My Billionaire Husband

“Kidnap Lydia Henderson?”

Wallace was so shocked by Leo’s question that he held his breath.

He could feel the abrupt drop in temperature around him as well as the murderous aura he was getting from Leo.

Naturally, he remembered the kidnapping case that had caused a sensation in the city five years ago.

Once again, he answered truthfully. “To be honest, the Lawsons did come to me and promised me a hefty reward, but I rejected their offer. They were pretty unhappy with me because of it.”

He gnashed his teeth and continued, “I might just be a gangster without much education, but I know what business dealings to steer clear of. Why would I kidnap Miss Henderson when she’s done nothing to me?”

“I see…” Leo nodded and left it at that.

Wallace was a man of character and had integrity. If he was lying, Leo would be able to tell with just a look.

His silence made Wallace hesitate for a moment. Then, he asked tentatively, “Who’s Miss Henderson to you?”

Leo’s eyes turned cold. He glanced at him and said, “Don’t ask what you don’t need to know about.”

Wallace shrank his neck and said, “Alright, sorry, I said too much.”

When his men saw him act like a yes-man around Leo, they could not help staring at Leo. Just who was this young man who had managed to defeat their boss in just one round?

Then, a silence stretched between Leo and Wallace. The former chose not speak, while the latter didn’t dare to ask further.

Redley was not the only top underground organization in Emerdale. Leo was just trying his luck when he asked about Lydia’s kidnapping.

Suddenly, he asked, “Who did you learn your Lightning Boxing Technique from?”

Wallace was taken aback, but soon said in surprise, “I bought the manual on the black market at a high price about a year ago.”

“Black market, huh?”

Leo nodded. Martial Maestro would never sell an important item like the manual for the Lightning Boxing Technique for money. The only possible culprits were his students.

But those students wouldn’t be foolish enough to sell the real thing. They would just sell a simplified version of the manual to trick unwitting buyers.

He did not point this out. Instead, he said, “If you have any questions about the Lightning Boxing Technique in the future, you can come to me.”

He had formed quite a good impression of Wallace, so he decided to offer him some guidance.

“Really?!”

Wallace was overjoyed and even found it unbelievable. “Can I really ask you for advice?”

“Sure,” Leo replied calmly. “But you have to make sure you pick your collaborators wisely. Oh, and it’s not easy for you to carry on like this. It’s time that you make your business legal.”

“Yes! I’ll cut off all business collaborations with the Lawsons and O’Brien’s right now!”

Wallace was well aware that Leo was advising him. He became so excited that he immediately expressed his stance on the matter.

“Okay, you can leave now.”

Leo waved his hand, signaling Wallace to leave. Then, he shouted toward the slide, “Emilia, it’s time to go. Let’s go and find Mom.”

“Coming!”

Emilia slid down the slide with ease and ran to her father, taking his hand. “Dad, I want to ride a horse.”

This stunned Leo. “Horse? What horse?”

She pointed to his head.

Leo let out a hearty laughter. “Oh, I’m the horse. Come on then.”

While still laughing, he picked Emilia up and let her sit on his shoulders. The father-and-daughter pair turned around and left in the direction of the setting sun.

Wallace and his men watched this in disbelief. It was difficult for them to imagine that a man so skilled in the Lightning Boxing Technique would be such a doting father.

For some reason, he felt a little envious of Leo’s life. He could not help himself from calling out to Leo.

Leo stopped and looked back at him.

“Dude, can you at least tell me your name?” Wallace shouted.

Leo smiled. “My name is Leo Cohen.”

His answer made Wallace frown. He muttered to himself, wondering why Leo’s name sounded so familiar to him…

Suddenly, one of his lackeys slapped his forehead and exclaimed, “I remember now! Five years ago, he almost married Kate Lawson, the eldest daughter of the Lawson family, but he disappeared during the wedding. I think that’s the same guy.”

Wallace’s expression changed that instant.

—-

It was six o’clock in the evening when Leo and Emilia arrived at the International Commerce Center.

The nightlife in Emerdale had just begun to swing into motion.

“Mr. Cohen.”

Leo had just walked in when he heard a woman’s voice behind him.

He turned his head around, only to see a woman in a white suit standing behind him. She had a professional smile on her face. It was none other than Lydia’s secretary, Rachel Ward.

