The drama was over, and Summer, as well as Amber, had left. There was no reason for the people to gather there anymore.
Some of them had wanted to chat with Leonardo, but when they saw his sour face, no one dared to go near him.
After the crowd dispersed, Leonardo turned to look at Michael.
With only the two of them there, there was no need for them to mince their words.
Michael looked at him with a sneer, and his smile was extremely odd. “We’re the same type of people. If I couldn’t reach my goal, neither would you.”
After Michael worked hard his entire life, he still ended up with nothing.
Since he had fallen out with Leonardo, he did not have to hide his hatred and malice toward him anymore.
However, Michael shut up the instant Leonardo spoke.
“How long have you not seen Auntie?” Leonardo asked casually. Yet, his words had an unusual effect on Michael.
He had been dying to see Violet, but due to his ego and defeat at the hands of Leonardo, he did not want Violet to see his current condition. He was nothing but a dead loss now.
Even though he wished that he could see Violet, he kept it to himself and refused to visit her.
Michael clutched the armrests of his wheelchair and stared at Leonardo with his resentful eyes. How he longed to tear Leonardo apart.
Even so, Leonardo appeared to be very satisfied with Michael’s reaction.
“You must have been yearning for her. Don’t worry, I’m going to bring you to her.” Leonardo sat down beside Michael as he spoke slowly and softly.
To others, it just looked like a father and son having a casual conversation. People at a distance were talking about how close the pair were.
“Leonardo!”
Things had progressed to such an extent, but Michael was still conscious of where he was. As furious as he was at Leonardo, he still suppressed his voice, trying to prevent people from finding out that they had fallen out.
“You really are my good father.” Leonardo raised his lips in a smirk.
Even though things had come to that point, Michael still wanted to preserve the Emerson Family’s image.
“Come straight for me if you dare. Don’t bother Violet. We all carry the same Emerson surname. If Emerson Group falls, no one is going to benefit from it!”
Speaking of Emerson Group, Michael’s eyes became penetrating and spirited. He was giving his son a grave warning.
Leonardo was not afraid of Michael even when he was still heading the company, let alone now.
As if Michael just cracked a joke, Leonardo chuckled and rested his forehead on his hand. “Let me remind you, I’m in charge of Emerson Group now. I’ll do whatever I want. As for you…
“I will let you live until you die of old age. Enjoy your life.” Leonardo got to his feet and sorted his clothes. “Now, it’s time to bring you around to meet your old friends.”
Leonardo did not need to give Tim a hint for him to appear behind the wheelchair and push Michael into the crowd.
Michael was appearing in public for the first time in three years.
When Leonardo entered the scene with Michael, everyone could clearly see Michael’s condition.
The wealthy and powerful Emerson Family was at the top of the elite society. Michael had led a good life for decades, so little did people expect him to fall from grace in his old age.
People were inherently wicked. Although many on the scene appeared to sympathize with Michael, deep inside, they relished it.
When Leonardo and Michael approached, the guests immediately started to talk to them.
“You refused to meet us so many times when we visited you at your mansion. You are lucky to have such a dutiful son who cares to bring you out to meet us. Otherwise, we wouldn’t know when we could see you.”
“Absolutely. Young Master Emerson is such a dutiful son…”
“How is your body now?”
“You should come out more often.”
“It is not a bad idea to stay home and lead a slow-paced life when you have such a capable son.”
“We really envy you!”
Hearing their hypocritical words, Michael almost ripped his sleeve apart with his one functioning hand.
Their insincerity and effort to appease Leonardo reminded him that he was no longer the Michael whom everyone admired and respected. He was now just a crippled old man in a wheelchair, and his life was at someone else’s mercy. Everyone was trying to fawn over Leonardo; no one actually cared about his health.
Without a word, Leonardo took a glass of wine from a waitstaff’s hand. He then leaned against the wall next to him and ignored those people.
Did Michael not care about the Emerson Family’s image? He would let him be the protector, then. Michael had no choice but to face those people alone.
“Not bad. Leonardo isn’t bad.”
“I will. I will come out more often…”
Michael could not have hated Leonardo more. Sadly, he had no choice but to put on a smiling face.
Leonardo was essentially trampling his ego to the ground. He would rather die than suffer the humiliation.
However, he was not someone who would easily admit defeat, so he just endured it.
Meanwhile, not far away at a corner, Summer and Stanley were observing Leonardo’s every action.
Jessica held a glass of wine in one hand and Summer’s arm in the other. “What is the big boss up to?”
She only knew that Leonardo was going to hold a party earlier and did not care to ask what it was for. Dinner parties were only places that were good for food and having fun to her.
“Who cares?” Summer sat back down on a barstool and asked a waitstaff for a glass of wine.
When Stanley also sat down beside Summer, Jessica started to scan him. She had actually been observing him since the beginning.
Stanley took great care of himself very; he was clean and gave off a very positive vibe. He also had the rigor of a psychologist in his demeanor. He was a person of contradictions.
Since Stanley had come to Summer’s rescue earlier, the prejudice that Jessica held against him reduced somewhat. She even started to like him.
“As a psychologist, can you really read people’s minds by looking at their body language and facial expression, Mr. Bates?” Jessica asked curiously.
While Jessica spoke, Stanley listened attentively to her.
He waited for her to finish, then pondered for a while. “You’re right and wrong.”