Chapter 17

Five days passed within the blink of an eye.

Early the next morning, Emma woke up early. She put on a formal black suit.

It was a memorial ceremony, after all. Therefore, she had to dress in formal clothes instead of casual clothes.

When Emma stepped out of her room, Thomas was already not in the house. He did not even answer his phone when she called. She unwittingly became puzzled.

When she came to the living hall, a nutritious breakfast was already served on the table.

Emma sat down to eat while reading the note left on the table by Thomas. [At ten o’clock in the morning, I’ll arrange a car to pick you up - Tom].

Emma smiled. ‘How thoughtful of him.’

At that moment, Johnson had also woken up and went to the living hall. He asked, “Emma, do you really want to go fool around with Thomas?”

Emma frowned and said, “How is that fooling around? Isn’t Thomas supposed to attend the memorial service to commemorate his deceased brother?”

Johnson scoffed, “I didn’t say he’s not supposed to do so. However, he has to work out the situation depending on the occasion.

“I’ve been informed that the work at West River Coast will be completed by today. Scott’s grave will definitely not be preserved. Thomas’ trip down there this time would only end up in failure. Emma, listen to me, don’t follow him and meddle in things you shouldn’t. It would be very troublesome if anything were to happen by then.”

“Don’t worry, Father. I know what I’m doing.”

Johnson heaved a sigh. “Fine. I’ll go to work first. If anything happens, you can call me.”

He carried his briefcase and walked toward the entrance. He paused mid-stride, turned his body around partially, and said, “Emma, it’s me who insisted on handing your hand over to Thomas in marriage in the beginning. I was wrong. If you find that Thomas is not reliable and decide to divorce and remarry, don’t keep it to yourself. Let me know, you will have my full support. This is the small bit of compensation I can provide for you.”

Emma was stunned.

Indeed, Thomas had nothing now. He could not even provide for himself and had to rely on the Hill family to support him.

Any other woman in her shoes would be unable to bear with such an incompetent husband.

Divorce would be the best option.

However, Emma recalled Thomas’s promises to her. She recalled her trust in Thomas, as well as the happiness she experienced with him over the past few days.

So, she decided to give Thomas one more chance.

“Father, I wouldn’t consider that at the moment.

“I wish to continue staying with Thomas.

“At least for now.”

Johnson nodded and said, “Alright. We won’t talk about this for the time being. Emma, if you wish to back out anytime, you could always let me know, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Take your time to eat. I’ll go to work now.”

Immediately after Johnson had driven away, a black Audi stopped in front of the Hill family’s entrance.

A man with a sturdy physique came out of the car.

“May I know who you are looking for?” Emma went to him and asked.

The man bowed deeply. He said with a smile, “Good day, Ms. Hill. I’m Libra. I’m Boss… Uh… I’m Thomas’s comrade. I purposely came here to pick you up to attend the second young master’s memorial ceremony.”

“Oh, so you’re the one Thomas assigned to pick me up, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Okay, let’s go, then.”

Emma did not find anything suspicious. She locked the door and immediately got into the car. Libra closed the car door respectfully. Then, he got into the car, turned on the engine, and drove toward West River Coast.

......

At West River Coast, a white SUV parked in an open space.

Darcy and his nephew, Brendon were in the car. They smoked cigarettes while looking at the scenery by the river.

Brendon grinned and said, “Uncle, you are truly good at getting things done. You actually asked Mr. Jagger to complete most of the work within five days. But I don’t understand this. Why didn’t you demolish Scott’s grave right away?”

Darcy said in disdain, “You don’t understand. I’m actually waiting for the time to destroy Thomas’ younger brother’s grave before his eyes as he begins the memorial service! Think about it, even if he cries and begs me to spare his brother’s grave, it’ll be useless, and that feeling will be amazing.”

Brendon nodded his head and said, “Uncle, you’ve planned everything. I feel my entire body boil with rage whenever I recall being beaten up by that rascal last time!”

“Speaking of which…” Darcy cast a glance at Brendon and continued, “Thomas has been enlisted in the military for many years, so his skills are not bad. You better call more people to come around. Don’t let history repeat itself by and get beaten up again like last time.”

“Don’t worry, Uncle. I’ve called three truckloads of people. Moreover, I’ve even prepared real fighters! Trust me, how could my network in Shaol be unable to handle a loser who just returned from the military?”

“Okay. Today, we shall teach that rascal a lesson so that he would learn the consequences of offending us.”

The duo laughed at the same time. They seemed to have foreseen Thomas’ pathetic look under their torment.

......

On the other hand, Emma was on the way to Scott’s grave under Libra’s lead.

On the way, she noticed that the river bank had been locked.

‘It’s just like what my sister has said to me, the river bank has been blocked. Outsiders could not get close to the river.

‘It looks like today we can’t hold a memorial service for Scott at the river bank.’

Meanwhile, Emma noticed there was hardly anyone on the road. None of the Hill family members had arrived except her.

Watching such a scene, Emma felt a little dejected.

‘Thomas must be very sad, right?

‘Today, it seems like not many people are going to attend the memorial service.’

While she was wallowing in her grief, suddenly, Libra pressed on the accelerator. The car drove through a gap in the blockade zone and headed toward the grave.

Emma was shocked and asked, “Libra, what are you doing?! Turn back!”

Libra grinned and said, “There’s no way we could return. We have to attend the memorial service. Shouldn't it be held by the grave?”

“Stop fooling around. Today, this place will be reconstructed. It has been blocked. Outsiders are not allowed to enter. If you barge in so rashly and are found out, you would be arrested and put in jail.”

Libra laughed and said, “Ms. Hill, don’t worry. Even if God is with them, they wouldn’t dare to arrest and put me in jail!”

After he finished speaking, the car was already stopped by the grave.

Libra opened the car door and respectfully invited Emma to get out of the car.

Emma looked around. There was not even a person present. She asked nervously, “Um… Where’s Thomas?”

Libra pointed at the sky. “Over there.”

Emma looked up, but she saw nothing in the sky.

“Where is he?”

“Three, two, one, here he comes!”

At that moment, the roaring sound of helicopter engines were heard. A dozen helicopters flew in from afar. White cloth dozens of meters long were hung at the back of each helicopter to mourn for the deceased.

Under the traction of the helicopters, the surface of the river abruptly “split apart”. A huge cruise ship slowly headed toward them. The water was pushed to the side, and the animals were shocked.

Thomas stood proudly with his hands behind his back on top of the cruise ship.