice elevated as anger subtly surged in his eyes. Revealing a resentful grin, he stared at their disgusting faces and squinted his eyes, saying, “In the last five years, I didn’t even know Nicole had a family.”

With how Zachary was so protective of Nicole, William intuitively grew anxious, but at the same time, his greed intensified. Judging from Zachary’s words, it was obvious that Nicole was important to him. William thought that if he could draw Nicole back to the Anderson Family, they would be able to receive help from F&M Apparel. Easy-peasy.

With that, William quickly turned to Nicole as he pulled out a jade bracelet from his pocket, ingratiatingly stating, “Nicole, this belonged to your mother. Back then, our divorce was inevitable. It has been so long already, so can you please forgive me?”

Followingly, he revealed a sympathy-evoking face as his eyes glistened with mist, and when he looked at Nicole, he started tearing up and played the emotion card. “I wanted to give this back to you when your mother passed away, but I never could find you after so many years of searching,” he said so earnestly as he reached out his slightly shaking, wrinkled hand, presenting the bracelet to Nicole.

Nicole passed the child in her arms to Zachary and grabbed the bracelet before assiduously studying it, only to find out the bracelet, indeed, belonged to her mother. She pursed her lips wordlessly, thinking that was what William was supposed to do, so she had no obligation to thank him.

Consequently, she put the bracelet away. Although Hayden’s abduction was unquestionably more than met the eye, she received her mother’s will. As she gazed at the Andersons before her, her heart ultimately wavered.

Glaring apathetically at the three, she coldly uttered, “I’ll drop the pursuit of your intentions this time. If this happens again, no matter what your reasons are, I’ll definitely get to the bottom of it!” Having said that, she shot Lydia and Queenie a piercing gaze—developed along the time she spent in the business world—that left the two horrified.

Queenie forced herself to meet her gaze before turning to Zachary and was reminded of the partnership between Gardner Corporation and F&M Apparel. At once, she plastered a grin on her face as she held back her temper and gratifyingly replied, “What are you talking about, sis? Hayden’s so adorable! Dad and Mom love him so much! They just wanted to see their grandson.”

Having no desire to prolong the pointless conversation, after verifying the bracelet was real, Nicole tugged on Zachary’s sleeve and whispered, “Let’s go.”

As she had found her child, she could finally calm her heart and her body down. Thoroughly drained, she couldn’t wait to get home and sleep for a whole week.

Zachary, on the other hand, swept a cold glance past the Andersons as he carried Hayden in his arms before following Nicole out of the residence.

 

Chapter 30 Found Those Thugs

Thanks to Zachary’s presence, none of the Andersons dared to square up, and they could only watch as the two departed.

After walking out of the door, Zachary withdrew the hostility on his face and lowered his eyes to look at the exhausted Nicole beside him. Worried, he asked, “We could really get to the bottom of this if we continue looking into it. Are you really dropping it?” In fact, with F&M Apparel’s influence, investigating the matter would hardly break a sweat.

With her eyes slightly closed, Nicole heaved a sigh and shook her head as she looked at her son, who was sleeping in Zachary’s arms. “Hayden’s safety is all that matters.” After a moment of pause, she opened her eyes that were filled with iciness. “But if there’s a next time, I’ll surely give them hell!”

As of now, she was no longer a softie, and she let the Andersons off solely out of gratitude for William’s guardianship in the past. Her bottom line was rather simple, and that was no one could lay a finger on her son, Hayden.

Aware of that, Zachary couldn’t help but feel remorseful. He then revealed a light smile and knowingly nodded as he was carrying Hayden. “As long as Hayden’s safe.”

As they were about to get into Zachary’s car, Nicole’s phone rang, to which she took a look and saw it was a call from Colton. With that, she answered the call and heard Colton’s deep voice. “Miss Lisa, my men have captured the thugs that kidnapped your son. You can come over if you have the time.”

Nicole was moved. Although her first impression of Colton wasn’t exactly pleasant, the man spent the entire night and day searching for her son, so she subconsciously felt indebted to him. Despite knowing for a fact that the masterminds were the Andersons, she thought it was best to clear things up, to which she replied, “Okay. Send me the address and I’ll head there right away.”

Ending the call, she turned to Zachary and earnestly quizzed, “Hayden is tired. And my house isn’t quite home right now. Can you please bring him to your place, President Yates?”

Zachary, who was listening to the conversation at the side, unhesitantly agreed. “Sure, I’ll bring him back. Give me a call when you need a ride home.”

Without rejecting his offer, she blurted, “Alright.”

Later, she took a cab to Gardner Corporation. It was nine sharp then—the rush hour where people were going to work. The fact that they were in the bustling city center didn’t help either. After getting stuck in unmoving traffic for half an hour, she finally arrived at Gardner Corporation.

The biggest difference between her current visit and the last was that upon entering the doors, a gentleman, donning a brown suit and gold-framed glasses, came to her. “Good morning, Miss Lisa. I’m President Gardner’s assistant, Tony Larson. I’ve been instructed to await your arrival. Please follow me upstairs.” Tony put on a light smile that was sufficiently appropriate, neither distant nor gratifying.

Nicole nodded and responded with a beam. “Thank you.” Accordingly, she followed Tony into an elevator exclusive to the company president. Little did she know, after the elevator doors shut, a turmoil broke out in the office.

“Did you see that? Mr. Larson came to receive her in person! What’s her background?”

“It can’t be President Gardner’s girlfriend, can it? She seemed rather perturbed, but she’s got the looks, I guess.”

“No way. Isn’t President Gardner dating that lady from the Anderson Family?”

“That Anderson woman? Pfft. Did you forget she offended the entire F&M Apparel? Besides, her pretense is bound to get her dumped by President Gardner!”

And so, the chattering continued.