While Francis was fuming due to the mysterious caller, Marcus received a video of Evelyn being tortured in the operating room. He called William. “Mr. Howard, it’s done. Evelyn’s hand was broken and her hair was shaved completely. My men also sent a message to Francis to tell him that you’re the mastermind behind all this. He must be so angry that he flies off the handle.”
“Great job!” William’s voice was emotionless. Last night, everyone was frightened by what Evelyn had done to Valeria. Today, it was only fair that he was going to torture Evelyn. An eye for an eye, a tit for tat. He wanted Francis, that old geezer, to understand that problems couldn’t be solved if he tried to cover things up for his granddaughter.
“Do you think Mr. Gurney will come to you?”
“Does he have the guts?” William asked in response, “I have already given him a chance. Thank goodness Valeria was okay. If Francis brought Evelyn to apologize and bow to me, I wouldn’t do this to her even if I felt dissatisfied. After all, Francis did nothing wrong. But he actually made a fool of me and tried to push all the responsibilities to someone who didn’t even exist. Does he think that I am a pushover? How can I let them bully my beloved woman like this?”
“Francis is going to suffer a loss this time, but he will definitely be upset. Mr. Howard, we’d better be on our guard in the future against him.”
“Of course, we will be careful. But now, Francis doesn’t dare to do anything reckless. He still hopes to cooperate with the Wolf Group to make more money. After all, he has spent a lot of effort for this cooperation to work. How can he, being such a calculative man, let go of the profit that is within his reach? So he has to accept his defeat no matter what!”
William finished his sentence slowly and ordered Marcus, “Send some fruits to Francis as consolation. Use his words in the morning against him. I want him to suffer.”
“Yes, I’ll do it right away!”
William ended the call with Marcus. Then Braelynn called him. “William, has my sister-in-law given birth already?”
“That’s right.”
Braelynn learned about the news of Valeria’s delivery from Lamont. “Congratulations! It’s a pity that I’m not at home. The two babies must be adorable, right?”
“Well, I’ll send you some photos later. By the way, how is Richard?”
“He is depressed. Abbie’s disappearance has dealt a great blow to him. So are Donald and Helen. I’m staying at their house now so I talk to Helen every day. I feel so down because I don’t know when they will snap out of it.”
William let out a silent sigh. “You don’t have to rush back. Just keep Richard and the others company.”
William took a few photos of Cade and Santhos before he sent them to Braelynn. Braelynn looked at the pictures with a bright smile. “Aw, they’re so cute. William, why are they so cute? I’m dying to hug them.”
“You’ll get your chance when you come back.”
“Well, is Valeria okay? Is it painful to give birth?”
“She is fine!” William didn’t tell Braelynn about the danger that Valeria had encountered last night.
“Is she resting?”
“Yes, she is sleeping.”
“Then I shouldn’t disturb her. Please congratulate her for me. I’ll call you again when she wakes up.”
After sending a message to William, Braelynn stared happily at the photos of Santhos and Cade. She was all smiles when the door was pushed open. Richard came in and saw the smile on her face. “What are you looking at?”
“It’s the photos of my darling nephews.”
“So the babies are born already?” Richard seemed surprised. “Didn’t you say that it won’t happen until two weeks later?”
Braelynn didn’t know the reason for the premature labor. “Could it be that the doctor was wrong about the estimated date of delivery?”
“How is that even possible? Valeria is pregnant and everyone is caring for her cautiously. How can the doctors of the hospital be wrong? Something must have happened.”
“What else can happen? My brother didn’t tell me anything. Valeria probably just gave birth in advance.”
“It’s hard to determine. Let me have a look.” Richard took over Braelynn’s mobile phone and looked at the photos for a while. He let out a sigh and said, “Abbie has always wanted to be their godmother… Boys, you’ve lost one godmother who’ll love you like her own.”
Braelynn knew that Richard was sad again when she saw his face. “Don’t be down! She doesn’t want to see you so unhappy. She admires you so much. She must have wanted you to be happy.”
Richard smiled bitterly and let out a sigh of relief. “Did you tell Mr. Floyd about what I’ve asked you to do?”
“Not yet. I’ll be talking to him today.”
“I’ll leave everything to you! You have to help me with this.”
“I know, but Michael… he is actually a poor soul. Do you really want him to marry Azalea? What if he doesn’t agree?”
“What reason does he have to refuse? After all, Azaela is the only daughter of the Floyd family. Michael, the only heir of the Floyd family, is also a man with desires. How can he resist such an attractive woman?” A sneer crept onto the corner of Richard’s mouth. “If only Michael was more determined, Abbie wouldn’t have ended up this way. I think that his resolve has been wavering all the time. It’s his wavering resolve that led to the current situation.”
Braelynn heaved a sigh. “Then I’ll talk to the Floyd family now.”
In truth, she didn’t want to call Callum or get in touch with him. However, she had to do it for Richard’s sake.
Callum picked up Braelynn’s call instantly and asked in surprise, “Braelynn, have you returned to the country?”
“No, I need to talk to you.” Braelynn seemed cold and distant.
“Shoot. I promise to help as long as I am able to.”
“Sure, I’ll get straight to the point. I don’t want you to expose Azalea’s identity so that she can continue to be known as the eldest daughter of the Floyd family.”
“Um… why is that?”
“Why are you asking so many questions? Didn’t you say that you’ll do whatever I ask you to do?”
“Okay! I gave you my word.”
“That’s more like it.” Braelynn was about to hang up when Callum called out to her. “When will you come back? Your mom misses you.”
Braelynn furrowed her brows. “There’s no specific date for my return. Let’s talk about it next time.”
Callum spoke in a gentle and warm voice. “Inform me when you plan to come back so that your mother and I can pick you up.”
“Why do you need to pick me up? Didn’t I tell you to keep on treating Azalea as a member of the Floyd family? What do you want to achieve by fetching me?”
Callum was not angry after being chided by Braelynn. He smiled and said, “Then… then we’ll treat you to dinner once you’re back.”
Braelynn’s mood improved a little. “Sure! I’m hanging up!”
In the hospital, Marcus entered Evelyn’s ward with his assistant. They brought a fruit basket and a bouquet of flowers.
Francis was not pleased to see Marcus. “Assistant Field, what are you doing here?”
“Mr. Howard has heard about Ms. Gurney’s injures, so he asked me to come and see her on his behalf!” Marcus motioned his assistant to put the flowers and fruit baskets down as he looked at Evelyn, who was lying on the bed.
Even though he had already seen Evelyn’s pathetic state in the video, he was still shocked when he saw her in person.
Wasn’t this state she was in too miserable, not to mention ugly?