Seeing Nicole's thoughtful expression, Jason was regretful. If he knew that this matter had something
to do with the incidents in the past, he should have asked Mrs. Don about it when she was still alive so
that he wouldn't have been so passive now.
"Forget it. Leave these matters to me. Just go have fun with Samuel and the children."
"OK."
Nicole had come up with a thought, but she forgot it. She just nodded in agreement while Jason was
speaking.
Samuel had walked out when Jason was speaking.
Nicole looked at Samuel with a gentle smile.
"Is Zoe asleep?"
"Yes, she has not had such a sound sleep for a long time."
Samuel felt sorry for Zoe.
What a terrible place the Cawker's was now!
At the Cawker's, the food-loving Zoe did not even dare to eat in a relaxed way. And surely, she didn't
sleep well there. Zoe, however, insisted on staying there to be with Nash. Samuel felt sorry for the
hardship that Zoe had experienced there. The hardship could have been avoided, if Zoe had not
stayed. It was Zoe's own fault, but Samuel did not want to blame her.
Now, being with her parents, Zoe finally had a chance to have a good rest. She was so sleepy that she
might not wake up until tomorrow morning.
Samuel was torn by his conflicting thoughts.
Hearing Samuel's words, Nicole felt a pang of guilt for letting Zoe suffer.
"Samuel, why don't we stay tonight?"
Samuel clearly knew why Nicole said so.
It was all because of her deep love for her daughter. She wanted her daughter to have a good rest.
Besides, they had no idea why a car had followed them just now. It was not a good idea to leave with a
sleeping child.
"Uncle Jason, can we stay here?"
"Of course. This is your home. I know you are also tired. Have some sleep now."
Jason knew that this couple wanted to have a private conversation, so he went away on his wheelchair.
Nicole and Samuel returned to the bedroom and saw that Zoe was in a sound sleep. Nicole felt ached
for her.
"It did surprise me that our carefree and food-loving Zoe was committed to taking care of Nash and
Naomi."
Nicole smiled bitterly.
Samuel stroked her shoulder and whispered to her, "Zoe knew that she was well protected by us and
her brothers. She was a carefree foodie at home, but she was much more than that. This time, she
initiated to take care of the Cawker family. She did so not only because that Nash treated her well, but
also because she knew that how important our relationship with the Cawker family was.
"What do you mean?"
Nicole was slightly confused.
Samuel saw his wife's puzzled look and said smilingly, "Is it impossible for a child to think more
thoroughly than an adult? Do you think that I am joking?"
Nicole certainly thought that Samuel was joking, but she did not admit it. She could not help but show
an awkward smile.
Samuel did not notice Nicole's embarrassment. He stroked her hair, and smiled, "The bonds among the
four young masters of the Seapolis City are solid. After so many years, four of us have become the
new money of the city, controlling the city's economy and politics. Many big families are envious of us.
They want to break our ties and ruin our four families so that they can benefit from it.
Something dawned upon Nicole.
"Are you saying that Major is not the only person who planned to break our four families' relationship?"
"No matter how capable Major is, he cannot destroy our four families. All the things that happened
were because of interest."
Samuel saw the bigger picture than Nicole.
Nicole suddenly understood what Samuel meant.
"The four of you are used to be domineer over others. You have bullied many big native families in the
city, and that is why they took advantage of this time to try to destroy you four. If they succeeded, there
would be the new Four Families of the Seapolis City. All of them are striving for the seats."
Seeing that Nicole understood what he had meant, Samuel nodded.
Nicole became pensive.
"How scheming Major is! He was relying on other forces to destroy us. Wait. So, did you mean that Zoe
managed to be on good terms with the Cawker's family because she knew that?
Nicole grabbed Samuel's sleeve, trembling slightly.
Samuel sighed and held her in his arms. He whispered, "Our daughter just did not want to see our
good relationship with the Cawker family be destroyed by some malicious guys. She did so because
she was kind-hearted."
"Does Emory's trouble have something to do with us?"
Nicole became anxious.
