Chapter 10 “Come in!” Cherise shouted loud enough so Julian could hear her. There was still time for her to get ready for tonight; she might as well ask her brother if he had any information.
The door handle turned, and the door opened, revealing her brother’s handsome face. Cherise wondered if he had found anyone after three years apart.
“Sit here, brother.” Cherise patted the space next to her on the bed.
Hudson and Julian both had handsome faces and sharp features that could make all the elite–class ladies swoon, but Hudson was cold, while Julian had a gentler aura. He always had a soft smile gracing his face, but that gentle smile could also freeze people in fear.
Maybe because they were both domineering CEOS, Cherise thought to herself.
Once Julian sat down, Cherise immediately told him of her plan for the night.
Julian frowned and looked at her arm and leg, inspecting the burn wounds. Thankfully, due to the ointment he got from his friend who worked at the International Research Centre, his sister’s wounds had pretty much healed except those that were hit and scalded by the pan.
“You can go tonight, but no alcohol,” he reminded Cherise a little bit sternly. “The alcohol won’t help in healing those wounds faster.” His sister had smooth and flawless skin. It would be a pity if those wounds left marks.
“I know,” Cherise smiled at her brother. Everyone always cared about her, and they were even always more distraught than herself if she was injured or sick.
“Brother, do you have any girlfriend?” Cherise asked curiously.
Julian was taken aback by his sister’s question before letting out a soft laugh. “I have enough on my plate with being the Alster’s group CEO, and having you back will make me even busier.”
“Hey, I won’t cause you any trouble,” Cherise countered. “I’m a grown woman now. You don’t need to care for me like when I was small.”
“Yes,” Julian pretended to agree, but then he said, “but I still need to create trouble for the Amerys for mistreating you.”
“No.” Cherise shook her head firmly. “Let me take care of it myself.”
Julian was actually afraid Cherise had turned weak after being bullied for three years, but his worry seemed
unfounded as he looked at the determination in her eyes.
His sister was still the powerful Alster heiress, and it relieved him. “I won’t intervene, then,” he smiled.
{
“Brother, do you want to come with us tonight?” Cherise planned to introduce Erika to him. One was her best friend and the other was her brother, but they had never met!
Julian shook his head. “Next time, I’ll accompany you.”
“Alright.” They had all the time now that she was back home. “Did you have any information regarding that incident?”
Julian’s gentle face turned frosty. That incident left a scar in his sister’s heart. As someone with a sister complex, he also wanted to know who was behind it. Unfortunately…
“No, there is no lead whatsoever. We even still didn’t know the reason behind it.” It was frustrating for him. As one of the most influential figures in the entire world, he could still not help her sister.
“It’s fine,” Cherise tried to reassure her brother. “Sooner or later, we will find them.”
Julian suddenly had an idea. “Why don’t we reach out to Q, the best hacker? Or K? They should be able to find some information.”
Cherise nearly couldn’t keep her face straight. No one knew Q was her. It was her secret identity since she was around 11 years old. No one in her family knew she was good at coding and everything. As for K… She didn’t know who he was, but he was as good as her.
She could only reply, “I heard both of them have disappeared from the hacker communities.”
Julian seemed to think about something but smiled again and rubbed Cherise’s head. “You go and have fun tonight. Don’t forget to be nice to Logan. He’s been working hard as a stand–in CEO of the Angelworld Jewelry for you in the past three years.”
Cherise’s eyes widened in surprise. “He has?”
“From behind the scenes.” Julian chuckled. “He knew Grandpa would give it to you, so he’s been managing it. He’s very loyal to you.”
Cherise couldn’t believe it. Logan was an orphan and lived on the street when she first knew him. He was fighting with a gang of other orphans over a loaf of bread, and Cherise saved him. She brought him to her house, and somehow, her parents adopted him, but no one knew about it. He was given Cherise’s mom’s last name instead of Alster.
Since then, he became Logan Jennings, and they found out he was brilliant with a high IQ. They tutored him, and he grew up as a fine young man. Well, eight years had passed, and he should be 25 this year, four years older than Cherise, and she hadn’t seen him for over five years.
{
When Cherise’s parents died in a plane crash, Logan was sent away to manage her mom’s company overseas. So she didn’t realize he was now living in Country B just to manage Angelworld Jewelry while also being the CEO of
the Jennings Group.
Now she couldn’t wait to meet both Erika and Logan! They would be like before she married Hudson – being best friends and doing many things together. The thought of it made her feel excited.
Late at night in the Amery Tower, Hudson still had no intention of stopping working until Miles spoke.
“Sir, it’s 10 pm now,” Miles reminded him of the time. “We do not have anything urgent to take care of.”
Hudson rubbed his forehead and checked his watch. It was the usual time he went home, and as Miles had said,
there wasn’t anything urgent.
He closed his laptop, took his suit jacket, and went downstairs, where the car awaited him. Once inside, he loosened his tie and closed his eyes, thinking of everything that had happened in the past few days – Luis‘ death, taking Emely with him to Country B, and his divorce from Cherise.
He didn’t know how to feel about all those events. He wasn’t one to show any emotions or even feel anything. Sure, he was saddened and felt guilty about his brother’s death, but why didn’t he feel happy that he finally could take care of his first love, who slipped out of his grasp when they were younger? Why didn’t he feel happy that he finally divorced someone he always thought of as a nuisance?
When they arrived at the mansion, everything was dark. An image of Cherise waiting for him, sometimes asleep on the couch or sprawled on the dining table but constantly waking up and smiling brightly, greeting him at the door, asking if he wanted her to warm up dinner, flashed through his mind.
Irritation rose in his heart again. Why would he think of her? Hudson quickly went to the master bedroom and could smell Cherise’s lingering scent, which didn’t help curb his irritation.
He took a quick shower and lay on the bed; the exhaustion stacking up over the past few days easily pulled him
into a slumber.
A few minutes into his sleep, he began dreaming.
“Hudson, no!” Emely shouted, and he felt himself being pushed forward, and the sound of tire screeching was
heard.
“Hudson, watch out!” His brother’s voice was heard before he was shoved sideways, and he saw a pool of blood
at the place where he had just stood and where his brother should be.
“Run, little one! Run!” he shouted at the little boy as he tried to fend off their attackers. The next thing he heard was a gunshot, and in a panic, he ran toward where the little boy had run to and saw a pool of blood.
The attackers got to him and laughed as they dragged him back. “Your little one had been shot dead and thrown into the sea!”
Hudson suddenly jolted awake; his b*dy was drenched in cold sweat, shivering in fear, and he was panting heavily as if he was still running for his life. He rubbed his face and thought of the dreams. Those nightmares…
Luis‘ death was a new one. But the other two, especially the last one, had haunted him ever since it happened. It even caused him to have PTSD.
He checked his watch and saw he had only been sleeping for 30 minutes. There was no point in trying to sleep anymore. He knew his insomnia had returned.
Hudson took his phone and called his best friend’s number.
