Soon, the boat was getting ready to dock at the pier. Andrew and Mona had arrived at the pier in advance, bringing several children with them. At the moment, Natalie was on the dock with Alicia, Martin, and other kids.
While the boat was approaching the pier, Anna and Wayne waved to everyone from the deck. Then Peace appeared from behind them, acting as a barrier between the couple. And she asked curiously, “Do you ever feel that this is all a set-up for something bigger?”
Wayne frowned as he asked, “Don’t you have your own husband? Why do you keep haunting my wife?”
Peace took Anna’s arm proudly and said, “Before you married her, I was her only friend. You should be kinder to me, mister.” Anna then winked toward Wayne, telling him not to argue with Peace.
Pointing to the dock, Peace said, “Congratulations! Look at all those kids! Did you notice the chemistry between Matthew and Alicia?”
Following Peace’s finger, the first thing that Anna noticed was Alicia’s lovely face. And she said, “They indeed look like a lovely couple. Actually, I like Alicia. And I bet that Matthew will be glad to have a girlfriend like her. What do you think, Wayne?”
In approval, Wayne nodded.
“No!” Peace said, pointing to Natalie, “I mean Natalie! Can’t you see there’s a guy behind her?”
When Anna and Wayne look up, they both notice Harry. And Peace asked, “Is he Natalie’s boyfriend? I think I probably saw him somewhere before.”
Without saying a word, Anna and Wayne smiled at each other, exchanging glances tacitly.
Late at night, all of them returned to Peace and Karl’s house after their adventure. Except for Matthew, the kids were all tired and quickly went to bed. At the same time, the adults gathered to talk about their experiences over the past few days.
Isabella told them about what she saw while following Maria earlier In brief, “Anyways, Maria met a strange Azul Group employee at the construction site and later collaborated with him to frame Matthew. Tammy and I happened to witness it.”
Peace couldn’t hold back her rage any longer after hearing the story. She slapped the table hard and asked, “Why would Maria do such a thing? Matthew trusted her so much! How could she be so shameless and become a traitor?!”
Then, they turned to look at Matthew, who had remained silent the entire time. Matthew was only sixteen years old, but he possessed the maturity of an adult. At the moment, he was sitting on the sofa with a frown, and he was seemingly lost in thought.
Anna’s heart broke when she saw Matthew being like this. She thought, Matthew, you’ve taken on too much responsibility for your age. Right now, your peers are still in high school. And yet, you have to manage a huge group while you’re supposed to be partying with kids at your age. Do you know that that I often wonder why your father would ask you to manage such a large group? Yeah… Sometimes, I even want to scold him for being “an irresponsible father”. But, he’s not the only one to be blamed for it. After all, I’m not a good mother, either.”
Heaving a long sigh, Anna walked to Matthew’s side, took his hand, and said, “I’m sorry, Matthew. It’s entirely my fault.”
“No, mom. This is not your fault,” Matthew said softly.
“But you wouldn’t have believed Maria if I hadn’t arranged for her to be your secretary.”
“It is not your fault, Mom. I should have known she was that type of person. And I should’ve dealt with her a long time ago,” Shaking his head, Matthew said helplessly.
Then, Peace, who was crossing her arms, chipped in with a pout, “Why are you both blaming yourselves? Stop arguing! It’s all Maria’s fault! You should blame her for it!”
“Yes! Stop blaming yourselves. Well, actually, I should be blamed for that too. I should have told you about what I found out earlier instead of telling Tammy,” Isabella said.
Wayne, who had been silent for a long time. finally asked, “What are you going to do about this, Matthew?”
Matthew looked at Anna and looked as if he was hesitating. From his eyes and expression, Anna could tell what Matthew was thinking. She then stroked his hair and said, “Don’t worry about my feelings, Matthew. You’re my son. I care about you. So, I will never forgive her for what she did, regardless of why she did it.”
“I know,” Matthew replied with a nod.
“You don’t have to be worried about Selina or Joe either.”
“Okay. I’ll let my lawyer handle this.”
“Let me help you in gathering evidence,” Ryan, who sat in the corner, said.
“I appreciate it, Uncle Ryan,” said Matthew.
“So, it’s all set, then. Good night, Matthew. You need a good night’s sleep,” Anna said.
“All right. Goodnight, Mom.” With that, Matthew took the elevator to the third floor.
A while later, Matthew returned to his room. He noticed Tammy dozing on the couch as soon as he pushed open the door. Tammy was swaying because she wasn’t sitting still. And she was even talking in her sleep.