Samuel grew pensive, and whispered, "Maybe. Who knows whether there was someone sowing
discord? Emory, Blair, Steven, and I can trust each other. But can our family members trust each other?
Emory's trouble is because of my incident. Now he cannot see his family. What if someone said
something to Claire and Nash? How would they think of us?"
"Impossible! I don't think the Cawkers would be easily deceived."
Nicole paused suddenly.
She remembered that once Claire asked her to seek help from the Night Elf Empire, and that not long
ago she was informed that the Cawker's had been bugged.
It should have been almost impossible for Nicole to visit Claire, since Claire had been monitored.
However, by the help of the New Year call, Nicole had managed to see Claire.
Besides, she had said something to Claire.
And she had taken Zoe out. And then an unknown car had followed them.
Nicole's heart thumped.
She suddenly loosened her grip and pulled Samuel's sleeve. Her face was pale.
"Is Zoe being targeted by someone?"
Samuel felt sorry for Nicole, who sensed that their daughter was in danger. Samuel had no choice but
strive to protect his family.
Seeing that Samuel was silent, Nicole knew that she had guessed right.
She broke out into a cold sweat.
"There was a car following Zoe. Was it that the people in the car thought that Zoe had taken something
out of the Cawker's, and wanted to see whom Zoe would give it to? Or in other words, they were
suspecting that Zoe would give it to us?"
Hearing Nicole's words, Samuel looked at Zoe who was in a sound sleep. Samuel had a mixed feeling.
"I don't know. I only know that no matter what Zoe promised them, I would protect her and you from any
harm.
Nicole was deeply worried.
"Will we go on the trip we planned then?"
"Of course. Otherwise, we cannot protect Zoe."
Samuel clenched his fists.
He would not let anything happen his wife and children.
Nicole frowned. She seemed to have something to say, but she did not say it.
"I'm gonna stay with Zoe for a while."
"Alright, I'll take a shower first."
Samuel stood up and left the room.
Nicole sat beside Zoe. She saw that Zoe was suntanned, probably because that Zoe had been playing
with Nash in the backyard of the Cawker's. She wondered what her naive daughter had plotted with
Nash.
She seemed to have never truly understood Zoe.
Nicole held Zoe's hand.
Zoe's hand was soft and smooth. However, Nicole noticed something.
There seemed to be something in Zoe's hand.
Just as Nicole attempted to turn around Zoe's hand to check what was in her hand, Zoe woke up with a
vigilant look, which surprised Nicole.
Nicole couldn't believe that her daughter could be so vigilant.
Zoe soon realized that it was her mother who was holding her hand. She smiled and hugged Nicole's
arm.
"Mommy, why were you sitting next to me so quietly? It scared me."
As she spoke, she secretly hid the thing in her hand from Nicole.
'How come...'
'How come I fell asleep?'
Zoe thought. She was upset. Nevertheless, she managed to prevent Nicole from checking what was in
her hand.
Now Nicole knew that Samuel was right.
Their daughter did have a secret.
Nicole had a mixed feeling. She hugged Zoe firmly. Zoe was slightly stunned and somewhat moved.
"Mommy."
Her voice was still soft, which made Nicole feel ached for her.
"Where do you want to travel to?"
Nicole's sudden question stunned Zoe. But she replied in a spoiled way, "Can I choose?"
"Sure, Mommy, Daddy, and your brothers, all of us will go with you. You are our princess."
Nicole parted Zoe's bang. Nicole's tender and loving eyes made Zoe feel bad.
Zoe felt guilty.
If Nicole knew that Zoe was going out with them for another reason, wouldn't Nicole be very sad?
The guilt made Zoe feel worse. She should have been carefree, but now there was something weighing
on her mind.
"Mommy, I want to travel to the Harper Town. Is that okay?"
Hearing Zoe's words, Nicole suddenly became worried.
The Harper Town?
Why did she want to go to the Harper Town?
Did the Cawker family want her to go there?
For what did Zoe want to go to the Harper Town? To find someone? Or for something else?
Nicole became troubled.
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