Mr. CEO, You Look Strangely Familiar

Her eyes red and swollen, Chloe Marshall nodded. ”Nora, why don’t you go upstairs and rest for a bit? Ethan and I will sit in the children’s room and watch over them.”

Nora Ainsworth knew Chloe couldn’t rest easy, so she relented. ”Alright, I’ll go up and get some sleep for a while. I’ll come take over for you in the middle of the night.”

She turned and went upstairs. Once she was back in her room with the door closed, all of Nora Ainsworth’s vulnerability came flooding out. Her hands were shaking uncontrollably.

It was the terror setting in after the fact.

’She didn’t dare to imagine what would have happened if something had truly happened to Elmer...’

’Thank goodness, he was a lucky boy.’

Lying on the bed, Nora Ainsworth took out her phone and checked the news sites. There was no mention of the children, and her heart finally settled. ’She knew that some things could be made public, while others absolutely couldn’t.’

When Zoe Ellsworth came downstairs, she saw Herman Hawthorne sitting in the living room.

”What are you doing here in the middle of the night?”

Herman Hawthorne stood up and smiled at Mrs. Ellsworth. ”Mom, Zoe and I need to talk.”

Mrs. Ellsworth nodded. ”Go on, talk outside.”

Before Zoe Ellsworth could say a word, Herman Hawthorne pulled her outside.

”What’s so secretive that we have to talk about it out here?”

”Did you hear? Something happened to Dorothy and Elmer.”

Zoe Ellsworth froze. ”What happened?”

Herman Hawthorne leaned close and whispered a few words in her ear.

Zoe Ellsworth’s heart leaped into her throat.

”What? Then why didn’t you tell my mom?”

”Your brother wants to wait until they wake up to tell your parents and Quentin’s parents.”

”’Wake up?’ Are you kidding? By the time that happens, Mom will have my brother’s hide. Get out of my way.” She pushed Herman Hawthorne aside and strode into the living room. ”Mom, Dorothy was kidnapped, and... and she was stabbed...”

Mrs. Ellsworth shot up from the sofa. ”What! Who did it? How is the child now?”

”She’s at Quentin’s house. His little boy was stabbed twice. They’re still investigating who did it.”

Mrs. Ellsworth gasped. ”Quick, go upstairs and get your father! We have to go see Dorothy! Oh, my sweet granddaughter...”

Zoe Ellsworth went upstairs and got Mr. Ellsworth. The four of them went to the Grant Residence together. Seeing Dorothy lying there with her eyes closed, Mrs. Ellsworth was utterly heartbroken. She reached out to touch Dorothy’s little face but pulled back, not daring to make contact. Tears of anguish streamed down her cheeks. Ethan Ellsworth and Chloe Marshall explained the sequence of events from beginning to end. No one would be sleeping that night.

On the way back, Mrs. Ellsworth cursed the people who had hurt the two children nonstop. When they got home, she was still seething. ”It’s a good thing that family is dead! If they weren’t, I’d take a knife and chop them into mincemeat myself!”

”Mom, they’re already dead. It just goes to show... you reap what you sow.”

”People can be so terrifying. I can’t bear to think what would have happened if those two little ones hadn’t fought back. How could they possibly beat adults so much older than them? They could have been killed. A normal child like our Dorothy, at just over three, has no sense of right and wrong. Any adult could have easily tricked her into going with them. But Quentin’s son... he’s four or five months younger than Dorothy, and he’s so much cleverer. To be so sharp at such a young age—he’s going to grow up to be a real force to be reckoned with.”

Zoe Ellsworth completely agreed. ”Well, of course. Just look whose son he is.”

”You should go upstairs to bed. Pregnant women need to get enough sleep.”

”Mom, aren’t you and Dad going to bed?”

”We will. In a little while.”

Zoe Ellsworth nodded and turned to go upstairs.

「The next morning.」

When Leon Lynch came to deliver his wedding invitations, he found Quentin Grant’s living room full of people.

”Why are there so many people here?”

Nora Ainsworth stood up. ”Elmer and Young Master Ellsworth’s daughter, Dorothy, were kidnapped yesterday afternoon. They were injured.”

Leon Lynch’s brow furrowed. ”Which son of a bitch did it?”

”Toby Dalton.”

”Him again? Quentin should just go on the offensive and take care of him once and for all.”

Nora Ainsworth replied, ”Quentin went to the Capital. He isn’t back yet.”

”Which hospital are the kids in?”

”They’re not in the hospital. They’re here at home.”

”Take me to see him right now. Elmer...”

Nora Ainsworth nodded and led him to the children’s room.

As soon as they entered, they saw Dorothy lying there with her eyes open. She seemed dazed, not speaking or making a sound.

Nora Ainsworth called out the door, ”Chloe, Dorothy’s awake!”

Chloe Marshall and everyone else came running in. Looking at her daughter, tears streamed down Chloe’s face. ”Dorothy, it’s Mommy...”

Dorothy Ellsworth’s previously blank expression crumpled the moment she saw Chloe Marshall’s face and heard her voice. She broke into a loud sob, her voice hoarse. ”Mommy!”

