Passersby were casting their curious eyes on Leonardo and Summer with a hint of envy.
However, both of them were not bothered by the stares. One was walking in front, choosing what to buy, while the other was pushing the cart and following from behind.
The serene air suddenly came to a halt.
“Summer?” The voice sounded so familiar yet so strange with a touch of surprise.
Summer turned back to look in the voice’s direction and saw a man she recognized. After she made out the man’s face, Summer’s voice went a pitch higher.
“Adams?”
“It’s been a long time. I’m glad that you still remember me.” Adams walked toward her, his voice still as gentle as ever.
After overhearing the conversation between Leonardo and Tim about him, Summer did not look too happy upon seeing him. Her impression of Adams had been terrible enough. But now, because of her missing child, her opinion of him could not have been worse.
Summer wore a faint smile. Before she could say anything, Leonardo, who had been pushing the shopping cart behind her, had come between her and Adams, cutting off their eye contact.
“Leonardo, what a coincidence! You’re shopping?” Adams’s smile grew even bigger when he saw Leonardo.
In contrast, Leonardo did not say a word. He grabbed Summer’s hand and wanted to leave at once.
“Adams, you’re here! I’ve been looking for you.”
Summer heard another voice and stopped in her tracks. She looked back and saw Vicky cuddling up to Adams. As if Vicky had noticed her stare, she peered over at Summer and was wide-eyed.
“Summer? Aren’t you dead?”
“You must be very disappointed.” Summer smirked. It was a small world indeed; she bumped into Adams and Vicky as soon as she got back.
Adams acted as though he was angry, glaring at Vicky. “The media just reports based on rumors. It’s not like you don’t know that already.”
“Right. It’s not like feigning her death to evade the long arm of the law is a big deal. You even got me out of jail last time.” Vicky broke into a sweet smile.
Summer clenched her hands, taking a deep breath and telling herself to calm down.
Just then, Leonardo, who had been silent the entire time, spoke. “Adams, watch your woman and mind your own business.”
Vicky quickly scurried behind Adams and said coquettishly, “Adams, I’m scared.”
Leonardo sneered, his face grim. “How much does it cost to kill a person? One million for a person’s life. Isn’t it cheap?”
Vicky heard that and was transfixed, fear flashing in her eyes. She hid behind Adams and did not say a word again. She still vividly remembered how Leonardo tortured her previously, so she knew firsthand how vicious a man like Leonardo was. There was a possibility he would hire someone to kill her for real. What Leonardo did to her last time had struck great fear in her—so much so that she was now afraid of her own shadow.
Leonardo saw her reaction and scoffed. He then brought Summer away from the place.
…
On their way home, both of them were silent. Summer was thinking about the conversation between Leonardo and Tim. If Adams had taken her child, and he was now together with Vicky, who hated her so much…
Summer’s face instantly turned pale. Leonardo, who was sitting beside her, had been keeping an eye on her, and he noticed the abnormality. He then stopped the car by the road.
“What’s wrong? You look unwell.”
“Tell me, was Adams the person who took my child?” Summer turned to look at him, gripping his shirt as if she was hanging on for dear life.
Leonardo’s expression changed, realizing that she had heard his conversation with Tim. He held her hand and said with a confident voice, “It wasn’t Adams.”
Summer shook her head. “Don’t lie to me again. I want to hear the truth. There is nothing I can’t take anymore.”
At first, she thought it was Leonardo who took her child. Yet, after they returned to Hoover City, she found that things were not as simple as she had imagined when she heard him mention Adams. She had prepared for the worst and could not afford to be told another lie again.
“I’m not lying.” Leonardo then explained matter-of-factly, “Tim discovered that money was transferred from Adams’s bank account, but that doesn’t mean that Adams has anything to do with the case. He couldn’t have pulled it off.” Swapping a baby out of the delivery room and going undetected were definitely not things Adams was capable of.
Summer nodded; she trusted Leonardo. Also, no matter how good Adams was, he was no match for Leonardo. She was totally convinced of that.
“Then who was it?” she asked. “Who could have swapped and taken my child away?”
Leonardo had no answer for that yet. It had been a month, but he had not found any lead, except for Adams, who was considered a part of the Emerson family. When things pointed to Adams, that meant the Emerson family was definitely involved.
He had surely spooked someone when he persistently investigated his mother’s case for the past half a year. Someone was trying to stop him. If the Emerson family was involved in the disappearance of his child, then they were definitely also involved with his mother’s case. But it was not clear yet whether they were just sending a warning or threatening him.
Summer was not dumb; she had come to the same conclusion too. She looked at Leonardo as he remained silent. After a long while, she asked, “The Emerson family’s involved?”
The Emerson family was involved in Leonardo’s case, and they were also involved in Grandpa Emerson’s case, where Summer was framed for pushing him down the stairs.
“What do they want?” Summer asked in disbelief.
“I don’t care what they want. I won’t let them have their way. I swear I’ll bring our child home.” Leonardo looked down at her with a resolute expression.
She released her hand from his shirt. “It’s not just about you. She’s my child too.”
Back in the apartment, Summer was in no mood to cook. In the end, they had to order food from the Golden Cauldron, but still, they did not eat much.
After the meal, it was already late afternoon. Summer started to pack up her belongings, which were few in number. She then asked for Leonardo. When he came in and saw the luggage, his expression collapsed. “What are you doing?”