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Mary seemed startled and stopped packing, asking, “Mr. Sanford? What are you doing here?”
Sanford hysterically questioned, his swollen eyes turning red, “Why are you touching my mommy’s stuff?”
“Your father asked me to clear out Ms. White’s items, Mary replied.
“No one touches Mommy’s stull” Sanford was like a little angry lion. He rushed over to snat c h Summer’s clothes from Mary, pushed her out of the room, and slammed the door.
He fell on the floor helplessly, clutching Summer’s shirt and bawling.
Bill was in Alick’s office at the Hill Group. He looked concerned after he watched the video Mary just sent, thinking. I watched Sanford grow up. It’s the first time I’ve seen him so sorrowful
Thus, Bill carefully persuaded. “Mr. Hill, we’d better do something. Mary reports that Mr. Sanford hasn’t eaten for a whole day. That’s too much for a child.”
Alick frowned slightly and pondered, “The kid must be going on a hunger strike to force me to compromise. If I don’t get Summer back, Sanford might plan to keep starving himself. But I’m still angry at that woman for cheating on me.
“Did we have anything about Toby Beam?” Alick asked.
Bill promptly handed over the files he had just received. Toby had several companies at the middle level, and they had been thriving in Landom City in recent years.
Alick squinted when he read the recognizable companies on the file. He knew it would be a big mistake if he underestimated Toby.
Toby and Ms. White were college classmates. However, according to the investigation, they seemed not to have many interactions during college…
Bill tried to imply that Summer did not cheat on Alick and fell in love with Toby only when she was abroad.
However, Alick did not see things the same way. He thought, ‘Summer is a scheming woman in my eyes. She fooled me with her fake death for four years. Everything about her is probably just a lie.
“Keep an eye on Toby Beam,” Alick ordered.
Suddenly, Alick’s phone rang. Mary’s anxious voice arose as soon as Alick picked up the phone. “Mr. Hill? It’s an emergency. Mr. Sanford fainted out!”
Sanford moved into Summer’s room to prevent anyone from throwing away Summer’s items. He did not eat or drink or allow anyone to approach the room.
Mary tried bringing food to Sanford several times, but he yelled at her and asked her to go away every time.
After knocking on the door for a while and not hearing Sanford’s shouting, Mary panicked. She opened the door with the spare key and found that Sanford had passed out.
Alick rushed to the villa as fast as he could. When he arrived, a doctor was placing IV drips for Sanford.
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The doctor prescribed some nutritional supplements and said, “Mr. Sanford isn’t as healthy as the children of his age, so he fainted after not having food for a day. Things will get worse if he keeps refusing to eat anything.” Alick’s tone remained icy. “Thanks, doctor.” He asked Bill to walk the doctor out. Then, he walked into the room.
Sanford was curling up in the be painfully weak with his pale face and dry lips.
Even in his dreams, Sanford clutched Summer’s clothes to his heart, muttering, “Mommy,” Alick felt a knife stabbing in his heart.
Alick reached out and wanted to ease Sanford’s frown, but Sanford uncomfortably moved to dodge Alick’s touch.
“Why is that woman so important to you?’ Alick felt a wave of nausea with that thought, so he left the room after he instructed Mary to take good care of Sanford,
After walking the doctor out, Bill gathered his courage and went to Alick’s study, suggesting, “Mr. Hill, it seems better to have Ms. White back. Mr. Sanford relies on her so much. You shouldn’t separate them apart.”
“Did I separate them apart?” Alick’s voice was chilled to the bone, and his glance was enough to weaken Bill’s legs. “She has married another man and given birth to his children. She has no intention to come back.”
But you did ask Mary to clear out Summer’s items, Bill retorted inside but did not dare to say it out loud. Suddenly, he seemed to recall something, and his eyes lit up.
“If I remember correctly, you didn’t sign the divorce papers, did you?”
Bill’s words reminded Alick that he casually tossed aside the divorce papers with Summer’s signatures and got too busy to sign.
That was to say, Summer was still Alick’s wife legally.
