Chapter 338 Missing Someone Is Torture
Two hours later, Oscar entered the room, walking tall and regal. As soon as he appeared in the doorway, all three of the Hissons turned to look at him. Three persons, three pairs of eyes with three different expressions. Terrence was admiring him, Kate was comparing him to Derrick, and Finnick was simply looking at him in mild wonder. After all, he was a brilliant young man; easily liked by all.
Oscar looked back at the three people seated on the sofa. He recognized Terrence right away. After all, he was once a formidable man in the business circle. When Oscar was just starting out in the business world, he had been lucky to receive guidance from more experienced mentors. He respected Terrence for his straight and honest business mind, unlike the others.
“Dad, Mom, Mr. Terrence,” Oscar greeted them politely.
“Oscar, come sit with us,” Olivia called out to him, waving him over to them.
Once Oscar was seated, Olivia began explaining the purpose of the Hissons’ visit. “Oscar, tell me honestly, were you the one who grabbed Derrick from the airport?”
Oscar did not bother denying the truth. He nodded and said, “I had something to ask him, so, I sent someone to pick him up.”
Olivia’s eyes widened in surprise. She had thought that the Hissons had come to accuse her son of something he had not done. She had not expected this turn of events.
“What was so urgent that you needed to keep him for the past five days? Do you know that this could be considered unlawful detention? Mr. Terrence has even come here personally to ask for Derrick. You have to let him go this minute,” Olivia said in a disapproving tone.
“I wanted to hear certain information from Derrick’s personally. However, his lips are a little tight. So, I have decided to keep him with me for a few days while they loosened up,” Oscar said simply.
Kate cleared her throat delicately and said in her soft voice, “Mr. Oscar, if Derrick had done you wrong, I apologize to you on his behalf. However, he is my only son, and I will be heartbroken indeed if something were to happen to him. So, would you please free him first and we can talk about everything else later? I believe the Clintons are not vengeful people. I don’t think there’s any need for you to keep my son locked away for so many days.”
Oscar glanced at Kate. Surprise flashed across his eyes.
He was taken aback by her beauty. However, he returned to his usual self within a split second. He finally knew where Derrick had gotten his good looks from.
“I think there is a misunderstanding here, Mrs. Hisson. Derrick is staying with me willingly. I’ve not locked him away forcefully. If you don’t believe me, you can ask him yourself,” Oscar replied casually.
Kate stared back at Oscar in obvious disbelief.
“If that is true, then can Derrick return home? I haven’t seen him in several days. Actually, I miss him a lot,” Kate stated gently.
Oscar nodded.
“Since Mr. Terrence has personally come to my door, I wouldn’t dream of keeping his grandson away from him,” Oscar declared.
He had already known that the Hissons would come knocking eventually, so he had never expected to keep Derrick locked away for a long time. He just wanted to teach Derrick a lesson. As long as Derrick kept in contact with Tiffany, he was sure that he would find Amelia one day. Derrick would eventually lead him to her.
After all, Oscar was in no hurry. No matter how clever Derrick was, he was sure to slip up sooner or later. At this moment, it was a waiting game between him and Derrick.
Oscar’s response was swift. He immediately called Hugo right in front of Terrence and said over the phone, “Hugo, you can release Mr. Derrick now.”
Although Hugo seemed surprised by his order, he merely replied obediently, “Yes, Boss.”
After ending the call, Oscar turned to Terrence and said, “Mr. Terrence, you will see your grandson when you get home.”
Terrence gave Oscar a measured look and said with a smile, “Oscar, if my grandson has offended you in any way, let me know now. I’ll have a word with him once I get home. The Clintons and the Hissons have always been on friendly terms, and I have watched you grow up. There is no need for you to be so formal with me.”
Oscar smiled and replied, “If you say so, then I’ll not be so formal with you in the future. Well, it’s getting quite late now. Why don’t all of you stay for dinner?”
Finnick and his wife quickly stood up and both turned to lend a hand to the octogenarian Terrence.
“We’d love that but thank you,” Terrence declined politely. “We have dinner prepared at home. Besides, I haven’t seen my grandson in a while. I’d like to go home and play a game of chess or two with him. We won’t bother you any longer. Let us host you someday. I’ll get the cook to prepare a feast for your family. Consider that an apology for whatever wrong my silly grandson has done to you.”
Olivia and Owen also got up from their seat. Olivia said to Terrence, “Oh, you shouldn’t be so nice to Oscar. You’ll spoil him!”
