Actually, Joseph did not sleep well.
He had gone through so much that he had trouble falling asleep.
After Nicole left, Joseph woke up and subconsciously got up. He was stunned as he saw Lucas sitting
beside the bed.
"What are you doing here?"
"I'm afraid that you'll fall asleep."
Lucas whispered, then stood up and poured a glass of water for Joseph.
Joseph was surprised.
He was used to do such little things before, and Lucas never did it. It was a bit awkward to see Lucas
being so gentle.
"Take it!"
When Lucas saw Joseph looking at him blankly, he thought that Joseph was beaten dumb.
Joseph took the glass and smiled.
"What's so funny?"
"Nothing. I just feel that it's good to have you at home."
Lucas was speechless.
He walked to the door and opened it to take a look. Nicole and the others were talking downstairs. No
one looked upstairs. He closed the door and locked it. Then, he came back to sit beside Joseph.
Joseph was puzzled.
"What are you doing?"
"I want to tell you something."
Lucas' mysterious expression aroused Joseph's curiosity.
"What?"
Lucas looked at him as if considering whether to tell him or not. Joseph got impatient as he waited.
"What exactly are you going to say?"
"Let's run away from home."
Joseph was startled.
"Running away from home? Are you serious?"
"Keep your voice down!"
Lucas hurriedly covered Joseph's mouth and whispered, "Do you still want to stay here? Look at your
injuries. Grandma and my daddy are protecting you now, but Uncle Vincent is your father. If he wants to
take you away, what can we do? I can't stop him, right? But you'll suffer again if you go with him."
Joseph frowned.
"But he's my daddy. I have to listen to him. Besides, he did everything for my own sake. People said
that Daddy beats me because he is too concerned about my future."
"Nonsense! We can teach ourselves! Remember the coach? We did a good job without him, didn't we?
Your daddy is crazy. If you stay with him, you'll be beaten to death. And I will lose my only brother."
Joseph didn't reply.
To be honest, he didn't want to go back to the base with Vincent.
Life there was too bitter.
Moreover, Vincent's requirements were too strict. Joseph could not complete any of the training
programs he had set.
"I can leave on my own. But if you go with me, Uncle Samuel and Mommy will worry about you."
Joseph looked at Lucas. He knew that Lucas was different from him.
Samuel and Nicole regarded Lucas as their treasure.
However, Lucas said indifferently, "Don't worry. I'll leave a letter for them."
"Where are you going? Do you have any plans?"
Joseph looked at Lucas and saw confidence in his eyes. He knew that Lucas never took risks. In other
words, he might have got a plan.
Lucas chuckled as he took out a business card and said, "Look, it is a shooting club. It's said that they
have real guns. I met this person at the playground today. He told Mommy that as long as I join the
club, I will become a sharpshooter under his training. You know, I really like shooting. You are good at it
too. We can go here together. The club provides food and accommodation, so we don't have to live on
the streets. Besides, I have some pocket money. It's enough."
Joseph took a look at the business card. He frowned slightly and said, "Is this man reliable?"
"We will know when we get there. If it's a lie, with our intelligence, we can definitely get out from there.
Don't worry. If you don't want to go, I'll leave alone. But you should promise me. Don't tell my mommy
and daddy where I go after I leave, okay?"
As Lucas spoke, he carefully put away the business card.
Joseph looked at him. It seemed that Lucas had made up his mind. Joseph felt like leaving with him.
He was in pain now although he had had some ointment. If Daddy left the Green's tomorrow, should he
go with him?
After he returned to the base, he would have to do the training day and night. He might even be beaten
up.
It was better to follow Lucas to the shooting club. At least he could learn a skill.
Thinking of this, Joseph whispered, "When are we going to leave?"
"Tonight. I originally planned to wait a few days. But if Uncle Vincent leaves tomorrow, he will definitely
take you away. And it will be difficult for me to find you then. You should consider carefully. Do you want
to leave with me? Don't worry. I will cover you."
Lucas patted Joseph's shoulder.
Joseph felt a little pain, but his mind cleared.
"I'll go with you!"
Joseph did not want to live the life that Vincent had arranged for him anymore. Moreover, he had really
worked hard, but Vincent was never satisfied. It was too disappointing.
Lucas was delighted that Joseph decided to leave.
