Chapter 617
Frank looked down at the smudged lipstick with a frown. “What are you talking about? I have a girlfriend. The most gorgeous at that.”
At the mention of his girlfriend, Frank’s voice rose in worry. “Oh no! I never got a chance to explain to Elizabeth why I had to leave so suddenly tonight.”
He glanced at the clock and pulled himself together. “I still have time to explain. Seeing as you’re okay, I can leave at ease.”
“You sound like you’re going to croak,” Brandon chuckled, surprised by Frank’s uncharacteristic fluster. “Looks like she’s the one.”
Frank chuckled and then snapped, “If I weren’t worried about your life, I should have been with her right now. If anything happens, you know how to reach me.”
Before leaving, Frank sternly reminded Brandon, “You can’t put off telling Natalie about your condition any longer. I have a feeling she’s not in a good place emotionally today.”
Brandon’s frown deepened. His once sparkling eyes were now filled with sadness. He said slowly, “Even you can see that she’s feeling down. How could I not notice it?”
“It’s not like you, Brandon,” said Frank, puzzled.
“Believe me; I was thinking about telling Natalie, but… She cried her heart out in my arms for a long time yesterday.” Brandon’s frown deepened as he thought about the pain on Natalie’s face. “I’d rather that Natalie never knows about my condition. It’s not a death sentence. I want to bear everything alone instead of upsetting her. When I recover, I want a baby with her.”
“Good. It’s indeed time to think about having a baby and entering a new phase of your life.” Frank smiled. “But I never imagined you’d ever tell me something like that one day.”
Well, it was said that everything panned out with time and Brandon’s changes were quite a testimony. With someone he cared about, he became much softer.
Frank was lost in thought when his phone suddenly started buzzing wildly.
Even the ringtone seemed full of anger. Frank swallowed and answered, “Elizabeth, it’s so late. Why aren’t you in bed yet?”
“You vanished just like that without explaining anything. And you expected me to sleep? Where the hell are you now?”
Elizabeth’s cool demeanor masked her rage. “I want to know what happened. If you don’t explain it clearly, we’re through.”
“I’ll come back and explain everything to you right away, okay?” Frank covered his phone with his hands sweating and waved at Brandon. Brandon nodded, signaling he was free to go.
Before anyone knew it, dawn had arrived. The warm sunshine spilled into the room, illuminating the white walls in the hospital ward. It was another brand new day. Brandon leaned against the headboard, with yesterday’s newspaper by his side. He picked it up and read it quietly. The only sound in the ward was the rustling of paper.
Suddenly, Brandon paused. Memories of him and Natalie together during the past two years flooded his mind like movie clips, and all his memories slowly came into focus. “Mr. Larson, I’ve brought the documents and put them on the table.” When Sean came in, he saw that Brandon was holding a newspaper with his eyes closed.
He thought Brandon had fallen asleep.
Sean walked quietly to the bedside and tucked him in, but Brandon suddenly opened his eyes and Sean was startled.
Brandon frowned. “Why didn’t you make any noise when you came in?”
Sean touched the back of his head and said, “Mr. Larson, you were just sleeping. How could you have heard my footsteps?”
With a cold look in his eyes, Brandon pointed at the documents on the table. Sean went to get the documents obediently. Brandon took them and began to read them. He asked in a calm tone, “How’s the investigation into the incident that happened last night going?”
After Sean returned to the Larson Group, he began dealing with the matter of the car accident.
“I checked the surveillance video from the parking lot. The convertible was in a relatively backward position and there were two cars in front of it, so I couldn’t see clearly who tampered the car at that time simply from the footage.”
Brandon closed the file. “Is the vehicle’s dashcam still there?”
He remembered that the convertible was badly damaged at that time. Whether or not they could get the video from the dashcam remained a question.
“The dashcam was burnt down and is being repaired at the moment,” Sean answered. “But I did see an acquaintance at the banquet.”
Brandon raised an eyebrow. His full attention was on Sean.
“I saw Kathie at the banquet,” Sean continued.
Since Brandon had asked him to deal with Kathie before, he already had a deep impression on her. Not to mention, she made things difficult for Natalie. He couldn’t forget that.
“Shouldn’t Kathie be in Northcliffe?” Brandon chuckled.
“She probably came to Barnes because she can’t make a living in Northcliffe anymore.”
“At that time, we asked the person in charge of the Iridescent Show to blacklist Kathie. It’s normal for her to leave. She even hooked up with Ameer Ortiz here in Barnes. I suspect she wants to retaliate against Mrs. Larson, so she asked someone to tamper the convertible.” Sean went silent for a moment as he thought about it. He thought that Kathie was the most suspicious. “Kathie ran away when the accident happened, though.”
“Do you think Kathie can do that herself?” Brandon asked.
At that time, he met Kathie in Northcliffe. She was arrogant and usually bullied the weak but feared the people who were above her. After she found out that Natalie was the daughter of the White family, she became frightened and ran away overnight.
“Mr. Larson, don’t forget that Kathie asked those models to get Mrs. Larson drunk and tried to hurt her,” Sean reminded in a low voice.
“But she has already tried once and even paid the price. Did she really dare to do it again?” Brandon lowered his gaze and pressed his lips into a thin line. His expression was unfathomable. “Bring Kathie and Ameer here.”