If it turned out that Michel Wang was indeed the mastermind behind Kirk and his gangsters, then there was more to him than everyone had anticipated. Even before ZL Group started to cooperate with Wang Group, Matthew had asked someone to make a thorough investigation on Michel's background, but they couldn't didn't find anything suspicious about him.
"You mean Michel Wang is manipulating the contraband trade in secret?" Sheffield asked. Matthew had told Sheffield about what Erica had been doing in Tow Village to some extent, and as such, he had a rough idea about who she was looking for.
"If I'm not mistaken, that's it," Matthew replied with some certainty. The information from Gifford was flawless and accurate. Moreover, Sheffield and Erica did bump into Michel when they were coming out of the bar.
"I also sent people from the gangland to investigate Michel, but they couldn't find anything on that man," said Sheffield. As he clutched his chin in a pensive manner, the more Sheffield thought about this mysterious man, the more curious he was.
He decided to have his people keep a close eye on Michel, just to ensure the safety of his sister-in-law, Erica.
"I'll call Gifford and touch base with him. Good night."
"Okay."
By the time Matthew finally found Gifford on the phone, the latter had already returned to the Li family's house and walked up to the second floor. There was no one else there with Gifford as his wife was supposed to be back the next day.
Gifford answered the phone and whispered, "Why are you calling me in the middle of the night? Why aren't you asleep in the arms of your loving wife?"
"The information you gave Rika—where did you get it?"
"Oh, two days ago, I took a group of people to destroy the den of a notorious gang. After being tortured, the group of gangsters told me that they were going to make a deal in a bar in Y City in two days. I put two and two together and realized that I had found the clues Rika was looking for." Gifford stopped at the door of his son's room and quietly leaned against it instead of going inside.
"Have your men pay more attention to Michel Wang, the CEO of Wang Group in Y City. I'm sure you'll find something fishy if you look hard enough."
"All right! Got it! Sounds like you're onto something. Just leave it to me and I'll look into it." There was a sense of urgency in Matthew's tone which led Gifford to strongly believe that Michel was not an ordinary person. Fortunately, Gifford was eager and ready to take up the challenge.
Just like that, Matthew, Sheffield and Gifford joined hands to fight for Erica.
But before Gifford could hang up the phone, Wesley pushed the door of his bedroom open and walked out in his pajamas.
As he looked at his son standing in the hallway, he frowned and said, "I had a feeling it was you."
"Old man, how are you still so vigilant? Isn't it supposed to fade at least a little with your age?" Every time Gifford thought he was being stealthy, his father would still find him out no matter what.
Could it be because of Gifford's lack of skills or was it Wesley's high vigilance?
Squinting his eyes towards his son's hand, Wesley noticed that Gifford was talking to someone on the phone. "Who are you talking to in the middle of the night?"
"Your son."
After a short pause, Wesley understood that he was referring to Matthew. "What happened?"
"No, actually your precious daughter ended up offending a big shot. Matthew was just worried about her!" Indeed, Erica's reputation of being a troublemaker was undisputed. The moment she was seen in public after a few years, she ended up getting in the bad books of a dangerous person.
'A big shot?' Wesley's facial expression had a slight change. He quickly walked over, grabbed Gifford's phone and put it to his ear. "Matthew, how is Rika now?"
"Dad, don't worry. She has gone to bed. She is fine now. I will keep an eye on her."
Wesley breathed a sigh of relief after learning that the girl was safe and sound. At the same time, he suggested, "Make sure she doesn't go anywhere alone. She can be quite difficult, but if you think she's being too much, just send her back and I'll teach her a lesson!"
"Yes, I will keep an eye on her."
"This girl will never grow up! Don't hesitate to bring her to me when she's gone too far. I know what to do with her!"
Matthew couldn't help but chuckle at Wesley's words. His father-in-law and Carlos were more and more alike. They were just duplicitous! 'Bring Rika to him and let him teach her a lesson? Would Wesley have the heart to do so?' Matthew wondered in silence.
"Okay, Dad! You should get some rest. I'll handle it from here."
"Well, you've been working hard all day. Don't stay up late. We'll talk about it tomorrow."
"Yes. Good night, Dad."
Wesley returned the phone to Gifford.
Gifford eventually spoke out what Matthew was thinking in his heart. "You want him to bring Rika to you so you can teach her a lesson? Do you still have the stomach for that kind of stuff? Why don't you just ask Matthew to punish Rika instead?"
Wesley took off one of his slippers and waved it at Gifford angrily. "Why do you spew so much nonsense out of your mouth? You, young men are careless. What if Matthew hits Rika too hard and accidentally causes her internal injuries?"
Gifford dodged his father and said, "That's impossible! Matthew treats your naughty daughter better than you do. Erica left him and disappeared for more than three years without saying a word. I heard that when she went back to him, he didn't even raise his voice to her. He would never hurt Rika! I think you're wrong about him."
Wesley dropped his slipper on the floor and wiggled his foot inside. Needless to say, he knew just how much Matthew loved Erica. However, he was just afraid that one day Matthew would run out of patience with his naughty daughter. What if Matthew lost his temper one day?
Wesley, however, didn't continue on this topic any more. "Just kiss your son goodnight and go to bed!"
"Right, good night, old man!"
This time, Wesley didn't even look at him as he quietly went back to his room.
Gifford walked into his son's room with a cheeky smile. The little boy was sound asleep, clutching his favorite quilt between his tiny fingers. Gifford sighed, looking at him with affection before he pulled out the quilt and tucked his boy inside safely.
He decided that he was going to sleep in his son's room tonight.
Much to his surprise, however, even after waiting for a whole day and a half, there was still no sign of Chantel.
Meanwhile, scandalous news of Chantel and Red, the leader of the FC group, entering the same building at midnight was released on the Internet.
It was nearly two days after the agreed time that the heroine in the news finally rushed back to the villa of the Li family.
Wesley and Blair had just gone out for a walk after dinner. The only people in the living room were Gifford and his son.
The moment Hugo saw his mother come in, he threw away the toys from his hands and ran to her. "Mommy!"
Chantel picked up her son with little difficulty and kissed him on the cheek. "Good boy." Then she looked at the expressionless man sitting with his lips sealed and awkwardly apologized, "I'm sorry. I was planning on coming back yesterday, but something important came up in K Country, so I..."
Gifford knew what she was going to say next, so he cut her short. "Something important? You mean when you went inside the same building with another man in the middle of the night?"
With her son still in her arms, Chantel froze for a moment. Due to her best efforts to suppress the news, Chantel didn't expect Gifford to find out so soon.
"No, I just saw the news too. I was just in the same building with Red, but he was staying a floor above me." The paparazzi that photographed her deliberately made it look like she and Red were engaged in a morally questionable activity.
Without a word, Gifford came over and took the boy from her arms. "So he's in a favored position to get close to you?" he said.
Chantel had nothing to say. Since she had to visit K Country quite often, Chantel decided to buy an apartment there. She had just stayed there a few times after she bought it. The idea of having to sell the new apartment just to avoid suspicion seemed a little absurd to her.
However, the man, who was climbing up the stairs with his son in his arms, suddenly stopped and turned around to look at the woman. "Don't people in the entertainment circles often play Weibo or something like that? You should probably come clean about everything on Weibo."