The beautiful woman recognized Charlotte and Joe as the same family they had a conflict with earlier, and
she suspected that Samuel was intentionally seeking revenge for the previous incident. Her complexion
grew even worse.
âIâm really sorry. Itâs my fault for not teaching my son properly and causing your daughter distress,â the
beautiful woman quickly produced a tissue and wiped away the cream from Annaâs face. She didnât relax
until there was no trace of cream left on Anna.
Faced with such a lovely and innocent little girl, Samuel didnât hesitate to lend a hand. Her son really acted
recklessly.
âMr. Smith?â
The handsome man who had been following the woman suddenly exclaimed in surprise. He couldnât
believe he would encounter Joe in such a situation.
Charlotte also cast a questioning glance at Joe. How did he seem to know everyone?
Joe looked at the man indifferently, clearly not recognizing him.
The man quickly introduced himself, saying, âIâm Noah Ford, the research director of the Belfort Institute.
This is my wife, Harper, and this child⦠is my son, Samuel Ford.â
Upon hearing Noahâs introduction, Joe raised an eyebrow.
The Belfort Institute was an institute Joe had invested in many years ago, and over the years, it had
generated quite a few patents. Both sides had benefited from the collaboration. Joe had always focused
on investments and results, and he hadnât been involved in the internal management of the Belfort
Institute. So, not recognizing Noah was entirely normal.
Still, he hadnât expected to encounter Noah here.
Noah slapped Samuel without any hesitation, leaving him shocked.
Samuel got beaten up, and he did not know why he was the one apologizing and getting slapped by his
dad.
Samuel wanted to turn and run, but he glanced at the vast sea and could only hang his head, apologizing
to Anna in resignation.
Fortunately, Anna was naturally easygoing and cheerful and wasnât scared by this incident. She just didnât
want to play with Samuel anymore.
This incident finally came to an end.
Noah had intended to have a chat with Joe, but he could tell from Joeâs cold attitude that he didnât want to
be disturbed at the moment. So, he said goodbye and left with Harper.
Joe didnât expect the two kids to coordinate so well and bring down Samuel like that. He smiled faintly,
patting Ben and Annaâs heads. âYou both did really well today.â
Ben and Anna looked at Joe with surprise. They had expected to be scolded today, but who would have
thought that Joe didnât intend to scold them at all?
Perhaps the surprise in the eyes of the two kids was too obvious, and Joe noticed it as well.
He sighed, âWhat you did today was clearly for self-defense. Do I have to scold you for that?â
âI wonât allow you to bully your peers, but I support you in fighting back when necessary. If you ever
encounter any problems, donât be afraid. Mom and I will always be there to support you.â
Although Ben and Anna didnât fully understand Joeâs words, they knew that he was encouraging them to
protect themselves. They immediately felt moved and hugged Joe tightly.
Joe held the two children, feeling somewhat helpless.
He wondered what impression he had left on the two kidsâ minds that made them think he would scold
them in a situation like this.
Charlotte looked at the three of them huddled together and couldnât help but smile.
In the following days, Samuel was strictly supervised by Noah and Harper and didnât cause any more
trouble.
The cruise ship continued its smooth and safe journey to Antarctica.