âWhat? He didnât kill himself?â Noel was taken aback and continued to grab his hair.
Wayne realized that Noel seemed to be too exhausted. So, he got out of the car and yanked him out of the driverâs seat, saying, Tl drive myself back. You can now go home on your own. And you can take the day off tomorrow.â He then got into his car and drove away.
As Wayne predicted, many news outlets covered the story the next day. They said, âLemon clothing violated the law by using toxic fabrics, causing the children of Flower orphanage to suffer. The president of the orphanage kidnapped Lemonâs presidentâs daughter in order to fight for his rights, and then was forced to commit suicide.â
The news almost destroyed Lemon. Anna had evidence that the company had previously been wrongfully accused, and she had the opportunity to prove her innocence. However, because Owen was no longer alive, the public began to blame her.
The damage to Lemonâs reputation was insignificant to Wayne, but the netizens personal attacks on Anna and Tammy were too much for him to bear. He was furious as he sat in his office, reading the hateful comments.
And he didnât think twice about calling Noel, âTell those media to delete the news within an hour. Block them, and donât work with any of them later onâ
Sureâ
Within an hour, the news had been removed from all media outlets. 464 Smart Little Girl Instead of stopping posting hate comments about Anna and Tammy, the netizens became more outrageous. Some people even began to use it to prove how chaotic society became.
The government had previously said it would conduct a thorough investigation into Lemon and had set a date for next week.
However, because public opinion had recently begun to blame the regulators, they needed to move it up to provide an answer to the public as soon as possible.
Later, Anna arranged another meeting with the government and called Julia to gather all necessary information, samples, and inventory. As she returned from the balcony, she noticed Tammy leaning against the door in her pyjamas, watching her.
âDid | sleep for a long time. Mom?â Tammy had tightly hugged Anna before she could respond. She rubbed her cheek against Annaâs tenderly.
As she stroked Tammyâs hair, Anna murmured, âYes, my dear. Youâve been sleeping for quite some time.â
Tammy couldnât hold back her tears any longer and quietly wiped her tears on Annaâs shirt. She had just stood there, dazed, watching Annaâs back.
âIâm hungry. Mom.â Tammy smiled as she rubbed her stomach âPIL call your dad and ask him to come back with Matthew, and weâll have dinner tonight. What would you like to eat?â
Tammy licked her lips and mentioned several dishes In the evening, the dining table was piled high with various dishes. Tammy was surprised when she saw her favorite dishes, lobster and rib eye, on the table. 464 Smart Little Girl Undoubtedly, Tammy was always upbeat and cheerful. She ate her food and laughed happily as if she forgot the kâ*****â*g that had happened to her earlier.
Sitting next to her, Anna gave her a friendly smile and said nothing. She knew Tammy best and Tammy wouldnât want to talk about unpleasant topics when she was enjoying her favorite food âWhy do you keep staring at me, Matthew?â Tammy asked. She was eating intently at the time, a grilled pizza in one hand and a lamb chop in the other. As she looked up and saw Matthew looking at her thoughtfully, she couldnât help but wipe her mouth with a paper towel.
Hearing that, Matthew lowered his head as his face flushed. Matthew and Tammy were both teenagers, so they were not as intimate as they used to be when they were younger. However, Matthew felt remorseful about the whole thing. After all, one of the most important things to him, who was twelve years old, was to protect his family.
âWhy donât you drop out of school and work with me?â Matthew said as he ate his food, pretend not to be serious.
Tammy couldnât stop herself from devouring the delicious pizza and saying, âSorry, but Iâm not interested in corporate management. | still want to go to school.â
âThen Iâll pick you up after school every day from now on,â Matthew said, nodding.
âBut...â Tammy tried to refuse him once more.
âPlease donât say no to me on this,â Matthew said firmly.
Tammy later decided that having someone pick her up from school was not such a bad thing, so she stopped talking.
After dinner, Tammy lay on the couch, watched TV, and said to Anna, âOwen threw my phone into the river, Mom. Could you please get me a 464 Smart Little Girl new one tomorrow?â
âSure.â At the time, Anna was preoccupied with her paperwork. She paused before nodding. And Tammy didnât notice there was anything wrong with Anna.
At the same time, Matthew was sitting on the other end of the couch and looked up at Tammy in surprise.
âWhat are you doing, Matthew?â Tammy said as she crawled down the couch toward Matthew. Matthew shut his laptop before she could see the words on the screen.
âIâm reading stock market news,â He looked as condescending as his father.
Tammy was watching Matthewâs back as he carried his laptop up the stairs and couldnât help but ask Anna, âMom, is he in love?â
âHuh?â
âI have a feeling heâs hiding some secrets in his laptop,â Tammy said as she stood up and stretched. Then she made her way to the backyard study.
As there was only one desk lamp on in the study, Wayne was mostly in the dark. He became increasingly enraged as he stared at the constantly updated comments on his phone.
Tammy walked in at that precise moment after knocking on the door. Wayne immediately put his phone down and turned to face her.
âDaddy, Iâd like to talk to you about something,â Tammy grabbed a chair and sat in front of Wayneâs desk. She paused for a moment, unsure how to express herself.
Wayne took off his glasses and turned to face his daughter. Her face was made paler by the light from the lamp. âAre you trying to tell me about 464 Smart Little Girl what happened when you met Shirley?â he asked calmly.
âAre you reading my mind, Dad?â Tammy couldnât believe it and couldnât help but nod. To her, Wayne was as powerful as a superhero.
When he heard Tammyâs heartfelt compliments, Wayne couldnât help but smile. And he appeared less serious. Wager to learn what made her decide to follow Shirley, Wayne said, â| know you met Shirley at the dessert store before you were kidnapped.
You two havenât seen each other in five years. Even if you met her by chance, you wouldnât have followed her unless you heard something about her.â
â| heard her and the man next to her talking about Grandpaâs insurance money. They said Grandpa had bought accidental death insurance in the first place. But, because he died as a result of an illness, no one received the insurance money. | think they want to get that money.â
After taking a deep breath, Tammy continued, âThey were discussing what they could do to get the money, but they abruptly left halfway through the conversation. I followed them because I wanted to hear what else they had to say. They knocked me out after | went into an alley. When | awoke, | was in Owenâs house.â
Wayne said thoughtfully, âShirley was the one who knocked you out, but Owen was the one who kidnapped you. You and Shirley met by chance while Owen planned the kidnapping,â
As he realized Owen was no longer alive and wouldnât threaten Tammy anymore, Wayne became less nervous. He reassured Tammy, saying, âIâm looking into it and will get back to you as soon as possible. So, you must keep it a secret between the two of us. Otherwise, your mother will be more worried about you.â
âDonât worry, dad. Your secret is safe with me,â Tammy winked and 464 Smart Little Girl said teasingly. She then walked out of the study.
After returning to her room, Tammy lay in bed for along time and couldnât fall asleep because she had slept too long in the afternoon. And she would remember those terrifying scenes as soon as she closed her eyes, which made her disoriented.
Finally, she couldnât take it any longer and sat in bed, picking up the quilt and pillow and walking out of the room.
Matthew was startled when he heard a knock on the door and had to close his laptop again.
âWho is it?â He asked.
âItâs me, Tammy.â