Liam said nothing more and took Charlie back to Sunrise Manor.
"My dear grandson, are you alright?"
The old man had already heard about what happened to Charlie at school a few days ago. Although Liam had assured him that Charlie was fine and hadn't been the one to suffer, he was still worried. The moment he saw Charlie, he immediately checked to see if his grandson was hurt.
"Grandfather, I'm fine."
Charlie opened his big, dark eyes, clear as if washed by water. The old man breathed a sigh of relief and happily took Charlie's hand to show him the new game room.
From a corner where no one could see, Amelia glared at Charlie with pure hatred. Though she had decided in her heart to tolerate the child, Charlie's existence was still like a thorn in her flesh. Not seeing him was bearable, but seeing him made her deeply uncomfortable.
At dinner, Amelia had prepared a lavish feast. She had even specially made a few dishes that Charlie liked.
A gentle smile was plastered on her face as she eagerly served Charlie.
"Charlie, do you like Auntie's cooking?"
Charlie looked at the beautiful woman across from him. Her smile was flawless, perfect to the point of being fake. But he knew there was no warmth in her eyes.
He laughed and took a few bites, showing his sincerity before saying:
"Yes, but what Auntie makes is never as delicious as what my mom makes."
In an instant, Amelia's face nearly twisted. If it weren't for her father and brother being present, she wouldn't have been able to control her temper.
"Is that so?"
Amelia's smile turned stiff. Even though this wasn't the first time Charlie had said something like this, it still managed to infuriate her every single time. Even after she had learned to cook, she refused to believe that woman could make anything better than she could.
Seeing her brother's smile, Amelia felt as if she had been stabbed. She was certain the little brat had said that on purpose.
Charlie blinked his beautiful black phoenix eyes innocently, looking from Amelia to Liam.
"Dad, is Auntie unhappy? But I wasn't lying. Mom's cooking is really delicious."
"Of course you weren't lying. Dad loves your mom's cooking too."
As he spoke, a nostalgic light flickered in Liam's eyes. Charlie's smile grew even brighter, but to Amelia, it was blinding.
That evening, Liam coaxed Charlie to sleep. He gazed at his sleeping son, who looked so adorable. It was a long time before he finally left the room.
But no sooner had the door clicked shut than Charlie, who had been lying in bed, suddenly opened his eyes. He slipped out of bed barefoot, walked over to the chair nearby, pulled a laptop out of his schoolbag, and returned to bed.
He turned on the computer, but instead of watching videos, he began typing a series of codes. After nearly an hour, he closed the laptop, put it back in his schoolbag, and went to sleep.
The night grew deeper and deeper.
"How strange?"
It was a humble little coffee shop with only one young man sitting inside. It was the same young man who had almost been hit by Isabella's car. Now, wearing a pair of glasses, he sat at a round table, staring at the information displayed on his computer. A look of confusion crossed his handsome face.
"What's wrong, Ethan? Did you find something?"
A female voice rang out in the coffee shop. She brought a cup of coffee and placed it on Ethan's desk. Her pretty face was serious.
"Evelyn, I suspect there might be a force behind those two thugs that Mr. Chen asked us to investigate. Although we only found William Thompson, the way he's doing things now shouldn't be so obvious as to have Emma kidnapped."
Ethan said to the woman beside him.
"Have you figured out which side that force belongs to?"
Evelyn looked at Ethan and asked.
"Do you know Black Feather, an international criminal organization? It seems like there's a shadow of that group behind this."
"Black Feather? Of course I've heard of it. Does it have anything to do with Emma?"
Evelyn asked.
"I'll need to investigate more carefully before I know. Once I've figured it out, I'll report to Mr. Chen."
Evelyn nodded.
"That's fine. Even though we've only worked for Mr. Chen for a year, we can't afford to be careless. Besides, Mr. Chen is a smart man, so it's better to be more careful."
"I wonder who Emma is to Mr. Chen?"
Ethan asked curiously.
"Don't worry about that. Just do your job for Mr. Chen."
"Of course I know. But we might not be enough. I'm afraid Mr. Chen will need to find some more talented people by then."
"Then we'll have to find some clues first."
"Of course."
Windsor Manor.
"Charlie, you have the day off today. Do you want to go to Auntie's art gallery?"
Amelia looked at Charlie with a smile, a deliberate flattery on her face. Charlie blinked his big phoenix eyes, then nodded happily.
"Okay."
His agreement was so simple that it caught Amelia off guard.
The old man was certainly happy that Amelia could accept Charlie, and that Charlie was willing to be close to her.
Liam had gone to the company at that moment, but he hadn't said goodbye to him. He happily told Amelia to take Charlie to the art gallery.
"Auntie, did your mom ever take you shopping before?"
Charlie sat in the back seat, swinging his short legs, as if asking out of boredom.
"Yes. But at that time, your aunt had lost her memory. Your mother had something to do for a while, so she separated from me. I was almost bullied by some thugs, and in the end, your mother's cousin found me and brought me back to your father's side."
Amelia's eyes flickered, and then she said to Charlie.
Cousin? Wasn't that Isabella? How could that bad woman be so kind? Or was it because of her identity as the first lady of the Williams family?
Charlie's mind was full of twists and turns, but one thing was for sure. She was implying that his mother was an incompetent sister-in-law. Hmph, if he were an ignorant child, he might have been fooled by her.
After Amelia finished speaking, she noticed that Charlie had no reaction. Instead, he was watching a cartoon on his iPad. It seemed like he hadn't heard her at all.
Amelia couldn't help but feel angry, but she couldn't lose her temper with him.