Chapter 7 Find Out Who Is The Mastermind

• Natalie could not believe her ears.
• Maybe he needs to attend to something important, and that’s why he was in such a hurry to leave? If that’s the case, he might come back again later. I mean, he has to... right?
• Thus, she asked the nurse for a sticky note and scribbled down her contact number. Handing it back to the nurse, she said, “This is my cellphone number. If he comes back, please give it to him.
• Meanwhile, at the conference room of Thompson Group’s headquarters, the atmosphere was solemn.
• Shane was standing at the front of the room like a king surveying his subjects. His cold gaze swept across everyone in the room.
• Noting how he had not seen several of them for quite a long while, his lips twitched slightly. All of a sudden, a burst of harsh laughter escaped his lips.
• “Are we giving out dividends today? All of you are actually in attendance! Wow, what a rare occasion...”
• His deep voice rang out authoritatively, cracking through the air and slamming into the men seated by the table.
• At that moment, none of them dared to speak up.
• The reason for the full attendance was because news of Shane’s kidnapping had spread. Everybody who heard about it came to find out the truth.
• If the rumor was true, then Thompson Group was in for a new change of leadership.
• But the fact that Shane was standing before them now and looking perfectly fine, made them realize the news was nothing but a rumor.
• After several seconds of silence, Mike Lanner, the oldest among the men present, stated, “Hahaha! It’s just been a long while since any of us old geezers came to the company. We thought we would pop in and see how the company is doing.”
• His words seemed to cut through the tension in the air. After his daring statement, the rest of the men fervently expressed their agreement.
• Nevertheless, Shane was not oblivious to what these sly old foxes were thinking. But, he made no move to expose them right here.
• Oh, is that so? If you want to put it that way, then two can play at that game...
• “I haven’t seen all of you in ages either. How about we all have lunch together?” Shane went along with the crowd and asked.
• “I’m afraid I’ll have to turn down you invitation. I still have something to do at home, so I’ll be taking my leave.” Following that, Mike grabbed his cane and stood up, heading for the door.
• Under his lead, the rest of the men made their excuses and left as well.
• Soon, only Shane remained in the conference room.
• He stared at the empty room, his gaze turning chilly while a menacing aura emanated from him.
• “Silas.”
• “Yes, Mr. Thompson?” His assistant, Silas Campbell, entered the room at his call.
• “Find out who’s the mastermind behind this incident.”
• “Got it.” Silas nodded and turned to leave. Just then, Shane’s voice sounded again, “But before that, head over to the hospital and give five million to that woman.”
• Shane’s eyes narrowed as Natalie’s face appeared in his mind. Recalling how she had said she would compensate him, his grim expression lightened a little.
• But then again, he was not someone who liked owing others anything and it was no exception this time.
• Unfortunately, by the time Silas arrived at the hospital, Natalie had already left. Not only that, the nurse had somehow lost the sticky note Natalie left earlier, which was just his luck.
• After that, a week went by without any contact from that man.
• In the meantime, Natalie was relieved, thinking that the man did not seem to want to pursue the matter further.
• Anyway, the weather was perfect that day. It was bright, and the skies were clear with warm sun.
• Since it was the weekend, Natalie brought her kids to a nearby shopping mall.
• There was a gelato shop at the mall, which was very well-known for its rich and creamy texture.
• As soon as they arrived, Sharon, the gelato-lover, had been quick to point the shop out to her mother.
• Thus, they stood in line for twenty minutes before it was their turn.
• Looking down at her daughter, Natalie asked, “Sharon, what flavor would you like?”
• “Strawberry!” Sharon’s reply was a little high-pitched. She could hardly contain her excitement at the prospect of getting to taste that sweet, creamy frozen dessert.
• Natalie turned her attention to Connor next. “How about you, Connor?”
• “I don’t want anything. Heh... desserts are for girls.” The little boy refused with a scornful sniff then walked off.
• Standing at the side, he glanced around the mall in boredom. Just then, his gaze drifted to one of the boutique stores right across them.
• Hang on... isn’t that woman the one who bullied Mommy the other day?