"What? Are you shitting me? She ran away again?" Wesley asked in disbelief.
"No, I'm afraid this piece of news is poo-free. Rika dumped her bodyguards and went AWOL when she was on holiday in Cass!" Carlos answered.
Wesley stood up abruptly and asked, "How'd that happen? Did she run away by herself?"
It had only been a month since Carlos told him the good news that Erica was pregnant with twins. Why did she run away?
"No one knows. She did leave a letter to Matthew, asking us not to look for her." As an elder, Carlos felt guilty after Erica took off. Matthew must have done something again.
When Blair heard someone ran away, it didn't take her long to figure out it was Erica. It was always Erica.
She immediately dropped what she was working on and approached her husband. She asked anxiously, "What's going on, Wesley?"
Wesley didn't answer her; he was still listening to Carlos on the phone.
On the other hand, Chantel lowered her head and clenched her clothes nervously. 'She did it! Rika got away from her bodyguards!'
"My daughter is impossible!" Wesley was so pissed off his blood pressure skyrocketed. He paced back and forth in the living room like a tiger in its cage. "I really don't think it's Matthew this time. I know what kind of person my daughter is. It can't be his fault. She's gone too far this time! She didn't even think about her two babies at all!"
A moment later, he told Carlos, "Blair and I are heading your way now. We need to put our heads together and bring Erica back! Bring yourself and your ideas!"
Then Wesley hung up the phone and urged Blair to pack her things before leaving for Y City.
Chantel stood up from the chair and asked, "Dad, where's Rika? Is something wrong?"
Wesley took a deep breath and answered gently, "She ran away again. I'm off to Y City with your mom. You hold down the fort here. I'll get Yvette to come and take care of you for a couple days."
"No need for that, Dad. That's what maids are for. Don't bother Yvette. Besides, I'll be at school all day. Don't worry about me." Chantel didn't dare to look into Wesley's eyes because she felt guilty. Her eyes darted from place to place.
Wesley was so pissed off he didn't pay much attention to her. Otherwise, he would have figured out she was involved. "I wish Rika was an awesome girl like you. She is such a drama queen! It seems she'll always keep me on my toes, old as I am," he sighed.
"Rika's too much of a free spirit to be tied down. We'll find her," Chantel comforted him.
"Of course we will. Together again with Carlos! It'll be like old times. She can't hide from us both," Wesley said through gritted teeth.
Meanwhile, a lone figure reached the shore. The pregnant girl, the one who had turned the households of two powerful families upside down. She crouched down and put her hands on her knees, out of breath. Excited, she stepped onto a rock and stretched out her arms to embrace the freedom.
'Ahhh! Finally free! I'm all by myself. No family, no husband! No one to be accountable to. Smell that fresh air!'
At last, she put her hands on her bulging belly and smiled happily. "Little ones, I will definitely bring you into this world safely," she told herself.
She had already gotten a lot done. Before her trip, she withdrew a hundred thousand dollars, and had the cash in her bag.
She had calculated that if she was smart and budgeted well, she wouldn't have to withdraw any more money for several months.
When she really ran out of money later, she could take photos for people and make money that way.
The pregnant woman found a place to rest for a while so she could get her energy back. Finally, she got the address of the dock and boarded a ship to cross international waters, and get away from Cass.
Erica looked out at the sea, and swore inwardly, 'Matthew, I don't deserve you. When I come back, I will be worthy of your love. I was a little girl; when I find you again, I'll be a woman. Wait for me!'
At ZL Group
Matthew stood in front of the French window smoking a cigarette. Three days ago, he was in Cass. Two days ago, he'd come back home.
Right now, he was wondering if the pregnant woman had suffered any setbacks.
Knock, knock, knock! There was a knock at the door.
It was Owen. He walked right in when he was bidden to do so. He wasn't surprised that Matthew was smoking more nowadays. "I found something, Mr. Huo. The 'accident' in the Blessing Palace was no accident. Someone set that up deliberately…"
The photo shoot activity and the mental patient were arranged in advance by Watkins.
"After we looked into it, we found a murder case. In fact, the mental patient had been dead for some time. She kept trying to escape from the mental hospital and finally had a confrontation with the security guard. The guard accidentally killed her!"
'Dead?' Matthew suddenly turned around and frowned slightly. "Then the patient Rika met…"
"The one Mrs. Huo met was someone else in disguise," Owen answered. It was obvious that Watkins had asked someone to cosplay as the mental patient, trying to frighten Erica. Then he conveniently showed up and saved her. That would make her want to believe him even more.
Watkins had gotten lucky that day. Erica dismissed her bodyguards. If the bodyguards followed her in, Watkins' plan wouldn't have a snowball's chance in hell.
It was all arranged by Camille and her cohorts. Even Matthew couldn't help but marvel at the simple complexity of Camille's plans.
"What's going on with the Su Group?" Matthew asked.
"The acquisition is proceeding as planned. Fanya Dong is focusing on suing you. Lyman Su knew there was no way out, so he signed all the documents," Owen answered briefly.
"How about the Champion Group?"
"Since you cut ties with them, Mr. Chai has been running himself ragged. Everybody's following ZL Group's example. Eight of the ten companies that were considering partnerships have pulled out, or declared their contracts null and void."
Matthew said nothing more. Having delivered his update, Owen left the office.
On the third day after he came back from Cass, Matthew sat lazily in his office chair, resting his forehead on one hand and staring out the window.
'Rika, I miss you.
Come back to me. I know how hard it is to make in this world. But I can help you with that.'
On the fourth day, the man lay in the bed, his wife's scent lingering in the sheets. He began seriously thinking about a question. 'When did you become such a heartless woman, Rika? You left without saying goodbye, leaving me only a lock of hair and a letter. Why didn't you take me with you?'
On the fifth day, it rained heavily in Y City. Matthew was holding the strand of hair in his hand. 'I hate you, Rika. I hate you for abandoning me and leaving with our sons.'
The sixth day, he thought to himself, 'Rika, I love you.'
Matthew had been waiting for a month, but he still couldn't figure out what kind of money she was living on. There were countless dollars on her bank card, but she hadn't used a penny since she disappeared.
The man threw the cup against the wall. It shattered, the pieces falling to the floor, and a dark stain cascaded down the wall.
'Does money mean anything to you, my one and only? You saved so much money, why didn't you use it?'
In fact, it would be better if she did use her money. She wouldn't need to live a hard life with the money he gave her. He really didn't want her doing hard work. She had money to live on.
But she didn't use any money from her bank account.
He didn't know how she could make it. No money, pregnant, he just couldn't figure it out. And the longer he thought about it, the worse it made him feel.
Besides, she had won the first and second places in the photography contest.
The photo that got first place was a group photo of the two of them, which named 1+1=3. The second one was his portrait.
