As Tim set off, he could not help but glance back at Leonardo one last time. Leonardo was peeling an egg for Rosie. Before he married Summer, Leonardo had never been associated with words like “considerate” and “caregiving”.
Now he looked like a dab hand at taking care of Rosie.
Other than the demeanor of a wealthy family’s son and a tycoon, he also possessed the steadiness of a father. Leonardo was more successful and outstanding than most people, but he was still evolving. Unfortunately, fate had not been fair to him.
Tim did not linger. He just looked at Leonardo for a few seconds and went on his way. He had heard about what happened to Summer from Carl.
As he left the Golden Cauldron and drove away, he called Carl for Summer’s address, then headed straight to the neighborhood where Summer lived.
Stopping his car right across the entrance of the neighborhood, Tim did not get out but just sat in his car.
After a while, he noticed Summer walking out of the neighborhood. Wearing a white sweater and jeans, she appeared skinny, but overall, she was in great spirits.
Following the explosion on the island, Tim and Carl had thought that Summer was dead. Seeing Summer still alive, Tim had a lump in his throat. He got a hold of himself, exited the car, and walked toward Summer.
“Hello,” Tim greeted Summer.
She looked back at him and said, “Hi.”
Tim’s eyes landed on her face. After a few seconds, he looked away, and as if he was seeing her for the first time, he politely asked, “Do you know if there are any properties for sale in this neighborhood?”
“I’m not sure. You may want to contact property management for that. I can give you the contact number.” Summer found the man in front of her familiar. She took out her mobile phone and found the telephone number of the neighborhood property management for him.
Tim saved the number on his mobile phone. “Thank you very much.”
“You are welcome.” Summer turned around and left.
Tim stood on the spot, looking on as Summer slowly disappeared into the crowd before he pulled back his gaze. Mrs. Emerson could no longer recognize him. Apart from appearing skinnier, Summer did not change a lot. However, she was noticeably gentler than before, not that she was not gentle last time. She just had a sense of inborn edginess that could hurt at any time in the past. Perhaps it was due to the lack of her past baggage, but it seemed things were simpler for her now.
Tim shook his head and pushed his thoughts to the back of his mind. Leonardo must have either found something out or met Summer. Otherwise, he would not have wanted to check Summer’s background.
Most likely, the second scenario was true. Kate was the closest person Leonardo had for the past three years. There was no way Kate would tell Leonardo about Summer. Had Leonardo recovered his memory and known that Kate wilfully refused to search for Summer, he would have done what was necessary to Kate by now.
…
Back then, when Summer married Leonardo and moved to his hillside mansion for the first time, Tim had done a thorough background check on her. Three or four years later, he never expected to do the same thing again, and the one who sent him was the same person, Leonardo.
He felt like he was in a trance, and the wheel of fate seemed to be bringing Summer and Leonardo back to the time when they were first married. Tim may have known Summer’s background through-and-through, but after three years, it was necessary to do it again.
The result of the background check came as a surprise to Tim. Before Summer disappeared three years ago, she was a well-known figure online. However, there was presently no trace of her, not even information about her relationship with Leonardo, her trip abroad, and pregnancy.
Aside from finding that she was from the Jarrett family, a film academy graduate, and some information on the accident that happened three years ago, Tim discovered nothing else. Had he not known the truth, he would have believed what he found.
Under current circumstances, there was nothing else he could do but pass the superficial information to Leonardo.
It was apparent that someone had wiped Summer’s true identity clean. Even if he told Leonardo that Summer used to be his wife, the woman he loved the most, Leonardo would not believe him. Leonardo’s dogged mindset was extraordinary. It was not easy to convince him without any substantial proof, so Tim had to do it one step at a time.
In the afternoon, Tim brought the information to Emerson Corporation, but he was stopped at the reception area.
“Who do you want to see, Sir?”
The receptionists had changed after three years, so Tim was now a stranger.
“I am the president’s new special assistant.”
“May I see your staff ID?” The receptionist still refused to let him in.
At last, Tim had to call Leonardo. Only then was he allowed in.
He walked to the elevator and realized that the elevator was still a dozen floors above. He had no choice but to wait. When it finally arrived and the doors opened, Kate emerged from within.
“Ms. Emerson,” Tim greeted her with his head low.
Kate glanced at him. He looked familiar, but she could not recall who he was. So, she said nothing.
When Tim arrived at Leonardo’s office, Rosie was also there. Both of them seemed to be busy at “work”. Leonardo was sitting in his chair looking at a stack of documents in front of him while Rosie was sitting on the desk holding a color pencil and doodling on a piece of drawing paper. It was a funny but harmonious scene.
Tim knocked on the door twice and walked in, going up to Leonardo.
“Young Master, these are my findings.”
He then put down the file. Leonardo stopped his work and took the file to read the findings, which only consisted of two pages. Leonardo finished reading it in no time.
“What about her fiancé?” Leonardo looked up at Tim.
Tim handed him a separate file. “Here.”
Stanley’s information was much lesser than Summer’s. There was only one page—A4 size and only half of it was filled.
Leonardo looked pleased, as he did not expect Tim to be so smart; Tim had checked not only Summer’s background but also Stanley’s. By the looks of it, Tim had really been his special assistant in the past.
Leonardo put down the file, tilting his head while casually instructing, “I need you to do one more thing: I want to stay next to them tonight.”
Tim was startled. He did not know what Leonardo was thinking, but he still nodded in acknowledgment. “Understood.”