Chapter 27 No One’s Hitting You
His fists clenched suddenly. “Find that man. I want him to pay for what he did,”
Jake didn’t say a word; he turned and left to make the call.
Andres slowly crouched down, looking at Chloe calmly.
She sniffled: her grape–sized eyes brimmed with tears as she looked up at him. “Sir.”
Finished
Andres instinctively reached out and wiped her tears away, staring straight at her. “Chloe, remember this starting today, no one will ever dare to bully you again. The people who hurt you before. I’ll make them pay. Even if we don’t like you, we would never let anyone insult you, I’ll break their arms and legs and get revenge for you.”
Chloe stared at him, stunned. Andres’s face was cold as frost, he looked just like one of those ruthless villains on TV.
But to her, he felt like a good guy.
She climbed out of Marvin’s arms and gently wrapped her arms around Andres in a hug. “Thank you. You’re so kindl.”
Andres’s heart stirred. He reached out and rested his hand on her small back.
It was the first time he’d ever touched his own child. For some reason, all he wanted to do was hold her until she fell asleep.
As if on impulse, he scooped her up. “Time for bed.
come
Chloe rested her head on his shoulder and let tout a soft hum. She looked over at Marvin. “Marvin c
Marvin followed without hesitation. “Okay, I’ll come with you.”
They laid her down on the bed. Marvin picked up a wet wipe to gently clean her face, then handed her a teddy bear. “Let the bear sleep with you
–
Chloe nodded, hugging the bear with one hand and gripping Marvin’s hand with the other as she peacefully closed her eyes.
Andres stood silently nearby, his expression grim.
Jake knocked on the door. “Dad, we found him.”
It was deep into the night.
Rainmere was silent as death. In a dilapidated basement, a man sat on the ground, eyes filled with panic. His hands and feet were bound: several other men were tied up just like him.
Andres stood beneath the flickering light, an iron rod in hand, murder in his eyes.
The men’s mouths were stuffed, and they whimpered continuously.
Andres snapped his fingers.
The cloth was ripped from the mouth of the man in the middle, who immediately shouted, “Sir, we’ve never done anything to you! Please–please let us go!”
Andres gave a signal to one of his men.
The man pulled out a phone and held it up. “Have you seen this kid before? Did you hit her?”
The man’s face changed instantly. “Chloe? That girl? Who are you? What’s your connection to her?”
Connection Andres narrowed his eyes with deadly intent. His tone was flat. “I’m her father.”
The man’s pupils shrank. Her father!
Andres handed the iron rod off to his subordinate.
The basement was instantly filled with bloodcurdling screams. He sat down in a battered armchair, legs crossed, eyes filled
Chapter 27 No One’s Hitting You
with murderous fury so dense it could devour everything around him.
Finished
Only when the man’s screams faded into unconsciousness–when the others were so scared they wet their pants–did he finally seem a little satisfied.
Then his phone rang.
Marvin said, “She’s asleep.”
Andres stood up. “Keep going
With that, he walked off. The screams behind him grew fainter, eventually disappearing altogether.
Outside, Andres looked up at the night sky. Stars dotted the heavens, one of them shining especially bright
He narrowed his eyes with contempt. “Alice, you really had better be dead. Otherwise, I would never forgive you.”
Doing those kinds of things in front of his child.
Giving birth to his child and then cutting off all contact, raising her like some kind of animal.
fter like that.
Even if he hadn’t wanted the kid, she should never have had to suffer
He turned to his men. “Find a highly educated nanny to take good care of her. She needs to like kids–make sure there’s no criminal history.”
His man nodded. “Understood, Mr. Tate.”
Meanwhile, Chloe clung tightly to her teddy bear She whimpered restlessly in her sleep.
Tears rolled down her cheeks. Marvin stayed by her side for a full hour, wiping her tears away.
Jake and Desmond stared at him.
Desmond mocked him. “Seriously, Marvin? Weren’t you the one who hated her the most out of all of us? Now you’ve only spent one day with her, and you’re acting like a whole new person?
Marvin quietly pulled his hand back and straightened his spine. “I just couldn’t stand her crying with no one comforting her, that’s all. Nothing more.”
Jake said, “Heh.”
Desmond sneered. “Yeah, Chloe’s pitiful and all, but don’t forget–her mom nearly killed ours. And she tricked our dad into having Chloe with her through some shady methods. Chloe’s just a filthy child.”
Marvin’s eyes darkened. “She’s already shed that skin. She’s wearing the best clothes now. She’s not dirty.”
Jake replied, “Heh.”
Marvin pressed his lips together and said nothing more. He stood up and walked away.
Hayden’s ashtray was already filled with cigarette butts.
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