The Hissons smiled at Olivia’s statement.
“Oscar is smarter than I thought! He is certainly much better than my silly grandson. If only Derrick had half of Oscar’s sensibilities and returned to the Hisson Group to help me out instead of wasting his time in his barely-surviving publishing company, I wouldn’t be so worried about him! I don’t have many years left anyway.” Although Terrence spoke disparagingly of his grandson, his face was lit up with pride and joy at the mention of Derrick.
It was clear that Terrence was, in truth, very proud of Derrick.
“You are too humble!” Olivia exclaimed at Terrence. “Everybody knows that your grandchildren are all accomplished in their own right. Even the grandchildren who aren’t working for the Hisson Group are renowned in their respective fields. You are a winner in life! Your children are filial, and your grandchildren are all outstanding!” Olivia’s praise was an impeccable statement of fact.
Everybody loved hearing praises, especially a man like Terrence who was so used to being flattered all his life. Hearing the praises from Olivia, whom he considered to be almost his equal, put a huge smile on his face.
The Hissons finally left the Clinton residence on a good note.
As soon as the door shut behind them, Olivia’s face turned dark. She glared at Oscar and asked coldly, “Oscar, what on earth is going on? How did you get involved with the Hissons? Mr. Terrence even had to show up personally at our door! You are getting too bold!”
“Mom, it’s just a minor misunderstanding. I’ll sort it out,” Oscar replied sullenly.
Olivia looked at her son’s face and her expression softened. She lowered her voice and said patiently, “Oscar, the Hissons and us are in different fields of business. We are not at odds with each other. I have come across Derrick several times. He is about your age and a brilliant young man. What I’d like you to do is to befriend him or if you can’t be friends with him, then at least don’t make an enemy out of him. Don’t put our two families in an awkward position with each other. In the business world, a friend is always better than a rival.”
“I understand,” Oscar said, lowering his gaze.
Owen wrapped an arm around his wife and said gently, “It’s alright, Olivia. It’s getting late. Let’s sit down for dinner. Oscar must be tired after a long day. I think he could use a hot bowl of soup right now.”
Olivia relented and dropped the subject.
Since Stephanie had gone out with her friends, it was only the three of them at the dinner table that night.
Olivia spooned some soup into her mouth and frowned, suddenly recalling something. She raised her head and looked at Oscar. “Oscar, if I remember correctly, Derrick was Tiffany’s former boss, right?”
Oscar paused, his silverware frozen in midair. After a long while, he finally nodded in affirmation.
Revelation flashed across Olivia’s face. She asked in a rather excited voice, “Does Derrick know Tiffany’s whereabouts? Is that why you trapped him?” Tiffany has left with Amelia back then. If Derrick knows where Tiffany is, then he must know where Amelia is as well!
Olivia’s hand trembled and her lips quivered. It took her a long while to find her voice. Finally, she asked, “Oscar, do you know where Amelia is? Have you found Tony?”
Oscar glanced at his mother and said, “Calm down, Mom. I was holding Derrick because I really wanted him to tell me personally where Tiffany was. Unfortunately, he parted ways with Tiffany not too long ago. However, I’ve ordered my men to investigate further. Indeed, he has not had any contact with Tiffany since they went their separate ways. Otherwise, I would not have released him at Mr. Terrence’s request.”
Disappointment darkened Olivia’s eyes.
She looked intensely into Oscar’s eyes, trying to decipher whether he was lying.
“Oscar, you’re not lying to me, are you?” Olivia asked with a tinge of hope.
Oscar smiled bitterly and said, “Mom, no one wants to locate Amelia more than me. If I knew where she was, do you really think I’ll still be sitting down here having dinner with you?”
Olivia’s disappointment was palpable.
Owen pacified and urged, “Eat up, Olivia. It’s such a rare treat for us to be able to sit down together for dinner as a family, so stop pestering Oscar. I’ll have my men keep an eye out for Amelia as well. As soon as I hear anything, I’ll immediately tell you myself. I’ll also get the police to look into this. I believe we’ll have Tony back in our home soon.”
You’ve promised me that before! It’s been a few months, but I have seen nothing!
Olivia kept her thoughts to herself since she had noticed that Owen had lost a lot of weight in the past few months. She knew that he had been worrying about Tony. Tony’s sudden disappearance had been hard on everyone. After all, Tony was the first grandson of the Clinton family. They had all been waiting for his arrival for five years. However, Amelia had whisked him away without even giving them the chance to say goodbye. The longing that they had for him was heartbreaking.