“Hello, Miss Ward.”

Leo smiled and nodded. “Where’s Lydia?”

“She’s still having a meeting with the company execs,” Rachel answered.

Finding this strange, Leo asked, “Why is it taking so long?”

Rachel’s expression became unnatural but she still smiled. “I’m sorry, Mr. Cohen, but that’s company business. I can’t reveal that kind of information to you.”

Leo nodded, expressing his understanding.

Rachel looked like she was on her way off work, so he did not ask any more questions and took Emilia to the floor where Lydia was having her meeting.

The 68th to 88th floors of the International Commerce Center belonged to Atlas Beauty, and the meeting room was on the 78th floor.

The moment the elevator doors opened, he heard Lydia’s loud and furious voice from the meeting room.

“You pay what you owe! Isn’t that the rule? Don’t you know how long they’ve been dragging their feet about paying us? Two whole months now!”

“You can’t get the money back in half a month, fine, I can understand that. But it’s been two months, and there’s still been no progress? Unless there’s a problem with your work ethic, I can only assume that you’re all incompetent.”

“This week is your deadline. If you still can’t get the rest of the money back by week’s end, I want everyone in charge of this project out of here!”

Lydia’s voice was filled with monstrous fury. It was as if someone had pushed her too far, causing her to fly into a rage.

Leo was not perturbed, but Emilia was so scared that she hugged his thigh.

Soon, the door of the meeting room opened, and a large number of company executives walked out with dispirited expressions and passed them by.

What Leo did not notice was that one of the executives, a beautiful and curvaceous woman, stopped and looked back at him involuntarily.

She was eager to find the familiar figure, but Leo had long disappeared amid the crowd.

“What’s wrong, Irene?”

Her subordinate was surprised and said, “The elevator door is closed.”

Irene Garcia stood still for a long time before coming to her senses. She shook her head with a lonely expression and said, “Nothing. I just thought of a person.”

Her subordinate seemed taken aback but he did not inquire further. This was, after all, his boss’s personal matter.

Leo held Emilia’s hand and walked into the meeting room, where they immediately found Lydia.

She had her back against them. She was the only one in the large meeting room.

The lights were off, and the sole illumination came from the dim light in the corridor, which made her shadow look stretched.

She was holding her forehead with both hands, looking exhausted. No one knew what she was thinking.

Emilia noticed that her mother was in a bad mood as well. She hid behind Leo and timidly shouted, “Mommy…”

Lydia, who was sitting in the president’s seat, trembled. She turned around and saw Leo and Emilia standing behind her hand-in-hand and looking at her.

“Emilia…”

She stood up and spread open her arms at once.

Only then did Emilia run over and embrace her.

She picked Emilia up. Leo walked over to them and carefully asked, “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

Whether Leo was a pauper or a rich man, he had always treated Lydia with the utmost of care.

Lydia shook her head and did not answer. She looked at him with a strange expression, asking, “Why are you so late?”

“There was an incident at the kindergarten, and we got delayed a little,” Leo said, smiling. “You should find out more about Emilia’s life in school next time. Don’t just focus on the work stuff.”

Lydia fell into momentary silence. “I’ll adjust my schedule then.”

“I know you value work very much, but I’m back now.”

He looked at her with a sincere expression. “It’s my job to earn money and support the family.”

Lydia smiled but did not respond. She said, “Let’s go home.”

Then, she walked out of the meeting room with Emilia in her arms.Property © of NôvelDrama.Org.

Suddenly, Leo said, “Lydia.”

“What is it?” She turned around to look at him while carrying her daughter.

“I know you despised me while I was gone, but now that I’m back, at least let me help you share some of your burdens.”

He shook his head at her with an earnest expression. “I don’t want you to shoulder everything alone. It makes me feel useless.”

A peculiar expression surfaced on Lydia’s beautiful face. She looked away, not meeting his eyes. “I’m used to it, and you can’t help with this matter anyway.”

Her response provoked him. “You haven’t told me anything yet. How would you know that I can’t help?”

Lydia fell into a long period of silence. In the face of Leo’s persistence, she had no choice but to compromise.

Five minutes later, she looked at him and said, “Fine, I’ll tell you.”