”Yes, Mommy’s right here. Don’t cry, Dorothy.” Chloe Marshall reached out to wipe her daughter’s small face, trying to soothe her. But seeing Dorothy cry made Chloe cry too, and soon mother and daughter were crying together.

Ethan Ellsworth felt his heart ache, and his own eyes reddened.

Unable to watch the scene, Mrs. Ellsworth turned and left the room.

Leon Lynch walked over to Elmer Grant’s bedside and took his small hand, a bitter feeling welling up inside him.

”Dorothy’s awake now, Elmer. When are you going to wake up...?”

He kissed the boy’s forehead and continued, ”Your godfather has a happy occasion coming up, and I’m hoping to share some of that good luck with you. I hope my wedding will help you wake up soon, so you can grow up healthy and strong.”

”Leon, you’re getting married?”

He stood up, pulled a red invitation from his pocket, and handed it to Nora Ainsworth. ”May sixth. My wedding. I’d like you and Quentin to come.”

Nora Ainsworth took it. Looking at the black script on the card, she smiled knowingly. ”Congratulations, Leon. I just never thought the bride would be *her*. That’s a once-in-a-lifetime kind of fate.”

’The invitation felt familiar, almost burning her hand.’

’When she and Leon were engaged, they had looked at this exact style of invitation. It was never used for them, but now it was being used for him and Holly Wood. That was a good thing, she supposed.’

”The wedding is just around the corner, and I still have things to arrange. Give me a call when Elmer wakes up.”

Nora Ainsworth nodded and saw him out.

Outside the main gate, Leon Lynch opened his car door and got in. The window slid down slowly. He put on his sunglasses and looked at her standing by the gate, a faint, almost imperceptible smile playing on his lips.

”Nora!”

”Yes?”

”Come here.”

She stepped forward, walking to his car window. ”What is it?”

”There will always be a small part of my heart that’s just for you. I wanted to give all of it to Holly, but after all these years, I’ve never been able to get you out of my heart. I know now that I never will, so I’ll just keep that part safe. Seeing you and the children happy makes me happy. I’ve buried our past love completely, and now I think of you as family I could never part with. I want you to know that I never loved you any less than Quentin does. And in the future, as a member of your family, I won’t love you any less than he does either.”

Fragments of their past flashed through Nora Ainsworth’s mind. ”Leon, we will always be family. The closest kind of family.”

He smiled at her as the car window slowly slid shut. She took a step back and watched his car drive away.

「Grestin.」

Toby Dalton sat in his office chair, having remained completely motionless for over ten minutes.

Claire Sinclair stood at the doorway, hesitating, unsure whether to enter or not.

Suddenly, he turned around.

Claire Sinclair spoke tentatively. ”Young Master Dalton... may I come in?”

”Come in.” His voice was flat, devoid of any emotion.

She walked in. ”Young Master Dalton, my daughter and I want to leave this place. We want to go somewhere no one knows us and live a quiet life.”

”You’ve thought this through?”

”I have. I just want to live the rest of my life in peace.”

He sneered. ”You and your daughter, living a quiet life somewhere no one knows you? How wonderful. Trying to make a clean break? Did you really think this is a place you can just come and go as you please?”

Claire Sinclair’s breath caught. With a THUD, she fell to her knees. ”Young Master Dalton, please, spare my daughter and me.”

He looked down at her. ”What are you panicking for? Weren’t you the one who said you and your daughter would do whatever I asked? I haven’t even given you an order yet, and you’re already this desperate to get away?”

”I know I’m of no value to you anymore, and neither is my daughter. Young Master Dalton, please, just let us go. Let us leave.”

”As it happens, I’ve just managed to infuriate Quentin Grant. This morning, he went through Fravia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to deliver a message to Grestin’s, demanding they take political action against me. He’s threatening to send troops to attack if they don’t. So how about this? I hand you and your daughter over to him. I think that would be a very worthwhile trade.”

Claire Sinclair’s eyes flew wide. She threw herself forward and grabbed Toby Dalton’s leg. ”Young Master Dalton, I’m begging you, please don’t hand me over to him! Please, don’t!”

”I’m sure you can imagine what would happen to you and your daughter in his hands. But I feel compelled to try this option.”

He picked up his phone and dialed Quentin Grant’s number. ”Hello. This is Toby Dalton.”

Quentin Grant hadn’t expected a call from him. He snorted coldly. ”You hurt my son and Young Master Ellsworth’s daughter, Toby Dalton, and you still have the audacity to call me? You’ve got some real nerve!”

”I’m calling because I have a proposition for you. Are you interested in hearing it?”

”Speak.” Quentin Grant bit out a single word.

”I’d like to resolve the matter with your son and Young Master Ellsworth’s daughter peacefully. I’ll hand over Claire Sinclair and her daughter, Catherine Callahan, to you. In return, you stop coming after me. How does that sound?”

Hearing this, Quentin Grant almost laughed out loud. ”Toby Dalton, both of those women are Fravian citizens. They are our people on your land. We can issue a warrant through the Fravian police and have them openly arrested and extradited. How can you possibly use that as a bargaining chip? I was wondering what brilliant move you had up your sleeve, coming after my family. This is the second time. Do you really think I would let this go so easily? You underestimate me!”

*