bChapter /bb297 /b

    bAdam /bwaited bat /bhome for Yosef to pick him up so they could visit Skr. He kept waiting and waiting, but Yosel never came, which made him quite

    bHe /bpicked up his tablet to call Yosel toin, but stopped short when he saw Skr’s name had been cleared online.

    b“/bDaddy, you’re the best! You’re seriously amazing. Like, superhero–level amazing!” Adam grinned.

    Yosef smiled, his eyes sparkling. “Thanks for thepliment.”

    “Have you seen Mom? How is she doing? Is she okay?”

    Yosef shook his head. “Not yet, but don’t worry. She’ll be okay.”

    “Seriously, how can I not worry after all that? Dad, you’re way too calm about this. That’s not okay.

    “You should be really worried right now, too, and you have to show it so Mom knows you care about her. That way, she can feel you’ve been looking out

    for her,” Adam continued.

    Yosef’s fingers twitched slightly around his phone. Maybe Adam had a point.

    After a few more words with Adam, Yosef hung up and immediately texted Skr.

    [Are you okay? The mess online didn’t affect you, did it?]Skr was scrolling through her phone when the message popped up. She hesitated for a moment before texting him back. [I’m fine. Didn’t affect me.]

    Her tone was cool and distant. Yosef wasn’t fazed and kept texting.

    [Good to hear. Everything’s been handled. But still, Zachary’s not someone you wanna mess with. Just be careful.]

    Skr: [I know. Thanks for your concern.]

    Yosef: [Adam keeps asking about you. Where are you right now? Is it okay if I bring him by?]

    The second he hit send, the worry kicked in–what if she turned him down?

    Skr: [Don’te. I’m already on my way home.]

    Unable to see her, he felt a pang of disappointment, but he quicklyposed himself.

    Yosef: [Alright. If anything else happens, just let me know. I’m here to help.]

    She wondered if he was the one who fixed the mess online. She bit her lip, hesitating.

    Skr: [Hey, did you handle the scandal?]

    He hadn’t nned to hide it from her, nor was he looking for credit.

    Yosef: [I did.]

    Skr thought wryly, “No matter how much I try to keep my distance, something always pulls us together.”

    With mixed feelings, she replied: [Thanks.b] /b

    Yosef: [Skr, I’m really sorry for how I treated you before. If I hadn’t been so distant and neglectful, maybe you wouldn’t have had to go through ball /bthat.]

    Skr closed her eyes for a moment, pressed her lips together, and typed: [It’s all in the past. Please don’t bring it up again.]

    He stared at the message for a while. Finallyb, /bbhe /btyped, b(/bbI’m /bsorry.)

    bNo /breply. Skr slipped her phone into her bag and closed her eyes, wondering how to bpay /bhim back.

    At Lambert Vi, Adam was still worried about Skr after the call with Yosef.

    Adam hurried downstairs, plopped onto the sofa, and started chatting with his grandparents. He was waiting for Skr.

    As soon as Skr walked in, he shot to his feet and ran straight into her arms. “Mommy!”

    She scooped him up. “Were you a good boy while I was away?”

    He pressed his chubby cheek to hers. “Of course! Go ask Grandma and Grandpa.”

    Skrughed and gave him a soft pinch on the cheek.

    xx

    “Skr, the Stone family has really gone too far. I’m not letting this slide. They’re gonna pay for it!” Carlos said.

    He wasn’t afraid at all. Nobody got to mess with his daughter.

    “Dad, Mom, I’ve got this. It’ll feel better handling them on my ownb,/bb” /bshe said.

    Carlos shook his head. “Even though the Stone family has fallen, they’re still inot /ito be underestimated. We don’t know what kind of tricks they’ve got left.”

    Yana nodded in agreement. “Yeah, it’s not the obvious things that worry me; it’s whatever they’ve got hiding up their sleeve.” Her concern for her daughter was clear.

    The Lambert family had the power to protect their daughter, but even that had its limits.

    There were always people in the shadows, scheming, ying dirty–impossible to seeing.

    Skr said firmly, “Don’t worry. I’ll take good care of myself. You don’t have to fret about me.”

    Carlos nodded. “We can’t protect you every single moment, Skr. You’ll need to stay sharp so iyou /idon’t get schemed against.”

    Skr nodded in response.

    “By the way, how did you pull it off today?” Yana asked.

    She was curious how Skr had managed to get the Stone family toe forward and rify things themselves.

    “A friend helped me.” Skr didn’t say his name.

    “Oh, really? Your friend must have gone through quite some trouble. When they have some free time, why don’t you invite them over for dinner with usb?/bb” /b

    Skr wondered how her parents would feel if they knew this friend was Yosef.

    She still wasn’t sure if keeping it to herself was the right call.

    Then she pressed her lips together and let out a smallugh. “Sure. I’ll ask him when he’s got time.”

    Adam sat quietly on herp, his big eyes full of confusion.

    He thought, ‘Why didn’t Mommy say it was Daddy? Does she not knowi?/ii” /i

    ‘Daddy’s such a dummy. He missed such a perfect chance to earn brownie points with my grandparentsi./i‘

    Then he sighed in frustration, ihis /ilittle face scrunching up.

    Chapter b297 /b

    bWith /bbthe /bscandal resolved, the bLambert /bfamily was finally free bfrom /bbtrouble/bb. /bbThey /bsat together, chatting ever tolice What be

    bThe /bbStone /bfamily bwas /bin utter turmoil. bZachary /bhad bbeen /bbeaten bto /bba /bbpulp /band was still bunconscious/b.

    bThey /bused bto /brun real estate deals and regrly withheld wages from their workers. Back then, no one dared toin bbecause /bthey had us cum family bbacking /bthem.

    But now that they had fallen, the Campbell family backed down).

    With just a few discreet hints from ke, the workers grabbed their protest banners and surrounded the Stons residence.

    “David, pay us what you owe!” They stood outside, waving a bright red banner and shouting at the top of their lungs.

    Inside, only Elianna and Reba were home, Reba, never one to take charge, fidgeted like a cat on hot bricks.

    b“/bWhat should we do, Elianna? Your dad still isn’t back, and it’s just us here.

    “They’re going wild out there! What if they break in?” Reba asked.

    しい

    Elianna wasn’t as scared as her. She said calmly, “Mom, don’t worry. The front gate will keep them out. They can’t get in.

    “Let’s call the police right now and let them handle these workers.

    “And you call Dad again and tell him toe home immediately to deal with this.”

    Reba nodded and made the call. David rushed back home after talking to her. The workers closed in, shouting in his face and demanding their bpay /b

    B

    bAD /b

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