CHAPTER 426: CHAPTER 426: ARE YOU HOME?

Kane had been holding the phone to his ear for a while but still hadn’t heard Daniel’s voice. Thinking his dad had hung up, he handed the phone back to Chantelle.

"Mommy, Daddy called earlier."

Chantelle lowered her eyes, staring at Daniel’s name and the call time on the screen. Her mind went completely blank.

Just as she was about to pretend she hadn’t seen the call and hang up, Daniel’s voice came through the line. "Don’t you dare hang up on me."

Chantelle’s heart skipped a beat. She lifted the phone to her ear. "Can I help you?"

There was a short silence before his cold voice replied, "What? Am I bothering you?"

"That’s right. You’re bothering me. Since you have nothing to say, I’m hanging up." Chantelle felt like she might have a heart attack just from hearing his voice. For the sake of her peace, and maybe her life, Chantelle blocked his number.

Daniel’s anger boiled when Chantelle hung up on him. Frustrated, he tapped her contact and called again, but the call didn’t go through.

He refused to give up and tried calling her over and over, but every attempt failed. Daniel began to wonder if his phone was broken.

Ashton hesitated before speaking. "Sir, Mrs. Wilson might have blocked your number."

Daniel turned to him with a cold glare. If looks could kill, Ashton would’ve turned to ashes on the spot.

"Stop working, Daniel. Let’s have some wine and relax." Philip strolled into the room and casually placed a hand on Daniel’s shoulder, but Daniel shot him a sharp glare.

Ashton kept signaling Philip with his eyes, warning him not to make things worse. But Philip, exhausted from too many late nights, completely missed the hint. All he could think about was sleep and alcohol.

Leaning closer to Daniel, Philip cheekily said, "What’s with the long face? Missing Chantie already? You’re the one who acted cold and pushed her away. Now she’s probably forgotten you and found someone younger than you for herself."

After Philip’s teasing, Ashton covered his face and quickly left the room to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.

Daniel glared at Philip so intensely that Philip instinctively touched his neck. Realizing he might’ve gone too far, Philip added, "I believe in Chantie. She hasn’t been with anyone else these past six years. She would’ve taken you back if you hadn’t ignored her."

Ashton, who was halfway out the door, suddenly tripped over his feet.

Philip should have stopped talking. He was only making things worse.

"Thea’s got her eye on another man," Daniel suddenly uttered with a mocking smile curling on his lips.

Philip quickly exploded. "W–What does that have to do with me? It’s not like she’s got good taste in men!"

"He’s good-looking. They’re living together now." Daniel slowly poured himself a drink. The haze in his eyes carefully hid his true emotions.

Philip didn’t know why, but his heart started pounding. He was panicking for no reason.

"No way. How could she let some random guy live with her?"

"Really? And how did you get into her place before? With your looks, right?" Daniel said casually. "People can get tired of even the most handsome face. Besides, it’s been a while since you last saw her."

Hiding his own turmoil, Daniel turned the focus on Philip instead.

Philip’s face went pale. "I’m calling her right now."

"Put it on speaker," Daniel urged him.

Philip shot him a doubtful look. Daniel, keeping his voice flat, said, "Think of me as your advisor."

Philip didn’t really trust him, but it was better than nothing. He had no choice but to count on Daniel for help.

Philip made the call, but no one answered. His heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was stuck in his throat.

At that moment, Thea was busy pouring a drink for Clinton. With a sweet smile, she asked, "You really don’t have anywhere to stay?"

Clinton nodded, but his eyes stayed on Chantelle. "The hate comments online are getting worse. My agency wants me to go along with it and use the drama for publicity. I can’t take it anymore. I don’t want to go back."

"Then stay here. We have plenty of rooms..." The look on Chantelle’s face made Thea stop mid-sentence.

"Your phone’s ringing, Auntie Thea." Railer noticed her phone buzzing on the coffee table and handed it to her.

Thea frowned when she saw the caller ID. The call ended before she could answer it.

Just as she was about to put the phone down and convince Chantelle to let Clinton stay, it rang again. This time, it was Daniel.

"Chantie, why is Mr. Wilson calling me?" Thea asked, looking confused.

Chantelle glanced over and said, "Ignore him."

Thea placed the phone down and pretended not to hear it ring.

"Why isn’t she answering, Daniel?" Philip asked, scratching his head in frustration.

I hadn’t done anything to upset Thea lately, so why was she suddenly avoiding my calls?

Was it because a good-looking guy was staying at her place?

Still, Daniel took the news harder than Philip did. Thea would never dare ignore his call. The only reason she would be is if Chantelle were beside her and told her not to answer the call.

"Daniel, help me quickly. What should I do now?" Philip paced around him in a panic.

Philip’s nonstop talking gave Daniel a headache. "She’s not your girlfriend. So why do you care if she’s living with someone else?"

Philip was stunned for a moment. "Right. What does it matter to me if she’s living with someone else?"

Still, the whole thing made him feel annoyed.

With a gloomy look, Daniel pushed Philip aside and headed straight to his room.

Lying on the sofa, he made a video call to Railer. He didn’t want the kids to know he was having problems with Chantelle, as he thought they might get worried. But since he had no other way to reach her, he had to rely on his sons.

"Daddy." Railer’s flat tone made Daniel feel like the boy could read his mind.

"Are you home?" Daniel asked casually.

"Yeah." Like Daniel, Railer kept his words short. It made the conversation hard to continue.

The silence became awkward as the Father and son stared at each other through the screen.

"What’s your mommy doing?" Daniel finally asked, revealing what he really wanted to know. If he didn’t ask directly, Railer probably wouldn’t understand.