Hayden was immediately alerted because he had been stalked before. He took out his phone and called Eric.
His phone was a gift from Eric; it was a cell phone tailor–made for children and Eric even saved his personal number in the phone.
Hayden told Eric about being followed and Eric immediately arranged a few bodyguards to wait for Hayden where he got out of the taxi.
The black car that was following Hayden raced by him as soon as he got out of the car, as though to make a statement that it was not following him, but simply happened to be driving on the same road.
“Are you here alone? Why didn‘t you bring your bodyguard?” Eric took Hayden‘s hand and took him into the building, where Eric and Layla trained for the entertainment company.
“It‘s new year soon and I told my bodyguard to go on leave,” Hayden said.
“Your mom is going to be worried if she finds out.” Eric remained thoughtful for a moment, before suggesting, “that person who was following you must have known that you don‘t have a bodyguard with you, otherwise he wouldn‘t dare to do such a thing. I will assign two bodyguards to you. Nothing bad can happen to you before you head to Bridgedale to find your mom.”
Hayden didn‘t like being followed by bodyguards, but he knew that Averie had her hands full taking care of his younger brother; if something was to happen to him, it would break his mother‘s heart.
Hayden nodded in agreement.
“Layla learned a dance sequence today, but she might not be that good at it yet. When she asks you later, compliment her, okay?” Eric reminded him thoughtfully.
Hayden nodded dazedly, as he tried to figure out who sent someone to follow him.
Could it be Chelsea? But Chelsea had been hiding under her shell lately and wouldn‘t dare to show herself.
Could it be Wanda? She was the one behind that incident with the grave, after all. She desperately wanted Robert dead, so naturally, she would want Hayden and his sister dead as well.
‘Why hasn‘t Elyette dealt with her yet? What exactly is he thinking?‘ He thought, ‘Mom took Robert to see him last night and decided to go to Bridgedale first thing this morning.
She must have been bullied when she was at Elyette‘s. That dirtbag!‘
Rage burnt hot within Hayden. To think that he had expected a dirtbag to make his mother happy, he must have been dreaming.
Eric took Hayden to the dancing room, where Layla was dancing under the teacher‘s lead.
Hayden felt disoriented when he saw how devoted Layla seemed.
Layla would always be easily distracted when she was doing her homework, but she seemed extremely focused at the moment.
Hayden didn‘t want his sister to be an idol, but kept his thoughts to himself when his mother did not oppose the idea; and when he saw how much Layla had changed, he had a change in mind.
As long as she is happy, she should be able to do anything she wanted.
Soon, the song was over and the dancing ceased.
Layla immediately ran towards Hayden. “Hayden! How did I do?” She batted her beautiful eyes and asked in excitement.
“It‘s good.”
“I knew you would compliment me, Hayden! Dancing is so tiring, though! I want you to carry me!” Layla clung onto Hayden like a koala.
Hayden took her hand and took her to sit down on a chair on the side. “Stop if you are tired.”
“I have to keep going! The teacher said that I‘m still not familiar with a few moves and I need more practice to master them.” Layla grabbed Hayden‘s hand and continued in a soft voice,” Uncle Eric said that he is going to take me to appear on a new year show in a few days. I‘m going to perform well, Hayden. Uncle Eric says that Mom will be able to see me on television then.”
Seeing the determination in Layla‘s eyes, Hayden simply said, “good luck.”
Meanwhile, Cole stood in front of the office window and watched as the neon lights lit up the city. The bustling night view outside signaled the start of the night life.
Had it been any time before, he would have left the office and headed out to enjoy the night scene; but today, he wasn‘t in the mood.
He had been forced into bankruptcy by his own uncle and would be bearing a tremendous amount of debt.
He did regret what he had done, but mostly, he resented it all.
He had been leading a comfortable life as Elyette‘s nephew, and yet, it was as easy as killing a bug for Elyette to crush him.
For the past few days, Cole watched his own father called Elyette countless times, begging for mercy in order to salvage the situation. His father had hoped that Elyette would forgive him for the sake of their kinship, but Elyette would either refuse the call or transfer the call to his assistant.
‘Elyette is merciless! My own mother had already died and I just want to live my life in peace. Why do I have to bear such a high debt? It‘s worse than killing me,‘ he thought.
An unknown period of time had passed before the door was opened and Henry stepped in.
“Leave now! Starting tomorrow, this will no longer be your company,” Henry said coldly,” your uncle might be ruthless, but you are ungrateful! I wouldn‘t have been affected if you weren‘t my son, and I wouldn‘t have to clean up after a murderer like you!”
“Dad, I know that I‘ve made terrible mistakes, but it‘s already happened. What‘s the point of scolding me now?” Cole turned around to face his father. “I am on the wrong path because you fail at parenting.”
Henry‘s lips trembled as he was rendered speechless.
The two left the company and returned home with red eyes.
The servants served dinner at the table, but Henry had no appetite. He only felt like drinking.
“Let‘s sell this mansion! This is the only property I own that‘s worth something. Sell the mansion and clear your debt. After that you are no longer my concern,” Henry said as he poured wine into his own glass.
“I don‘t want to sell the mansion,” Cole said with a lump in his throat, “if we sell this.
mansion, where are we going to live? I am not married yet. Without a house, how am I supposed to get a wife?”
“You are still thinking about getting a wife right now?!”
“If I don‘t get a wife, that means the end to your legacy.” Cole drank a whole glass of wine and asked, “Dad, you are Elyette‘s father. Don’t you have anything that you can hold against him?”
“Hold against him?” Henry was stunned for a moment. “I might be his older brother, but we are too far apart in age so I haven‘t a clue about his business.”
“I‘m not talking about business. I mean his private life… I heard that he was the one who killed Grandpa,” Cole lowered his voice and continued, “Dad, you must know something about this, right? Why haven‘t you ever mentioned it to me? If it wasn‘t for someone to come to me about this…”
“Who came to you? Who told you that?!” Henry‘s eyes widened in shock. “Bringing your uncle down doesn‘t benefit us in any way!”
“But what if someone is willing to pay my debt for me? Dad, I will never agree to selling the old Foster mansion. The market value of this place will only go up in the future,” Cole said in a calculative tone, “have you heard of Charlie before? He used to be Elyette‘s classmate, and he is also Elyette‘s competitor.”
Instantly, Henry‘s eyes were filled with complex emotions.
He, too, wanted to keep the old Foster mansion, but it was never a good thing to betray his family with scandal. If his mother was still alive, she would have a heart attack.
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.
Leave a Reply