Chapter 4

On the third day, Amelia planned a grand proposal for Samuel.

Samuel pleaded with her, "We have to get Matthew's blessing. We're a family, after all."

My burns hadn't healed yet, but they made me leave the hospital early.

Just as I was about to get into the car, Jonathan, who was sitting in the back seat, shut the door with a look of disgust. "Dad, I don't want to sit with Uncle Matthew. He smells."

"Sorry about that, Matthew. Jonathan's still young and doesn't know any better," Samuel said.

But despite the apology, he didn't move to open the door.

Charlotte hesitated for a moment, but after mumbling something, she turned and looked straight ahead.

I said blankly, "I'll take a cab."

…

After returning to the Laurent residence, the housekeepers stayed far away whenever they saw me.

I summoned what little strength I had left and made my way back to my room. I took out my phone and saw a message from Zoey. "I'll pick you up at 2:00 pm."

Along with her message came a video.

She had sent another message after that. "You're a Robinson. Stop letting them walk all over you."

I checked the time and found that there were still three hours left.

I opened WhatsApp and added the son of the old man who had been in the bed next to mine the night before. I sent him the agreed payment and asked him to drop something off at the police station at 1:30 pm.

Once that was done, I sat quietly and listened as the noise rose from downstairs.

A moment later, Samuel brought me a set of clothes. "Matthew, I prepared these clothes for you."

I glanced at the so-called outfit. It was made of barely any fabric, and the quality was poor. Even a male escort would dress better than this.

I looked at him with a faint, humorless smile.

His eyes burned with fury. "Even at a time like this, you still dare to act so arrogantly!"

But the moment Amelia appeared, his expression shifted. He said in an aggrieved tone, "Matthew doesn't seem to like the clothes I prepared for him. My arms are sore from holding them up, but he still won't take them."

Amelia frowned, her eyes full of impatience as she looked at me. She called over the housekeeper, Sophia Caldwell. "Sophia, turn what he's wearing into the style of a suit. Since he doesn't like what Sam picked out, you design something for him."

The housekeepers had never shown me any respect over the years.

After receiving Amelia's order, Sophia approached me with scissors and began cutting into my clothes. The fresh cuts overlapped with my earlier burns, making me bleed again. I groaned in pain, but I could only watch helplessly as she cut my clothes to pieces.

Amelia's expression hardened. "Enough."

Samuel was startled, and Amelia pulled him away. Before leaving, he turned and shot me a mocking glance.

I clutched my shoulders and curled up on the floor, staring at my phone. A familiar ringtone sounded, and I quickly picked it up.

"I'm in the garden. Come down," Zoey said.

I followed the sound of rotor blades to the garden of the Laurent residence.

The garden was packed with people. Samuel stood there, his smile polished. Two children stood beside him, looking like a flower boy and a flower girl.

Amelia wore a gown. At the crescendo of the music, she went down on one knee.

At that exact moment, the helicopter's downdraft scattered the crowd as it landed in the middle of the garden. I dragged my exhausted body through the crowd, took Zoey's hand, and collapsed into her arms.

Before I lost consciousness, I heard her murmur, "How did you get yourself into such a state?"

Just then, the doorbell of the Laurent residence rang.

The butler opened the door, and police officers walked in. "We apologize for the interruption, Mr. Bennett. You're currently under suspicion of deliberate arson resulting in bodily harm."

Amelia didn't seem to have recovered from the helicopter's sudden arrival and departure. She grabbed one of the officers by the arm. "What are you talking about? Matthew was the one who started the fire."

Then she called out to Sophia, who was standing behind her, "Where is Matthew? Get him down here!"

Sophia didn't dare speak.

One of the other housekeepers answered cautiously, "Mr. Robinson seems to have left on the helicopter just now."