Sheffield knew how hard Matthew could hit. If he continued to hit Watkins like this, the man would definitely die. He nodded at Harmon, and the two of them stepped forward to stop Matthew before he could kick Watkins again. Sheffield reminded him in a low voice, "Matthew! Stop it! This isn't helping anything!"
If he really beat Watkins to death, things would truly go south. He was rich, but he wasn't above the law.
Neville heard what his son was saying, however, he knew his son was in the wrong.
Before Matthew could turn his fury on Sheffield, Neville got between the two and faced a fuming Matthew alone. He tried to sooth him in a soft voice, "Mr. Huo, please calm down. It's my fault. I didn't teach my son well. Let me sort him out myself, please!" Seizing the chance, he turned to his assistant and demanded, "Why are you still standing there? Can't you see Mr. Huo's angry? Grab Watkins and get the hell out of here!"
"Yes, Mr. Chai!"
The assistant nodded at the bodyguards and put one of Watkins' arms around his shoulders to support his weight. Leaving took longer than normal, because the private room was in extreme disarray.
Matthew's imposing manner struck fear into the bravest of hearts. Everyone beat a hasty retreat. Neville had always treated the man in front of him as a junior, but at this moment, he was shocked by Matthew's foreboding manner and didn't know what to say.
His son had offended Matthew. Neville wouldn't have been so embarrassed if it were anyone else.
At last, Harmon came over and told Neville, "Mr. Chai, let's discuss this another day. Go home! Relax. Check on your son."
Matthew was so angry right now that he was in no mood to talk to anyone.
Now that Harmon was smoothing things over, Neville decided to help. "Mr. Huo, I'm going home to deal with my son. When the time is right, maybe we'll all calm down some. Then I'll bring him around to apologize."
Matthew shook off Sheffield's hand and warned him coldly, "If this happens again, I will probably get extremely pissed. If I'm angry enough, I start breaking bones. I hope your insurance is paid up, Mr. Chai."
Neville didn't know how to respond. He seriously considered sending his son abroad. Maybe that way things wouldn't get out of hand.
When it was just the three of them in the private room, Sheffield put his arm around Matthew's shoulders and comforted him. "Don't be so hot-headed. Rika's a hottie. She turns heads wherever she goes. And yet she still loves you," he said in a joking tone.
Matthew silently shook off his arm and glanced at him coldly. "Watch it!" he spat.
Sheffield's eyes widened. He looked at his own hand and said, "Hey, I'm a neat freak. My hands are absolutely clean. Why are you acting like this? Take a chill pill."
Matthew moved his wrists and said coldly, "I'm still pissed. I need to bleed off some of this extra energy. Maybe I should pound your face into hamburger!"
The two of them could fight at any time. In order to avoid another conflict, Harmon quickly stood between them and said, "Well, let's get down to business. So Matthew, have you found out the truth behind the incident?"
Knowing what he was talking about, Matthew picked up a glass of wine and gulped it down to ease his mood. "Yeah. It has something to do with a 3-year-old case. More than a dozen accomplices have been caught, and two key criminals are still at large."
Three years ago, ZL Group angered a group of gangsters over a real estate deal. Matthew had already thrown some money at it. Sometime later, they called Owen and let him know the money was gone. They wanted another cash infusion from ZL Group. Matthew was nobody's fool, so he turned them down flat.
Like unruly children, these thugs threw a fit. That might have pushed them over the edge, and they put a price on his head.
But why had they suddenly asked Owen for money? Matthew needed to catch the two escaped criminals before he could figure it out.
Sitting opposite him, Sheffield asked in a serious tone, "Camille Su might have something to do with this. Have you looked into that at all?"
"I'm not sure yet. My intel is limited. She did go to the fashion show in CBD." It looked like she had nothing to do with this, but he knew things were not that simple.
Staring into his glass, Harmon said, "I think there's a mastermind behind this. And that's why they tipped their hand and made such a mess."
"Anything's possible," said Matthew. Leaning against the back of the chair, he closed his eyes and thought of his wife.
"Rika's pregnant now. We need to bring in a bigger security detail," Sheffield suggested. He was more worried about Erica. After all, Matthew was able to protect himself, but his pregnant wife was not.
Not only was she pregnant, but she also couldn't fight. In the past, she had relied on fleet feet whenever something went south, but the pregnancy put a kibosh on that. She couldn't run too quickly with twins in her belly. And she wouldn't want to.
"I know." Matthew nodded. His wife's safety was the most important thing.
She'd been pretty on edge lately. And without much of a reason, either. She was the one being mischievous.
People said that pregnant women were easy to upset. That turned out to be true.
The next morning, Erica went to school. As soon as Matthew left the manor, she did too. Debbie went with her.
After the second afternoon class, Erica looked back at the bodyguard following her. She was quite glum. The only reason she left the house was for classes, but this person just kept following her. She felt like she had no freedom at all.
"Erica, it's her. She's already there," said Hyatt, pointing at the garden.
Erica came to her senses and looked in the direction he pointed. A girl with long hair stood in the garden, playing with her phone, her head down.
She had borrowed some money from Hyatt, but was long overdue paying it back. It had been some months now.
"Let's go!" Erica quickened her pace.
But Hyatt grabbed her arm. She looked back at him in confusion and asked, "What are you doing?"
Embarrassed, Hyatt scratched the back of his head and stammered, "Be gentle with her, okay? I'm serious.
Don't spook her too much." 'What does he think I'm going to do? Hurt her or something?' Erica rolled her eyes, raised her hand and slapped on the back of his head. "Dude! She cheated you out of your money! At least let me lean on her a bit!"
Hyatt was rendered speechless. He had no choice but to follow Erica.
The two stopped near the girl. She looked up and was stunned when she saw Erica.
Hyatt introduced them in a quiet voice, "Erica, this is Pansy. Pansy, th-this is...my good friend, Erica."
When Hyatt introduced Pansy to Erica, he spoke fluently. As soon as he spoke to Pansy, he stammered and his face turned red.
Erica had always been polite before resorting to force. She smiled at the pretty girl and said, "Hello!"
If Pansy hadn't borrowed the money and refused to pay it back, Erica would have tried to hook them up.
Almost every student in this school knew Erica. Outside of being Mrs. Huo, she had a reputation for being a hard ass. No one would mess with her.
So when she saw Erica, her smile froze on her face. Actually, she had no intention of paying Hyatt back. She wanted to keep the money for herself.
She greeted Erica uneasily and couldn't help but stare at her pregnant belly. She was far enough along where even the baggiest clothing couldn't hide it. 'Mrs. Huo's getting really big, ' she thought.