Late at night, all of them returned to Peace and Karlâs house after their adventure. Except for Matthew, the kids were all tired and quickly went to bed. At the same time, the adults gathered to talk about their experiences over the past few days Isabella told them about what she saw while following Maria earlier In brief, âAnyways, Maria met a strange Azul Group employee at the construction site and later collaborated with him to frame Matthew Tammy and I happened to witness it.â
Peace couldnât hold back her rage any longer after hearing the story She slapped the table hard and asked, âWhy would Maria do such a thing? Matthew trusted her so much! How could she be so shameless and become a traitor?!â
Then, they turned to look at Matthew, who had remained silent the entire time. Matthew was only sixteen years old, but he possessed the maturity of an adult. At the moment, he was sitting on the sofa with a frown, and he was seemingly lost in thought Annaâs heart broke when she saw Matthew being like this. She thought, Matthew, youâve taken on too much responsibility for your age Right now, your peers are stillin high school. And yet, you have to manage a huge group while youre supposed to be partying with kids at your age Do you know that that I often wonder why your father would ask you to manage such a large group? Yeah... Sometimes, I even want to scold him for being âan irresponsible fatherâ But, heâs not the only one to be blamed for it After all, Iâm not a good mother, either Heaving a long sigh, Anna walked to Matthewâs side, took his hand, 568 I Can Protect You, Too and said, âIâm sorry, Matthew. Itâs entirely my fault.â
âNo, mom. This is not your fault,â Matthew said softly âBut you wouldnât have believed Maria if I hadnât arranged for her to be your secretary.â
âIt is not your fault, Mom. I should have known she was that type of person. And I shouldâve dealt with her a long time ago,â
Shaking his head, Matthew said helplessly Then, Peace, who was crossing her arms, chipped in with a pout, âWhy are you both blaming yourselves? Stop arguing! Itâs all Mariaâs fault! You should blame her for it!â
âYes! Stop blaming yourselves. Well, actually, I should be blamed for that too. I should have told you about what I found out earlier instead of telling Tammy,â Isabella said Wayne, who had been silent for a long time, finally asked, âWhat are you going to do about this, Matthew?â
Matthew looked at Anna and looked as if he was hesitating. From his eyes and expression, Anna could tell what Matthew was thinking. She then stroked his hair and said, âDonât worry about my feelings, Matthew. Youâre my son. I care about you. So, I will never forgive her for what she did, regardless of why she did it.â
âI know,â Matthew replied with a nod âYou donât have to be worried about Selina or Joe either.â
âOkay. Iâll let my lawyer handle this.â
âLet me help you in gathering evidence,â Ryan, who sat in the corner, said âI appreciate it, Uncle Ryan,â said Matthew âSo, itâs all set, then. Good night, Matthew. You need a good nightâs 568 I Can Protect You, Too sleep,â Anna said âAll right. Goodnight, Mom.â With that, Matthew took the elevator to the third floor Awhile later, Matthew returned to his room. He noticed Tammy dozing on the couch as soon as he pushed open the door. Tammy was swaying because she wasnât sitting still. And she was even talking in her sleep Afraid that sheâd fall to the ground, Matthew then approached her and shook her arm. As soon as he got close to Tammy, she opened her eyes, saying, âYouâre finally here, Matthew! What did you guys talk about? Iâve been waiting for you for ages!â
Matthew sat on the couch, looking at Tammy curiously. Then he asked, âWhy are you waiting for me? Donât you think you should be sleeping right now?â
âIâm worried about you! Okay, a quick question for you. What really happened at the race that day?â With her eyes filled with excitement and curiosity, Tammy asked âWhy do you want to know that?â Matthew turned to face Tammy. He had the impression that she had changed a little after this incident Meanwhile, he said to himself, Tammy, you were born ten minutes later than me, but I always feel that youâre much younger than me. As a lively and talkative person, you frequently get yourself into trouble. Still, as your big brother, I enjoy cleaning the messes you made. And as your big brother, / love and care about you very much, Tammy. In the past, I always wonder who is going to back you up when you grow up. I mean, even though I want to protect you all the time, I canât possibly stay with you all the time. But now, Iâm more relieved than before, because I know that youâve finally started to mature âDominic said Iâm a child, and youâre an adult, but weâre actually the same age. Mommy also said you took on too much responsibility. I will never do anything so risky again. Thank you for protecting me, Matthew. I want to tell you that I can also protect you,â Tammy sobbed as she spoke And her words brought Matthew back to the present Matthew wiped her tears with a tissue. Actually, he didnât need Tammyâs protection, but he was still deeply moved when he heard her say these words. And somehow, Matthew felt that there was a warm surge occurring in the softest part of her heart, bringing him comfort and warmth. And to him, this cold winter became much warmer becauseTammy was there for him. Earlier, he was still angry about the fact that Maria had betrayed him. He later realized, however, that it couldnât hurt him because he had a wonderful family As Tammy whimpered and leaned on his shoulder, Matthew answered, âThat day, someone hit my car, and I blacked out. When I awoke, I was in that townâs hospital. And Maria visited me there. I fell asleep again later and awoke in an empty room. Thatâs also where the three of you went to save me.â
âLuckily, Aunt Emily showed up later. I really donât know how I can survive otherwise!â As Tammy said this, tears streamed down her cheeks once more âTammy, stop crying. Does your broken ankle still bother you? Is that why youâre crying nonstop?â Matthew asked in a teasing tone, trying to lighten the mood âNo. I just overheard your conversation when you were downstairs How could Maria be so cruel to you?â Tammy asked as she sobbed had suspicions about her before, but I wasnât sure. Well, Maria must have told the Azul Group about my schedule because she conspired with them. Besides, I know they hit my car. They wanted to kill me and destroy my group to steal the project. They were so naive.
Even if something bad happens to me, Dad will not let them get away with it.â
âBut why did that insane woman want to take you away? Did the Azul Group have any involvement with her?â Tammy asked âAunt Emily said that Victoria Burton was here for Gary, so I donât believe they have anything to do with the Azul Group. They know how close Gary is to us, and my parents would never let them take me away. So I guess the person they really want is you, not me.â
âHuh? Why?â Tammy asked, puzzled âThey know how close you and Gary are, so they want you to stay with him. Or, more accurately, they want to threaten Gary with you. They believe that once they have you under control, Gary will do whatever they say.â
âOh! Damn it! âTammy swore âVictoria Burtonâs ship was smashed, so maybe sheâs dead now Camila now became their leader. So, theyâll no longer threaten me in the future.â Matthew said as he stroked Tammyâs head âHowever, there is still a lot of danger all around you,â Tammy said with a worried face âDonât worry, Iâll figure it out. Tammy, thank you for being worried about me. Believe me. Iâll be fine.â
âOkay. By the way, can I sleep in your room tonight? I had a nightmare yesterday. I dreamed that I kept falling into the deep sea and couldnât swim to shore no matter how hard I tried,â Staring at Matthew with her watery eyes, Tammy required in a pleading tone âNo, problem, sis. You are welcome to sleep on the bed. Iâm going to sleep on the couch.â
âThanks! Youâre the best.â Tammy kissed him on the cheek. Then she went to bed, and tucked herself under the covers Matthew gave her a tender smile. At the same time, he realized he still had a lot of work to do to protect his family