Chapter 47 Father-Daughter Reunion
They were total fools! They had been fooled for close to 20 years! The more they sacrificed for Phoebe and Isabel, the more it made them look like idiots. The nicer they were to Phoebe and Isabel, the more they appeared like fools! Dan was so furious that he felt like his capillaries were about to burst. There was only a single thought in his head right then: I want to kill phoebe! I want to step on her throat and crush her windpipe, choking her to her death!
“Dan…” Nigel fixed his guilty and sorrowful gaze on Dan. “I’m sorry… It’s all my fault…” Nigel was proud of his intellect and his capabilities, and he couldn’t believe that he had made such a stupid mistake. Back then, after the car accident, Nigel had suspected that someone was trying to harm his son intentionally. He had ordered his men to investigate the driver, but his men had told him that there was nothing fishy about the accident!
Nigel had no idea if Bryan was skillful enough to bribe the man that Nigel had sent to investigate the case, or if the man had simply been too careless with his work. It could’ve also been because Nigel only suspected the driver but not Bryan, since Bryan was dead. So, the man Nigel sent had only investigated the driver’s background without looking into Bryan’s actions. Perhaps that was why they didn’t manage to realize anything.
The incident had happened so long ago, so there was no way for Nigel to find out why they didn’t notice Bryan’s evil little scheme all those years ago. Ultimately, Nigel had been fooled for close to 20 years, and he had helped to care for his enemy’s daughter and granddaughter. He had even provided his enemy’s daughter and granddaughter with endless respect and care… I’m so dumb. I’m really so dumb… I used to be so guilty over Bryan’s death. After that, I was troubled by the fact that I had to get married to Phoebe. All of my mental energy was spent on feeling guilty and troubled—I never had the chance to suspect that the honest and kind-looking Bryan was actually an evil man!
Nigel felt apologetic toward his son for not having dug out the truth all those years ago. Because of Nigel, Dan had treated his enemy as his benefactor and had spent all his years showering love on Phoebe and Isabel. The amount of love and care that Nigel and Dan had given to Phoebe and Isabel over the 20 years was equivalent to the hatred and regret they felt right then. Nigel felt especially guilty toward his own son. His stupidity was the reason that his son had to go through all that suffering and rage right then.
“No, Dad… I’m the one who dragged you into this,” Dan uttered bitterly. “If I hadn’t assumed that Bryan saved me, you wouldn’t have had to marry Phoebe… I-I was the one who ruined your life…”
“That’s not true, you silly boy…” Nigel lowered his gaze to look at Dan’s left leg before speaking in a shaky and bitter tone. “Bryan targeted you because he wanted his daughter to get married to me. He hired the driver to hit you, and then he pretended to sacrifice his life… Your leg’s only like this now because of me…” Nigel felt his heart aching whenever he thought about the pain that his son had to go through.
When Nigel thought about how his son’s left leg would hurt on rainy days, and whenever he thought about how his son couldn’t do martial arts or other extreme sports, Nigel would feel a searing pain in his chest. Furthermore, Nigel had even cared for his enemy’s daughter. He had thanked her, he had felt guilty toward her, and he had given her all the best food and clothes… I’m probably the biggest idiot on earth…
“Stop talking about this, Dad. You didn’t do anything wrong, and neither did I. It’s all Bryan and Phoebe’s fault!” Dan hissed through gritted teeth. There were sparks of fury dancing in his eyes as he spoke. “I want to kill her! I’m going to kill her now!” Dan flung Nigel’s arm off him before running out of the room.
Nigel hastily chased after him. “I’ll come with you, Dan.” Nigel knew that Dan would have to face horrible consequences if he were to actually kill someone. Nigel didn’t want his son to waste his life away for the sake of a dumb and evil woman. It was more agonizing for one to live in a terrible state than for one to just die. Now, Phoebe was being locked up in prison for attempted kidnapping. If he wanted to get Phoebe out, it would be hard, but it would be as easy as pie if he wanted to make sure that she suffered inside!
Dan and Nigel left, with Dan leading the way. Madeline instinctively took a few steps forward. “Do you think they will actually get mad and kill Phoebe?” she asked worriedly. Dan was her savior, after all. Although he hadn’t been extremely nice to her, he also hadn’t bullied her. Furthermore, Dan was Sam’s brother, and Sam cared about him a lot. Sam would be really sad if anything happened to Dan. Apart from Madeline’s two kids, Sam was the one person who was genuinely nice to her, and she didn’t want to see him sad.
“Don’t worry,” Sebastian said in an uninterested tone. “Nigel’s an experienced man—Dan won’t get a chance to kill anyone as long as Nigel is there.” Madeline thought about it for a while and heaved a sigh of relief when she realized that Sebastian’s words made sense. Even though the process was brutal, Madeline believed that this was good news for Dan and Nigel.
Nigel didn’t like Phoebe at all, after all. Every second he spent with Phoebe was torture to him. Madeline couldn’t comment much on her uncle, but she had to say that he was extremely good at keeping promises. Throughout the past 20 years, Nigel had kept his promise to Bryan and remained loyal to Phoebe and the marriage. He forced himself to tolerate his hatred toward Phoebe, and he remained married to her for nearly 20 years.
Nigel was still young—he wasn’t 50 yet. Judging by the average lifespan in their society, Madeline believed that Nigel was still able to live for another 20 years. Since he knew the truth now, and since he could get rid of Phoebe, it’d feel like a leash had been taken off of Nigel’s neck. Although he may suffer now, in the next 20 years, Nigel would no longer have to deal with the disgust and hatred he felt for Phoebe. He could finally breathe. This was good news for him.
Madeline returned to the couch and glanced at the gifts she had bought for her sons. “Let’s go home. Joel and Quincy must be waiting for us,” she said to Sebastian. He nodded. They were just about to leave the clubhouse when Madeline’s phone rang again. She halted her footsteps and pulled her phone out to see who was calling.
Her phone screen showed an unknown number. She didn’t have the habit of ignoring unknown numbers, so she picked up the call and placed her phone beside her ear. “Hello.”
“Hello…” Soon enough, a warm and deep voice filled her ear. “I’m Michael Wendel.”
Michael Wendel? Is he my… biological father? She unconsciously tightened her grip on the phone in her right hand. “H-Hello, Mr. Wendel,” she uttered with a thick voice.
Madeline’s so-called mother, Cameron, had been enemies with Michael’s wife, Crystal, her whole life. Crystal was a gentle and cultured woman, and she wouldn’t use Madeline just to get revenge on Cameron. However, Crystal also didn’t allow Madeline, who was Cameron’s daughter, to refer to Crystal and Michael as her aunt and uncle.
