Take My Breath Away

Carlos responded with silence.

An awkward silence fell between them as Valerie fixed her gaze on him, waiting for a response. When she realized he wasn't going to answer, she sighed helplessly and continued on her way upstairs. "How did things get so bad? What a misfortune to befall the Huo family!" she grumbled on her way up.

After the old lady left, Hayden and Portia also left the manor. Lewis gripped Wade's clothes and kept eagerly asking, "Dad, is it true that I'm not your son? How come? Then who am I? Where am I from?"

In silence, Wade lowered his head. Getting no response from his father, Lewis turned to Miranda with the same questions. "This is not the right time for what you're asking. That can come later. But for now, you should first take responsibility for what you've done," a nonchalant Miranda replied.

Lewis finally stopped asking. This secret alone was a big blow, far more devastating than facing the wrath of Carlos.

When the living room returned to normalcy again, Carlos looked at James and said coldly, "I don't think we need to talk anymore. You know your punishment. The police are here. Just go with them."

One of the policemen put down his cup of tea, stood up and came up to James, ready to handcuff him. The latter covered his chest to steady his breathing. He was breathing fire as he stared at his son in disbelief. Trying to mediate, but very much aware it wouldn't be easy, Wade stood up and advised Carlos, "Give it some thought. If people get wind of it that you sent your father to jail, I don't think you'd like the ramifications, both on you and on your company. You should bear the bigger picture in mind."

Carlos sneered, "All of you ask me to think about this, think about that. Has any one of you think about Debbie? Did he think about her feelings when he slapped her severally? Did he even think about the Huo family's interests? And as an elder, he hit his daughter-in-law for no reasons. What would the public think if they knew about this? Wouldn't it do harm to the company too?"

Wade was lost for words. Still, no one was able to change Carlos' mind.

Crying, Tabitha ran up to him and fell to her knees. "Carlos, I beg you. Please don't do that. I'll apologize to Debbie on your dad's behalf. Okay? Whatever it takes to make peace, I'm willing to do it with a sincere heart."

But her attitude and way of defending James only added fuel to the fire. In a huff, Carlos shot to his feet and moved to her side. "Mom, what do you mean by doing this?" he asked coldly.

"Carlos, listen to me. Don't put your dad in jail for a woman's sake. If your dad is locked up behind bars, how will I live on? Please consider me, I plead."

Carlos signaled to two bodyguards with his eyes. Ready to please their boss, the bodyguards swung into action. At once, they came and lifted her up from the floor, almost forcibly.

Eyes fixed on Tabitha, Carlos declared, "I can make conc

ooked at the roses. 'What? Isn't this the parcel for Mrs. Huo?' he wondered. As part of his work, he had checked the deliveryman's identity before he could approach Debbie, so he knew that it was for Debbie. But why did she say it was a present for him now?

Regardless of his confusion, she continued with a smile, "These roses are really expensive. I've been told they were sent by air from France. You can give the bouquet to your wife." With that, she turned around and went back to her house straight away.

A lot of question marks seemed to have popped up on the bodyguard's face.

Not wasting her time, Debbie went to her study and got ready to do her homework. Right then, her phone rang. On assumption that it was Carlos calling again, she didn't intend to answer.

But after a quick glance at the phone screen, she noticed an unknown number. She grabbed the phone from the desk.

After a moment's hesitation, she decided to answer it. "Hello."

But there was no response from the other end. Confused, she took another look at the screen again. "Hello? Who is it?" she asked.

"Debbie?" an old woman's voice came.

It sounded like a familiar voice, but Debbie couldn't put a name to it. "Yes, I am. I'm sorry. Who am I talking to?" she asked again.

Hearing the young girl's courteous voice, Valerie hesitated to speak. All of a sudden, she began to feel lost, uncertain whether she had really misunderstood Debbie. She sounded such a nice girl. After collecting herself, Valerie finally broke the silence. "It's me. Carlos' grandma."

Debbie instantly got tense up. 'Carlos' grandma? What...what does she want?'

Now on the alert, Debbie straightened up and said politely, "Hello, Grandma!"

After a short moment of silence, the old lady asked, "Are you having a class now?"

Although Debbie was wary of the old lady's every question, she still chose to answer honestly, "No, I finished my class today. I have just arrived at home."