Afraid that she’d fall to the ground, Matthew then approached her and shook her arm. As soon as he got close to Tammy, she opened her eyes, saying, “You’re finally here, Matthew! What did you guys talk about? I’ve been waiting for you for ages!”
Matthew sat on the couch, looking at Tammy curiously. Then he asked, “Why are you waiting for me? Don’t you think you should be sleeping right now?”
“I’m worried about you! Okay, a quick question for you. What really happened at the race that day?” With her eyes filled with excitement and curiosity, Tammy asked.
“Why do you want to know that?” Matthew turned to face Tammy. He had the impression that she had changed a little after this incident. Meanwhile, he said to himself, Tammy, you were born ten minutes later than me, but I always feel that you’re much younger than me. As a lively and talkative person, you frequently get yourself into trouble. Still, as your big brother, I enjoy cleaning the messes you made. And as your big brother, I love and care about you very much, Tammy. In the past, I always wonder who is going to back you up when you grow up. I mean, even though I want to protect you all the time, I can’t possibly stay with you all the time. But now, I’m more relieved than before, because I know that you’ve finally started to mature.
“Dominic said I’m a child, and you’re an adult, but we’re actually the same age. Mommy also said you took on too much responsibility. I will never do anything so risky again. Thank you for protecting me, Matthew. I want to tell you that I can also protect you,” Tammy sobbed as she spoke. And her words brought Matthew back to the present.
Matthew wiped her tears with a tissue. Actually, he didn’t need Tammy’s protection, but he was still deeply moved when he heard her say these words. And somehow, Matthew felt that there was a warm surge occurring in the softest part of her heart, bringing him comfort and warmth. And to him, this cold winter became much warmer becauseTammy was there for him. Earlier, he was still angry about the fact that Maria had betrayed him. He later realized, however, that it couldn’t hurt him because he had a wonderful family.
As Tammy whimpered and leaned on his shoulder, Matthew answered, “That day, someone hit my car, and I blacked out. When I awoke, I was in that town’s hospital. And Maria visited me there. I fell asleep again later and awoke in an empty room. That’s also where the three of you went to save me.”
“Luckily, Aunt Emily showed up later. I really don’t know how I can survive otherwise!” As Tammy said this, tears streamed down her cheeks once more.
“Tammy, stop crying. Does your broken ankle still bother you? Is that why you’re crying nonstop?” Matthew asked in a teasing tone, trying to lighten the mood.
“No. I just overheard your conversation when you were downstairs. How could Maria be so cruel to you?” Tammy asked as she sobbed.
“I had suspicions about her before, but I wasn’t sure. Well, Maria must have told the Azul Group about my schedule because she conspired with them. Besides, I know they hit my car. They wanted to kill me and destroy my group to steal the project. They were so naive. Even if something bad happens to me, Dad will not let them get away with it.”
“But why did that insane woman want to take you away? Did the Azul Group have any involvement with her?” Tammy asked.
“Aunt Emily said that Victoria Burton was here for Gary, so I don’t believe they have anything to do with the Azul Group. They know how close Gary is to us, and my parents would never let them take me away. So I guess the person they really want is you, not me.”
“Huh? Why?” Tammy asked, puzzled.
“They know how close you and Gary are, so they want you to stay with him. Or, more accurately, they want to threaten Gary with you. They believe that once they have you under control, Gary will do whatever they say.”
“Oh! Damn it! “Tammy swore.
“Victoria Burton’s ship was smashed, so maybe she’s dead now. Camila now became their leader. So, they’ll no longer threaten me in the future.” Matthew said as he stroked Tammy’s head.
“However, there is still a lot of danger all around you,” Tammy said with a worried face.
“Don’t worry, I’ll figure it out. Tammy, thank you for being worried about me. Believe me, I’ll be fine.”
“Okay. By the way, can I sleep in your room tonight? I had a nightmare yesterday. I dreamed that I kept falling into the deep sea and couldn’t swim to shore no matter how hard I tried,” Staring at Matthew with her watery eyes, Tammy required in a pleading tone.
“No, problem, sis. You are welcome to sleep on the bed. I’m going to sleep on the couch.”
“Thanks! You’re the best.” Tammy kissed him on the cheek. Then she went to bed, and tucked herself under the covers.
Matthew gave her a tender smile. At the same time, he realized he still had a lot of work to do to protect his family.
Ryan meticulously investigated everything Maria had done the night before. The next morning, he asked his assistant to place the information he found on Matthew’s desk.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.