Chapter 256 It Was an Ending, and a Beginning
Arthur’s dimly lit eyes were filled with coldness. “Ask him to cut all connections with Hudson Pharmaceuticals as soon as possible. Hudson Pharmaceuticals has already been eyed.”
“Yes, sir.” Meanwhile, a black sedan was speeding on a mountain pass. The man in the back seat was rather advanced in age. His sideburns were turning gray, and his face was as cold as an iceberg. In a daze, he looked outside of the window.
Buzz. Suddenly, a sound emerged in the car as a message appeared on the phone screen. After reading the message, the man hummed, “We just got an order. So, back to business.”
Although the driver was dressed in suits, he had a heavy countryside accent. “Mr. Caleb, didn’t Old Master Burton ask to keep a low profile for now and stop accepting orders?”
“Stop accepting orders?” The man snorted. “He made it sound like a piece of cake. If I quit, do you think my subordinates will settle for it? Do you expect them to be unemployed?”
“We can take it slow. I can explain to them.”
“It’s okay. We can finish this deal first and talk about the rest later.”
“Yes, Mr. Caleb. You’re loyal to your brothers, so they will definitely be more careful when doing tasks in the future so that the police won’t catch them tripping. Even if they really get caught, they will seal their lips just like Bucky.”
Just then, the driver could sense a cold stare from the rear mirror. He quickly clammed up upon realizing he had said something wrong as cold sweat trickled down his forehead. “Mr. Caleb, I didn’t bring this up on purpose. I…”
Caleb glared coldly at the driver. “Bucky is going to be released soon, isn’t he?”
“Yes, sir. Next week.”
“He has done me such a huge favor. I should give him a good treat, shouldn’t I?”
“You’ve been taking good care of Bucky’s family over these years and he’s very grateful toward you. It’s unnecessary to give him a treat. Bucky has said that it’s his honor to be able to serve you after being released from the jail.”
“Did he say so?”
“Of course.”
“I’ll leave this matter to you then.”
The driver was startled as he didn’t understand Caleb’s meaning at first. “Mr. Caleb, what do you mean? What do you want me to do?”
“Only a dead man can be trusted. Be careful, and make sure to not leave a mess.”
The temperature in the car decreased all of a sudden. The driver’s hands which were placed on the steering wheel trembled as his face turned pale.
Caleb’s extremely bony face was reflected in the rear mirror as his protruding cheekbones gave him a hostile look. His royal vehemence was long gone ever since five years ago, and all that was left was a gaunt look after going through years of suffering.
Five years ago, all evidence pointed toward him. Due to that, Arthur did everything he could to turn the situation around––even making Bucky a scapegoat to save his life. But at the same time, Caleb was removed from the Burton Family. Because of that, his old self had died long ago, making Caleb now an unempathetic person who would climb the ladder at all costs for the sake of money and power.
What happened five years ago might have been an ending, but it was also a beginning.
After coming back from the summer villa, Justin went into the room to check on Charlotte. Charlotte was already asleep but she didn’t sleep well. While opening her eyes in a daze, she rubbed them with her chubby hands. “You’re back, Daddy.”
Justin held her hand. “Don’t rub your eyes.”
Charlotte yawned and said in a soft yet slightly hoarse voice, “Is it morning already?”
“Not yet. Go back to sleep.”
“Goodnight, Daddy.”
“Goodnight.”
Justin patted the blanket covering Charlotte and sat beside her bed for quite some time after seeing her fall asleep again. Although Charlotte was by his side every day, he still missed her dearly.
Ever since he lost his memory, being a father was his greatest comfort for the past five years; it was as if he got a daughter overnight. To be honest, he started off as an inexperienced father but he gradually got the hang of it––he even managed to change her diaper. His identity as a father had filled in a lot of blanks in his memory.
When he first woke up, he wasn’t able to remember a lot of things. More often than not, he would feel uncomfortable after seeing some strange yet familiar scenes by the road. Until now, he could still remember the throbbing pain in his heart.
At that time, the doctor advised him to rest more and try not to overthink. He did as he was told and devoted most of his time to work while spending the remaining time left to accompany Charlotte.
5 years had passed. It was as if the memories that he had lost were discarded, and they didn’t seem to be important anymore. However, when Rachel came back, he couldn’t recall any memories of her existence. Because of that, he came to a realization that his memories were important; not only did he forget about Rachel, he forgot about a part of his life.
It was already late at night; the cold wind blew across the balcony of the mansion.
“Hi, Doctor Zane. I’ve thought about psychological therapy. ”
…
The next day, Rachel sent Charlotte to school early in the morning.
“Will Samuel go to school today too?” Before getting out of the car, Charlotte had asked this question again and again.
As soon as they got out of the car, they saw from afar Hernandez and Samuel standing at the school entrance waving at Rachel. “We’re here, Chris!”
“Samuel!” Charlotte darted over and gave Samuel a big hug.
Being pounced upon by Charlotte, Samuel stumbled backward and nearly spilled the banana milk that he was holding. “Ouch…”
“Why is it you who sent Samuel here? Where’s Jolly?” Rachel looked at Hernandez and asked.
“Jolly called me. She said she has a headache and asked me to pick Samuel up.”
Hearing that, Rachel was rendered speechless. “I’ve told you guys to not let her drink but you all refuse to listen. It’s impossible for her to not get drunk.”
Truth was, Hernandez proposed to have a drink during dinner last night. The initial plan was just to drink a little, but Jolly ended up drinking non-stop. If Rachel didn’t stop her, she would have offered to pay the bills for all the patrons in the bar again.
Although the Carter Family was wealthy, they couldn’t afford the constant splurges by their prodigal daughter.
“Let’s not talk about that. This girl must be Charlotte.” Hernandez bent down and pinched Charlotte’s cheek. “How cute you are! You’re as cute as your mother!”
“Hey!” Charlotte widened her eyes crabbily and shoved Hernandez’s hand away. Then, she rubbed her cheek in disgust. “Don’t pinch my cheek!”
“You have a real temper!”
“Who are you?”
“Me?” Hernandez squatted down. “You can call me Hernandez, but since you’re still so young, you can call me Mr. Hernandez for now. Later when your mother and I get married, you can call me Dad.”
“I’m not going to call you Dad!” Charlotte pulled a long face at once. “I already have a dad!”
“I know. That’s why you can call me Mr. Hernandez first. It’s okay, you can take your time.”
“You baddie!” Charlotte immediately pushed Hernandez away.
Surprised, Hernandez lost his balance and actually slumped on the ground as a result of the push.
“Hey, Charlotte.” Rachel quickly stopped her. “That’s not the right way to behave.”
“Hernandez, are you okay?”
Hernandez stood up and said sulkily, “No way she could’ve inherited her temper from you. She’s rather hot-tempered.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. I’ll let it slide since Charlotte is a cutie.”
