Chapter 264 Give You an Explanation
“Don’t worry, Rachel. I won’t let him off.” Despite hearing the resolute words on the other end of the line, Rachel felt a terrible dull ache in her heart. Over so many years, Janice had been devoting herself to clamping down on underworld gangs, but she was often met with all kinds of obstacles. There were not only external factors but also many on the inside that were shielding these gangs.
Arthur couldn’t possibly be the only person who contributed to Jason being cleared of suspicion in Nancy’s kidnapping back then, so it went without saying how many strings had been pulled for this.
Meanwhile, the night was falling, and Justin was waiting on the mountain path. Soon, his personal bodyguards arrived. “Young Master Justin.”
“Young Master Justin, this is…” The two bodyguards were Justin’s trusted men. In order not to affect the school’s activities, Justin had them stay far away from him when they came, saying that he would call them over if there was anything.
Justin kicked the half-dead henchman lying next to him. He said coldly, “Tie him up and put him in your car until I get back to Riverdale.”
The two bodyguards exchanged a brief look. “Yes, Young Master Justin.”
“Also, you two take turns to keep watch near the campsite tonight. Keep your guard up.”
“Yes, Young Master Justin.”
After giving the instructions, Justin went back to the campsite.
The bonfire activities had ended, and all the families returned to their respective tents to sleep and save their strength for the next day’s outdoor sports meet.
Rachel had just finished washing Charlotte’s face. After urging the two kids to get into the tent, she pulled down the tent’s gauze net from the outside and zipped the tent flaps shut.
Just then, Charlotte’s voice sounded from inside the tent. “Mommy, aren’t you coming in to sleep with us?”
Rachel replied, “I’ll be back in a while after washing my hands.” After finishing her sentence, however, she sat down beside the bonfire outside. There was no smile on her face; even when illuminated by the bonfire, her face looked very grim. As she poked at the bonfire, the branches crackled audibly in the night.
Justin came back to see her sitting alone outside the tent. “Just go to sleep. I have somebody keeping watch at a distance, so nothing will happen again.”
Rachel didn’t even look at him. “It’s okay. I’m not sleepy at all.”
“If you’re really worried, I’ll send you guys back to Riverdale first. Outdoor activities aren’t safe in the first place, anyway.”
“Put off by a slight risk, huh? Is that why you didn’t let Charlotte go to school?” Rachel finally looked up and stared frostily at the man before her. “Samuel is fine; he has joined a lot of such activities since he was little. But can’t you tell how happy Charlotte is to come out here this time?”
Charlotte had joined almost all the activities at the campsite. Not only did she take part in every little game with great enthusiasm, but she even became one with all her little friends. She had never come out and played with so many people at once ever since she learned to speak.
“If it weren’t for Charlotte, I would’ve left at once.” Rachel took a glance at Justin. “But you don’t have to worry. Obviously, your uncle is coming after me. The kids have nothing to do with this.”
Justin frowned. “Once we get back to Riverdale, I’ll investigate the matter thoroughly and give you an explanation.”
“No, you don’t have to.” Rachel shot a glance at Justin. “If you really feel bad about it, then stop following me around. Just spend more time with Charlotte and Samuel during the outdoor sports meet tomorrow instead.” After all, Justin was Charlotte’s father, and Samuel also regarded him as his father. Therefore, the two kids would be happy to have the man keep them company during the outdoor activity this time.
Knowing that it was useless to say more, Justin could only give her a slight nod in silence.
As the bonfire crackled, the campsite became increasingly quiet, and the lights of the tents were turned off one after another. Rachel curled herself up in the chair with a yawn. Even though she was sleepy, she was unwilling to go back to sleep. She said she didn’t worry that Jason might lay a hand on the two kids, but she was nonetheless afraid of the possibility.
After some time, she couldn’t stay awake anymore, and her eyes closed.
Charlotte and Samuel were sleeping inside the tent when the tent flaps were unzipped from the outside. Samuel wasn’t soundly asleep in the first place, so he looked at the person in a daze after being roused from sleep.
“Shh…” Justin took a glance at him before carefully putting down the lady in his arms. Then, he put the pillow below her head and tucked her in. Having done all these, he sat down beside Rachel. As he quietly watched her sleeping, he felt incredibly at ease, and he bent down to kiss her on the forehead.
Just then, a little hand came in front of Justin’s lips, and he looked up to see Samuel beside him. How could I have forgotten about this little brat?
Samuel stared at Justin with big, round eyes. He asked warily, “What are you doing?”
Justin grabbed his hand and replied impatiently, “Why are you being so meddlesome? Hurry up and go back to sleep!”
“I will, but you have to get out.”
“And what if I refuse?”
“In that case, I’ll call Mr. Wade over!” Samuel replied while waving his cell phone.
Justin frowned. Both of them refused to budge. After a long time, however, he could only leave the tent in dejection. This brat said he wanted to help me, but all he had come up with were lousy ideas. I wonder if he really wanted to help me or if he wanted to dupe me to get back at me.
When the light in the tent was turned off, Samuel turned over and held Rachel’s arm while looking out of the tent. The figure of the man outside was visible by the bonfire.
Instead of returning to his own tent, Justin sat down in front of the bonfire outside. Every once in a while, he poked at the bonfire, and it seemed that he had no intention of leaving.
At this instant, Samuel’s opinion of the man changed somewhat. He’s quite reliable, after all.
The next morning, the first match of the outdoor sports meet was the three-legged race.
Rachel and Charlotte had just completed their round. When Victor came over to record the contestants’ finishing positions in the race, he noticed that Rachel had been massaging her arm and that something was wrong with the look on her face. “Rachel, is your arm okay?”
Rachel didn’t tell Victor what had happened last night lest he worry about it. She shook her head and replied, “It’s okay. Which round will Samuel be competing in?”
“He’ll be competing in the next round. Why don’t you rest for a while, Rachel? I’ll let him compete a couple of rounds later.”
“There’s no need to go to so much trouble. It’s a three-legged race, after all. We don’t need to use our arms.”
“Let me do it.” The rope in Rachel’s hand was snatched away all of a sudden as Justin’s voice rang beside her.
“You?” Rachel looked at him, dumbfounded. She found it difficult to imagine Justin and Samuel being tied together in a three-legged race.
While she was in a daze, Justin had stridden into the distance toward Samuel without giving her the opportunity to say no at all.
“Hey…” Victor yelled with the record book in his hand. Grumpily, he muttered, “There’s no way he’s doing this without expecting anything in return.”
Charlotte grabbed the lower hem of Victor’s shirt while blinking her eyes angrily. “Mr. Wade, why do you hate my dad so much? He’s very kind.”
