The bearded man bobbed his head. “That’s right. Thomas took orders from Mr. Foster’s daughter. I was standing next to Thomas when he was on the phone once, and I heard him address the person on the other end of the line as Ms. Foster. I can’t think about anybody else other than Sherry Foster.” Thaddeus grimace grew. “Are you sure?” The bearded man paused and hesitated for a moment. “I’m not exactly sure because I didn’t see it myself, but it was a woman who gave Thomas ideas.” Thaddeus dwelled in his thoughts with a frown before looking up and taking stock of the bearded man’s face. He questioned, “Who told you to go out to sea?” “It was a corporate assignment. We were told to deliver cargo to Southeast Asia, but we only found out that there was no cargo once we were onboard. Instead, we had two people tied up below the deck. Since we are only employees, we just did as we were told without asking questions.” Thaddeus callously tucked the corner of his lips as murderous intent
Thomas lay on the ground and scooted toward Thaddeus, dragging a trail of red behind him. He held onto Thaddeus’s pant leg and pleaded pitifully. “I didn’t plan the kidnapping. I was only a pawn. Please, Mr. Fontaine. Spare my life.” Thaddeus narrowed his eyes, disgusted that Thomas touched him. Thaddeus kicked Thomas away. “So tell me. Whose orders were you acting on?” Thomas curled up into a ball and wailed, “Mr. Fontaine, you must offer me protection if I tell you. Otherwise, she’ll kill me.” Thaddeus had a gruesome look on his face. “Tell the truth, and you will live.” “It was Sherry Foster. Sherry approached me during Isabel and Victor’s engagement party and proposed an alliance to get revenge. I acted on impulse and agreed to it after she pushed the idea hard on me.” A deadly glint sparkled in Thaddeus’s eyes as he turned and asked Marcus, “Where is she now?” Marcus glanced at the door and caught a glimpse of a white silhouette. Upon closer look, he found Sherry
Thaddeus brushed aside Sherry’s yelling. His eyes reeked of cutthroat callousness. The one thing Sherry should not have done was lay hands on his woman. So what if she was the daughter of the wealthiest man? Thaddeus was not going to play nice now that boundaries were crossed. Thaddeus walked out of the red-bricked building and took a call from his mom. Mrs. Fontaine had gone back to her hometown recently and only returned to the Fontaine Residence today. She found out from the butler that Thaddeus had sealed the coast off for Mona and fought with Victor in the COC meeting room. These two incidents came as a bombshell to Mrs. Fontaine. “Thaddeus, when did you get back in touch with Mona? Why did you put the coast on lockdown because of her? Have you lost your mind?” Thaddeus removed his phone from his ear and waited until his mother had gotten steam off her chest before sticking the phone back against his ear. Taking the wheel of the Rolls Royce, Thaddeus put on his Bluet
The kids should not be left out in the cold if they were Thaddeus’s. However, Mrs. Fontaine simply could not warm up to Mona. Mona merely used her skin-deep beauty to put her son under a spell. Mrs. Fontaine particularly hated Mona’s eyes, as they resembled those belonging to the homewrecker who stole the heart of Thaddeus’s father. Mrs. Fontaine loathed Mona from the first encounter. “The children must take the family name, but you can’t remarry Mona.” Mrs. Fontaine was firm on that note. “Mona can’t be an assistance to your career. Not only is she incompetent, but she will also slow you down. You should marry in your social class instead of someone who is leeching off you. She will only bring a disgrace to the family.” Thaddeus furrowed his brows in displeasure. “Mom, you’re being narrow-minded. Mona is the mother of the children. You’re killing her by taking the children away from her.” Mrs. Fontaine was livid. “What? It seems she got you wrapped around her little finger.
Bobby stood up and drew close to Master Fontaine. Appearing a little shy and reserved, the boy politely bowed at Master Fontaine. “Hello, Great-Grandpa.” Master Fontaine squeezed his cheek and uttered with joy, “Good boy. Bobby, you really resemble your dad when he was a boy. You’re too young to develop a poker face. You might become boring like your dad when you grow up. Smile more, okay?” Bobby took a glance at Thaddeus. They shared the same deadpan look. “Great-Grandpa, my dream is to become a man like Daddy. A man should keep a straight face to be a qualified leader.” A certain man in a corner took delight in Bobby’s words. Although he did not show it on his face, his lips curled ever so slightly. It was a proud moment for Thaddeus. Even more so than when he closed the deal on a multimillion-dollar project.“My. Look at your son. That’s some great insight coming from a child. He shows more promise than you two.” Master Fontaine looked at Mona and Thaddeus with a smile be
Flashing her pearly whites, Millie nodded her head and grabbed Thaddeus’s hand to put on her heart. She said, “This spot here missed you the most, which means I missed you lots and lots.” The comment made Thaddeus’s heart melt. He dabbed on Millie’s nose and uttered in a raspy voice, “My good girl.” “Mommy, where have you been the last few days?” Bobby turned his attention to Mona. His keen eyes picked up on the ligature marks on Mona’s wrists.Bobby jumped off the sofa and grabbed Mona by the wrists. Tension ran along his little face. “Didn’t you say you were away on business? What are these injuries? Who did you get in another fight with?” “Oh, I got the marks from retrieving my baggage after I got out of the plane. I wasn’t paying attention and hurt myself.” Pretending as if nothing had happened, Mona withdrew her arms and knocked on Bobby’s head. “Can you not put me on the spot and lecture me in front of your great-grandpa and others? Hmph. I think someone is asking for
Dinner was set at a nearby restaurant in the neighborhood. The place was crowded since it was dinnertime. Seeing that there were no tables available, Mona was ready to move on to another restaurant when the restaurant owner became solicitous at the sight of Thaddeus, who had just arrived after parking the car. “Mr. Fontaine, what a wonderful surprise. I can’t believe you would dine here. You should have informed me in advance, and I would have gotten a table set up for you.” Thaddeus narrowed his eyes at the man while digging through his mind for information on him. If Thaddeus remembered correctly, he had met the man at a business dinner. The man was the PR manager of a food and beverage company. Their interaction had ended after the business dinner since Thaddeus was not close to him.Thaddeus courteously smiled. “We’re only having a family dinner. I wouldn’t want to trouble you.” “So they are your family, Mr. Fontaine. You should have said so. We’re usually full at this ho
Mona put her cup down before glancing at Thaddeus and Master Fontaine. “Actually, I’ve been thinking about that as well. Do you have any suggestions?” A child’s education was a crucial part of their lives. She used to worry a lot about providing her kids with the best education, but things were no longer the same now. With Thaddeus’s status and resources, he would be able to provide some of the best, if not the best, education for them. A lot more choices we now available to them. “In my opinion, send them to an international school from elementary to high school. After that, send them abroad to train them to be independent. That’s how all the children of the Fontaines were brought up.” “I had a similar thought as well. Send them to an international school first. As for studying abroad, we can discuss that with the kids once they’re older and let them decide if they want to further their studies.” The grandfather and grandson talked about many things. From the kids’ education