"Then I'll go back and pack up."
"What are you going to pack? We just need to take our bank cards, don't we?"
Lucas felt that Joseph's question was silly.
"Are you stupid? If we use the cards, they would know our location. We can only use cash."
"That's right. Why didn't I think of it?"
Joseph touched the back of his head and said, "But we need to take a lot of cash with us. What if we
get robbed?"
"Don't worry. I know what to do!"
Lucas said mysteriously, and then whispered, "Keep watch. I'll go back to my room to pack up."
"Alright."
Joseph and Lucas got out of bed and sneaked out of the bedroom. People were still chatting in the
living room. They entered Lucas' room quietly.
Lucas took out his small bag and put a few clothes in it. He packed up all the important things including
the cash, and then he hid the bag under the bed.
Joseph asked in a low voice, "Should I get a bag too? But my bag seems to be in the base."
"No. It's fine. We can use the same one. You can wear my clothes. We should go with a light pack."
Lucas looked confident.
Joseph was accustomed to following Lucas' advice.
He felt that Lucas was smarter than him. He was good at making plans and had many ideas. Nothing
would go wrong as long as he listened to Lucas.
After they finished preparations, they sneaked back into Nicole's bedroom and lay side by side on
Nicole's bed.
Lucas' heart was now filled with excitement and anticipation.
"After dinner, we'll go to bed. Set an alarm clock for 11:30. We'll gather in the hall below."
Joseph nodded, but he whispered, "What if they find out?"
"Tell them that we get up to drink some water."
Lucas answered quickly.
Joseph agreed.
"But there are guards outside. We won't be able to get out."
Joseph asked again.
Lucas whispered, "Come on! We can help each other. Don't worry, I'll distract their attention."
"You are indeed smarter than me." Joseph looked at Lucas with admiration.
"You're not stupid. Don't look down upon yourself. In fact, you've helped me a lot. Without you,
sometimes I don't know what to do."
"Really?"
"Of course. Have I ever lied to you?"
Lucas smiled.
Joseph felt better as he received Lucas' appreciation.
They looked at the ceiling with their arms under their heads. Their moves paralleled. One might take
them as natural brothers.
"Joseph."
"Yes?"
"What do you think we're going to do when we grow up?"
Lucas asked calmly.
Joseph frowned slightly.
"My daddy said I will inherit the Eternal Group and be the head of the Green family."
"I'm not asking what your daddy wants you to do. I'm asking about you. What do you want to do?"
Joseph didn't reply.
After a while, he said disappointingly, "I don't know."
"What do you like? Or is there anything you really want to do?"
"What about you?"
Joseph asked back.
"I want to join the army! I want to be a pilot! I want to fly my own plane in the sky. I will become a real
soldier and guard the country with a gun!" Lucas smiled.
Joseph was surprised by what he said.
"You want to join the army?"
"Yes! A good man should join the army."
There was a yearning look in his eyes.
However, Joseph frowned and said, "But Uncle Samuel also has his own company. Won't you take
over the company in the future?"
"Do you forget about Zoe? She or her husband can take it. Anyway, I'm not interested in that. I like
guns and cannons. I like to work on these things."
The more Lucas thought about it, the more excited he got.
After hearing Lucas' goal, Joseph said, "I want to become a soldier too. I will go wherever you go."
"Really?"
"Of course!"
Joseph looked at him with a serious expression.
Lucas stretched out his little finger and said, "Let's make a pinky promise."
"Make a knot; no promises broke; the one who broke it becomes a dog!"
They held each other's pinky finger. When the thumbs were pressed together, the innocent and
naughty children couldn't help laughing.
At this moment, Nicole walked to the room, but she couldn't open the door.
"Lucas? Are you asleep? Why is the door locked?"
Hearing Nicole's voice, Joseph immediately pretended to be asleep, while Lucas crawled out of bed
and quickly opened the door.
"Mommy!"
"Why is the door locked?"
"I don't know. Didn't you lock it?"
Lucas put on an innocent face.
Nicole frowned slightly.
Did she lock it?
Why couldn't she remember at all?
Had her memory declined due to her bad health?
Nicole wondered. She did not see the cunning and mischievous look on Lucas' face.
Joseph suddenly sobbed, which attracted Nicole's attention.
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