Alick raised his eyebrows and wondered, ‘Based on Summer’s reaction that day in the office, she seemed unaware that we hadn’t divorced. Then how did she marry Toby and give birth to his children?”
“Mr. Sanford?” Mary’s scream arose.
Alick ran out as fast as he could. The next moment, he saw Mary was stopping the blood for Sanford, and Sanford was glaring at him.
Worried that Alick would blame her, Mary explained panickedly, “Mr. Alick, I’m so sorry. I didn’t notice when Mr. Sanford removed his IV needle.
Sanford said, “Mary, it’s not your fault.” Then, he stared at Alick, bit his lips, and sent the threats in a cold voice, “If you don’t get my mom back, I won’t eat or drink or take the IV”
“Is she that important to you?” Alick asked.
“She is my mom!” Sanford exclaimed.
“She disappeared in your life after she gave birth to you. It is me who raises you!” Alick bellowed.
Sanford roared, “That’s because she didn’t know my existence! You were the one to blame for what had happened. Why do you blame her?”
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Alick would never expect his son to say those harsh words to him. Those words were like knives stabbing toward Alick’s heart. He wanted to continue the argument but gave up after meeting Sanford’s unwavering gaze.
“I promise you that I will bring her back.” Alick’s tone carried an unusual frustration. “But the condition is that you take care of yourself, ensuring you eat well and attend school.”
Sanford’s eyes instantly lit up. “Really?”
“Have I ever lied to you?” Alick asked.
Sanford thought about it. Although my dad has a bad temper and is always strict with me, he has never lied to me.”
“Pinky swear?” Sanford proposed.
The atmosphere instantly softened with Sanford’s request. Seeing Sanford reach out his pinky with a stern expression, Alick grinned and replied, “Sure. It’s a deal now,”
Alick’s expression softened as he watched Sanford complete the pinky swear.
“What taught you this?” Alick inquired.
“Abby.” Sanford immediately realized that he had spilled the secret and instinctively covered his mouth with his
hand.
However, Alick seemed not to care about it. He reminded Sanford to rest well and left the room..
Alick wondered, “Abby? Is it that little girl’s name?’
Alick asked Bill to search for a girl named Abby at all the kindergartens in the city. Even though he knew the chances were dim. Alick did it anyway.
Summer arrived at Merclefield Estate. “I’m so sorry for bothering you. I will move out once I find a new place.”
Toby proposed that Summer and her kids could move into his house that day. Summer went home and discussed it with her two children.
To Summer’s surprise, Ballard immediately agreed and asked Abby to pack their baggage. He looked more eager
than Summer.
Toby soon asked his people to clean his villa and sent a driver to pick up Summer and her kids.
“Pleasure. I’m glad to hear you’re willing to stay here,” Toby said with a smile. Then, he added, “You can live here for as long as you want. No need to rush moving out.”
Summer was satisfied with this place, thinking, ‘Safeguards are at every entrance. It’s much safer than Fay’s house.
Abby and Ballard seemed to like their new home a lot. They walked around the manor. Seeing her kids so happy, Summer felt even more grateful for Toby’s generosity.
She felt so lucky to meet her old friend Toby again after she returned to the country.
Ballard and Abby circled up in the garden.
Ballard exclaimed, “What? You had a hunger strike?” He thought, ‘No wonder Sanford looks so weak. “Why were
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you so s t u p i d? That’s not your fault. Why did you punish yourself?”
Abby felt her heart break. She said with tears in her eyes, “Ballard’s right. You have nothing to do with this. It was Daddy being mean to Mommy You shouldn’t have punished yourself with his mistake.”
“But that’s all I could do to have Mommy back.” Sanford felt sad, and his words contained a hint of complaint. “You didn’t reply to my phone calls or texts. I thought you hated me…”
Abby hurriedly explained, “No. It’s not like that. We’ve been busy packing and sending our baggage to our new home for the last two days, and we didn’t have time to contact you.”
Sanford mumbled, “I thought Mommy didn’t want me…”
H
Abby replied with a stern expression, “No, she won’t. We are family. Mommy, Ballard, and I will never abandon you.”
