Chapter 102: Quite Interesting

With that, the little boy lunged forward, snatching the phone off the floor. But his momentum sent him sprawling, and he hit the ground with a THUD. Tears immediately welled up in his eyes from the pain.

"What’s the rush?" Samuel Ford lifted the boy up. When he saw his son’s scraped and reddened palm, his brow furrowed even deeper.

"I’m fine," Felix Ford said, holding back the pain. He ended the call, stuffed the phone into his back pocket, and looked at his palm, letting out a sharp HISS.

Samuel saw what he did. He retrieved the first-aid kit and began applying medicine to the boy’s hand. He pursed his lips, remaining silent, but it was clear he was trying to suppress his anger.

Felix peeked at him and shrank back in fear.

’Dad looks really angry.’

He thought about it, but didn’t dare to ask, so he just watched his father’s movements in silence.

The atmosphere in the room grew tense.

The injury wasn’t serious—there was no blood. It was just that a child’s skin is delicate, and the scrape looked very red. Samuel applied some antiseptic but didn’t bandage it. He released the boy’s hand, then repeated his earlier question. "What’s the rush?"

"I wasn’t rushing," Felix mumbled, looking down.

With one hand pressed protectively over his pocket, his eyes held an unconscious wariness, as if he feared his father would snatch his phone. The sight made Samuel laugh in exasperation. "If it’s nothing, then what are you hiding?"

"It’s really nothing!" Felix grew flustered and quietly backed away. Once he’d put some distance between them, he seemed to feel safer. His courage returned, and he started trying to shoo his father out. "Dad, you should get back to work. I need to go to sleep now."

As he spoke, he put on a show of yawning, but his eyes were bright and clear, showing not the slightest hint of sleepiness.

Not bothering to call out the boy’s clumsy acting, Samuel tossed the cotton swab into the trash can. He stood, gave his son one last look, and said, "If you’re tired, then go to sleep."

"Okay." Seeing his father about to leave, Felix’s eyes lit up. He shuffled his feet, moving as Samuel did, always careful to keep his front facing him so his back pocket remained hidden. The distrust was palpable.

Samuel scoffed, disdainful of the boy’s little schemes. ’As if I’d actually try to snatch his phone from him.’

’But who was that on the phone just now? Why would Colt have them as his primary speed dial contact? Since when did he have someone so important in his life?’

Samuel couldn’t figure it out. The moment he stepped out of the room, the door SLAMMED shut behind him, followed by the distinct click of the lock.

Swift and merciless.

This time, he really did laugh—out of pure frustration.

Fighting the urge to drag the little brat out for a spanking, Samuel pinched the bridge of his nose, took a few deep breaths, and finally headed toward his study.

Inside, Felix pressed his ear against the door, sighing in relief only when he heard his father’s footsteps fade away. He cracked the door open for a quick peek, and seeing the coast was clear, shut it again. Then he ducked into the bathroom and redialed the number from the missed call.

The moment the call connected, he demanded, "Why didn’t you text me back earlier?"

"You didn’t answer my call, either, did you?" Jean Vance retorted. He glanced toward the bathroom, cupped his hand over the phone, and lowered his voice. "Is your dad gone? Did he leave?"

Felix’s anger subsided. Hearing the question, he obediently replied, "Yeah, he came back. Don’t worry, he won’t go there again today, so he won’t run into you. Oh, right, what’s the deal with Uncle? Is he Mom’s boyfriend?"

Jean rolled his eyes, speechless. "You already know he’s our uncle. How can you even ask a question like that?"

’But they aren’t blood-related,’ Felix thought. ’And he did tell me to call him Dad and stuff.’

Felix flopped onto the bed, kicking his feet up and swinging them slowly. "So, that means Mom won’t end up with him in the future, right?"

"Right." Jean’s eyelids fluttered as he added, "And she won’t end up with your dad, either."

Felix pouted. He glanced at the disinfected spot on his hand, now stained with iodine. "But I don’t think Dad is that bad," he said. "And he’s really capable. He could protect Mom."

"She doesn’t need him to." Jean’s voice turned icy. "He’ll only bring us pain and trouble."

Detecting the chill in Jean’s tone, Felix didn’t dare press the issue. "Okay, okay, I’ll drop it. So... we are switching back tomorrow, right?"

He asked cautiously, worried that this incident might cause Jean to cancel their plan. That would be a total bust for him.

"Yeah," Jean confirmed. He heard a faint "Yes!" from the other end but ignored it. The sound of running water stopped, and he said quickly, "We’ll talk tomorrow. Gotta go."

"Oh, b—" Before he could even get the word out, the line went dead.

’He hung up really fast.’

Felix grumbled and rolled over. He glanced at the iodine on his hand and scratched his head, vexed. ’I wonder what on earth Dad did to hurt Mom so much. No wonder Jean dislikes him.’

Sigh.

’If I find out he bullied Mom, then I won’t like him anymore either.’

Clenching his little fists, Felix vowed silently to himself.

「In the study.」

Samuel Ford was on the phone, his brow deeply furrowed. "So, you’re saying the surveillance footage from near the hotel that day is also missing?"

’How could it be such a coincidence?’

With so many coincidences piling up, he couldn’t convince himself it was all just happenstance, even if he wanted to.

The person on the other end confirmed.

He tapped his fingers on the desk. After a long pause, Samuel finally said, "Alright. I understand."

After hanging up, he remembered something. His fingers danced across the keyboard, and a string of numbers quickly appeared on the screen, pinpointing a location. Samuel raised an eyebrow as he looked at the IP address it had found.

’It’s Amanda Vance’s place.’

’So, was Colt calling her just now?’

’No, that’s not her number.’

’Then he must have been calling her son. They go to the same school and seem to get along, so it makes sense they’d call each other.’

’What’s so secretive about that?’

’Silly kid.’

Shaking his head at the inscrutable logic of a child, Samuel turned off his computer and put the matter out of his mind.

Amanda Vance walked out of the bathroom, drying her hair. She glanced at the phone in Jean’s hand and asked casually, "Who were you calling?"

"A classmate."

Amanda’s hand stilled. She gave him a puzzled look. "Colt?"

’She recalled that he wasn’t particularly close with any of the other children, aside from Felix Ford. Jean usually kept to himself, so for him to be willing to bring back Colt’s grandfather’s medical records meant they must be on pretty good terms.’

Jean clenched his hand, quickly hiding it behind his back so she wouldn’t notice anything amiss. He nodded. "Yeah, it was him. He was causing trouble again, had a fight with his dad."

After he finished, he cautiously studied her expression. Seeing that she didn’t seem very angry, the fist behind his back clenched even tighter.

"Is that so? He’s got quite a temper then."

She said as much, but she didn’t look displeased. In fact, she seemed intrigued. "An iceberg giving birth to a firecracker. How interesting."

’What’s so interesting? He’s just a dumb kid.’

Jean’s expression twisted in spite of himself.