Adkins left his parents' bedroom as fast as he could, leaving behind a group of dumbfounded younger brothers. They turned around to look at their father, who was wearing a long face, and then at their mother, who was also stunned by Adkins' disappearing figure. Eventually, they turned around and retreated to their respective rooms.
After the kids went back to their rooms, Matthew took out his phone and called Owen. "Transfer three million to Ms. Zheng's account from Season Group," he ordered.
'Wow! Adkins borrowed two million and now Matthew is going to pay it back with three million.' Erica shook her head and sighed, "It's so good to have money!"
As Matthew put his phone back into his pocket, he lifted his eyelids and glanced at her. "This is your son. He is the same as you when it comes to being unreasonable."
This time, it was Erica's turn to be angry. "When have I ever been unreasonable? Huh? You're just mad because you failed to teach Adkins a lesson. And now you're dumping all of that misplaced anger onto his mother! Who do you think is being unreasonable here?"
Matthew, sighed in defeat, and decided to retreat into the bathroom in silence as he didn't want to argue with her.
When Erica went downstairs, the four children were having breakfast quietly as before, and Matthew was sitting opposite them.
Noticing her presence, Matthew wiped his mouth with a tissue and asked, "How come you're up so early? Do you have something to do today?"
"Yes!" She wanted to send her children to school and her husband to the company.
As usual, the four children pulled out the chair for her and served her breakfast. Adkins seemed a little absent-minded, perhaps because he was worried that his father was still mad at him.
More often than not, Adkins would be the most energetic amongst his brothers when Erica was around. Today, however, he was just quietly sulking in his seat and having breakfast.
Erica looked at her eldest son and then at the man beside her, but said nothing.
After breakfast, the family of six got into the minivan. Adkins immediately jumped into the seat next to Erica, held her hand tightly and whispered, "Mom, may I borrow your phone please? I need to call Grandma."
Confused, Erica asked, "Why do you want to call your grandma?"
Adkins gestured to Matthew with his eyes and then shook his head. "Nothing."
Having sensed his reluctance to speak, Erica didn't force him to explain himself. Instead, she took her phone out and handed it to him. "Here you go."
"Thanks, Mom!" Adkins gave his mother a gleeful grin and then called Debbie's number.
The line was connected soon after and Debbie's cheerful voice came through. "Good morning, Rika. Have you had breakfast?"
"Grandma, it's me, Adkins!" said the boy in a sweet voice.
"Oh, it's you, Adkins! My dear boy, did you miss me?" Debbie was glad to have received her grandson's call.
"Yes, Grandma. I miss you and Grandpa very much. Can you and Grandpa pick me up after school this afternoon?" he asked.
"Adkins Huo!" Matthew warned him in a cold voice.
The little boy shook at the sight of his father's eyes, but he kept the phone glued to his cheek. He turned his back to Matthew and continued to talk to his grandmother on the phone.
Debbie, on the other hand, was thrilled by her grandson's request. "Sure! Your grandpa and I would love to see you. We miss you too! Be good at school. Your grandpa and I will pick you up this afternoon!"
"Okay, Grandma. I love you!"
After the call, Adkins nonchalantly returned the phone to Erica. "Mom, are you going to Grandma's house with us tonight?"
He was afraid that he had also gotten his mother in trouble with his dad.
"I'm not going, honey. I have some stuff to finish at work and I'll be back a little late tonight."
Averting Matthew's eyes, Adkins whispered in Erica's ear, "Aren't you afraid that Dad will get mad at you? Be careful. He is in a bad mood!"
Amused by her son's words, Erica didn't know whether to cry or to laugh. She grabbed Matthew's hand and said, "Don't worry. Your father isn't like that!"
Adkins understood what she was doing and he shrank back in fear. 'Forget it.' The little boy leaned back in his seat and looked out the window.
Colman seemed to have come up with an idea and he nudged Adkins. "Hey, are you going to Grandpa's after school?"
"Yeah."
"Then I'll come with you!" Colman was also trying to avoid Matthew for the next two days and what better place for him to do that than his grandparents' place.
Damian and Boswell followed in one voice. "And me!"
Erica chuckled and whispered in Matthew's ear, "Look at what you have done! You've scared our sons out of their own home."
Matthew glanced at them coldly and said, "It's good that they won't be home. I'm glad that we can spend some time alone."
The four boys looked at Matthew with teary eyes, clutching their chests dramatically. 'Boo…hoo… Dad's words are so hurtful!' they all thought.
In the evening, Carlos and Debbie picked up the boys after school just as they had promised, leaving Erica and Matthew in the company of each other.
Matthew really put a lot of effort into giving his wife a romantic night. At first, he took Erica to a lovely restaurant for a candlelight dinner. Then, they drove all the way to the top of the mountain to see the stars scattered all across a velvet black sky. How romantic!
When the cold winds announced the onset of winter, Erica spared one day to take her sons shopping for some new clothes.
The mother and her sons were always accompanied by two bodyguards.
Since the children wanted steak for lunch, Erica took them to a popular restaurant that served authentic Western cuisine along with the two bodyguards who sat at the table next to them.
During the meal, Boswell put down his fork and said, "Mom, I need to go to the bathroom."
The waitress who was serving the dishes smiled politely and said, "The bathroom is over there. Let me show you the way."
Damian also stood up and said, "Boswell, wait a minute. I want to go with you!"
Since they were at a Michelin star restaurant and every employee of that establishment, starting from the waiters and waitresses were all trained to provide nothing but first-class service, Erica saw no reason to be worried when the waitress offered to take the children to the bathroom. Erica smiled at the waitress and politely said, "Thank you!"
"Ma'am, you are welcome!"
The waitress held the two boys' hands and walked towards the bathroom. One of the two bodyguards stood up and followed them.
At the corner of the corridor, a cleaner accidentally pushed a cleaning trolley, sending it towards the bodyguard who somehow managed to dodge the trolley in the nick of time. Unfortunately, however, he failed to dodge the water that had splashed onto his trousers.
"Sir, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…" The cleaner apologized to him in a panic and took out a towel to wipe his trousers.
The bodyguard looked up at the direction of the bathroom and stopped her. "No, thanks!" He brushed off the incident as a mere accident. Besides, his priority was the safety of the boys, not his trousers.
The cleaner, however, didn't intend to let him go. She grabbed his clothes and continued to wipe his trousers. "It doesn't matter. I'll clean them for you."
The bodyguard looked at the cleaner's face, who seemed to be a little nervous, and realized that something was wrong. The first thought that formed in his mind was, 'Oh, no!' He pushed the cleaner away and rushed to the bathroom, completely disregarding her screams.
The restaurant was on the first floor and the two children were not in the men's room. He turned around and went to the women's room without a second thought.
While the women in the bathroom screamed, he shouted, "Boys?"
Having found no response, the bodyguard became so anxious that cold sweats started to form on his forehead. When he saw an open window, he quickly ran over and looked out.
Just as he had feared it, he saw two men covering the mouths of the children and pushing them into a minibus.
Without hesitation, he jumped out of the window and contacted his colleague in the restaurant with his Bluetooth headset. "Tell Mrs. Huo that something happened to the two boys. Don't let her and the others get out of your sight. I'll call for backup and go after the boys right away!"
When Erica found out that Boswell and Damian had been kidnapped, Adkins had just cut a piece of steak and put it into her mouth.
The suddenness of the news shook Erica and she almost choked on that piece of meat inside her mouth.
