“Why did Mr. Valentine say that horchata was addictive?” The doctor was puzzled, and he could not agree with Mark’s conclusion. Horchata was a healthy food. “They have been eating horchata for a week, but they are not tired of it.” In short, the way the two of them liked horchata that much was beyond reason. “But it could also be possible that the beverage shop makes superb beverages.” The doctor glanced across the room and saw the half bowl of horchata. “Mr. Valentine, could I take this half bowl of horchata away?” “Sure.” Charlotte was on IV therapy and asleep now, her little face still pale. But the doctor told him she was fine. Charlotte was discharged in the afternoon. Mark instructed his assistant, Harry, to take care of the discharge procedures and prepare to take the mother and daughter back to the apartment. “Bring her home,” Solomon said. Charlotte was still weak and needed care, and he and Daisy were at home every day; they could take care of Charlotte. Besid
“Adding this special additive in food will create an effect of dependency, making them want to come back for more. That is to say, at a certain dose, it could be addictive. Many restaurants add this food additive into their food to keep customers.” Mark squinted his eyes upon hanging up. The next morning After freshening up, Mark got downstairs and went to the restaurant where Summer usually bought her breakfast. The restaurant was tiny, but it looked neat and filled with patrons in the morning. Wearing an expensive black suit, Mark looked out of place in this budget restaurant that sold breakfast. “Horchata, orange juice, and hot chocolate each, takeaway please,” he said. The waitress acknowledged and processed his order. “Would you like any croissants or pancakes?” “No, thanks.” Mark took the beverages and left. “He looks so charming, like a celebrity. But the weird thing is, he just bought beverages and nothing else,” the waitress murmured after he left. Mark di
No one, except Ronald and Samantha, had the motive and reason to do so. His Adam’s apple rolled up and down his throat. Mark summoned Harry in and instructed him to follow Ronald. He now needed to confirm his suspicion. After Harry left, Mark leaned back in the leather chair and was deep in thought, his mood somber like a room that was engulfed in darkness. Meanwhile, the owner of the restaurant had not yet received the instruction not to add additives to the food. So additives were still being added in the horchata. Someone had given the restaurant a generous sum of money, $800,000, to add a high dose of additives in the horchata. Was there a problem? $800,000 for adding some food additives that made people get addicted to the horchata. It was the man in suit who requested the restaurant to sell horchata, which was not on the menu originally. The restaurant thought why not since it was a nutritious dish and adding a little food additive would do no harm. The restauran
There were at least seven restaurants that used additives. But why was he the only one being taken to the police station? “Stop the crap, would you?” The police officer reprimanded impatiently. There was no why, except that he had messed with someone he should not have offended, such as the president of the Valentine Group. Now, he could only blame himself. He had dug his own grave by pissing off Mark Valentine. The interrogation ended, and the police officer turned to Mark, looking for his instruction. “Leave us alone.” Mark said. The two police officers nodded, walked out in tandem, and closed the door behind them. Mark picked up the coffee and gave it a little swirl without saying a word. There were only the two of them in the office. No one was talking, and the air in the room was tense. Such a person was too intimidating. The restaurant owner shifted his posture. “You are abusing your power.” Mark was nonchalant. He nodded to agree with the restaurant owner. “
But he had time, and he would investigate the matter thoroughly. Everything needed evidence. Afterwards, Mark asked a few men to protect Summer secretly, while looking for suspicious places and clues that he might have missed. Ronald was a dab hand at pretending, and he was extremely careful. He could think of whatever Mark could think of. So before doing this, he had already considered all possibilities, and made sure that he left no loose ends. Samantha refused to get treatment now because it caused her more and more pain. Besides, she could not stand to see herself getting uglier. The doctor was here again, but she refused. She had had enough of chemotherapy. She stood her ground. The doctor had no choice but to go to Ronald, telling him that the patient’s condition would only get worse if she kept on refusing treatment. “Chemotherapy is required before bone marrow transplantation. You can’t recover if you refuse to go through the process,” Ronald said helplessly.
He sent her back to the downstairs of her apartment and pulled up the zip of her jacket for her. “Go up now. It is chilly out here.” She nodded and watched him getting into the car, waving at him. “Be safe.” “Go.” He urged her again with a gentle look on his face. But deep inside, he was reluctant to leave. For the sake of the child, she had no plan to return to school for the time being until she fully recovered. But there were still some files left in the school, and she needed to take them back. So she waved down a taxi and headed to the school. Just after she got into the taxi, a car was following her. Mark had sent someone to protect her secretly. But there was another car in dark color following her further behind. It was 8:00 pm when she arrived at the school. There were students attending night classes at this time, so the entire building was brightly lit. After getting her leave permission from the principal, she went straight to the teachers’ office, where some te
In an abandoned old factory on the outskirts of the city, Summer was still curled up unconscious on the ground. A man with short build was just standing beside, keeping an eye on her. … The next morning Solomon was the first to get up. Upon returning from a morning jog, he walked in when he saw the door of Summer’s room wide open. The room was neat and clean, and the quilt was neatly folded on the bed. He wondered if she did not come home last night or that she had gone out again after coming home. Daisy had made breakfast and brought it to the table. “Has Summer not come back yet?” “I will call Mommy.” Charlotte skipped away to get the phone. She held the phone and made the call. Seconds later, she had a frustrated look on her face, telling them that her mom’s phone was turned off. So she called her dad. “You are up so early, sweetie?” Mark’s gentle voice came through electromagnetic waves. “Daddy, you didn’t take me along when you took Mommy out to have fun yester
Jazz did not know what had happened during this period. He fell into silence after hearing what Mark said. He could not understand why the father he always respected had become like this. But at the same time, he felt sorry for Summer, who had gone through many trials four years ago and was now having a new life. Now he finally understood why Mark was against calling the police, as their father was most likely the person who abducted Summer. Mark had quietly sent out his men to find Summer. So, too, did Jazz. Mark did not expect that Ronald would go to such extremes and do such a crazy thing. His face was sullen. He did not return to the office as he was looking for Summer and Ronald. He did not tell Solomon and Daisy about Summer’s abduction because he did not want them to be worried. He had got to act fast. All he could do was to act fast. Ronald’s purpose was obvious, which was to make her miscarry, and then to extract the bone marrow. There was no time to waste; Ma