Not One, But Two!

Chapter 41

After leaving the Kain Residence, Abigail took a look at the address in her hand and realized that it was outside the city. If she headed to that place now, she wouldn't have time to have lunch with Greg. After pondering on it for a moment, she called Greg and said, "I need to take a rain check on lunch. I have something to do now, so I might not be able to come back in time."

Greg frowned when he heard that, for it was the first time anyone had stood him up. "Do you have surgery to perform?"

"No, I'm just going to the outskirts of the city. It's a personal matter." With that, Abigail hung up the call. Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

As Greg listened to the disconnected tone, he realized that he was already immune to her impolite behavior. There was probably no other woman in Harrion who would dare to treat him in such a way. After putting down his phone, he said to his secretary, "Find out where Abigail is going and send some people to protect her in secret. Don't let her discover them, though."

Troy promptly left the place and carried out the order. Meanwhile, Greg repeatedly told himself that he was doing this for his daughter. If it weren't because he was worried that his daughter would be heartbroken, he wouldn't have been bothered about the woman's safety.

After hanging up the call, Abigail immediately got into her car. To make things easier for herself, she had rented a car. Even though she wasn't used to driving it, the car did its job.

After following the address, she arrived at the south of the city. The buildings in this place appeared to be old, which was in stark contrast to the prosperous city. With that said, this place gave off a tranquil feeling. There was a memorial arch at the entrance with some cursive words written on it. Abigail couldn't make out what was written, but she felt as if time had been reversed by several dozen years.

Aren't memorial arches supposed to exist only in the past? I can't believe there's still such a thing in this place. Abigail looked at it with her head tilted, and it wasn't until she was certain that she didn't understand what was written that she straightened up, only to see an elderly woman staring at her with narrowed eyes. She didn't like the way the elderly woman looked at her. "What's wrong, Madam?"

"You're not from this place, right?" The elderly woman's voice was hoarse, but her turbid eyes still appeared shrewd.

After a nod, Abigail replied, "You're right. I'm from the city, and I'm here to look for someone."

"Who are you looking for?"

"Isabel Mortimer." Abigail told the elderly woman her maternal grandmother's name.

Upon hearing that, the elderly woman became startled as she was visibly surprised. "You're looking for Old Madam Mortimer? Who is she to you?"

Abigail thought that the elderly woman was too inquisitive, but she still replied impassively, "She's my maternal grandmother."

Unexpectedly, the elderly woman turned around and ran away as she yelled, "The granddaughter of Old Madam Mortimer is here! Come on! Chase her away!"

Abigail was astounded. What's going on? Why does she want to chase me away? Before she could snap out of her dazed state, she saw many villagers charging toward her with brooms and shovels in their hands.

"F*ck off!"

"Get lost! Don't dirty our place!"

All of them appeared agitated. Some of the elderly women even started hitting Abigail with their brooms. Abigail wanted to counterattack, but these villagers were all frail old people. If she made a move, she would get into trouble. "Please calm down. I mean no harm, for I just want to ask my grandmother about my mother."

At the mention of her mother, the fury of these people had been ignited as they all started attacking her.

"How relentless! It was that woman first, and now, her daughter has come to haunt us. Chase her away now!"

"Get lost!"

Countless brooms and shovels landed on her. Since she was left with no choice, Abigail had to keep stepping backward until she was pushed outside the memorial arch. These people finally stopped in their tracks, but they still appeared furious as they blocked her out of the village.

"I'm warning you—if you dare to come in again, I'll break your legs!" the elderly woman from earlier threatened.

Presently, Abigail was puzzled as she didn't know what she had done wrong. However, it was apparent to her that she was unable to get into the village. She wanted to reason with these people, but they wouldn't listen to her. As long as she took a step forward, they would put up their guard. At that, Abigail was speechless.

When Greg learned of what had happened to Abigail, he was startled. "She's in the Mortimer Village now?"

"Yes, but she can't get in. Instead, she has ignited the public outrage," Troy hurriedly reported.

Greg knitted his brows. "Do you know what she's doing there?"

"It seems that she's looking for Old Madam Mortimer."

Upon hearing that, Greg was surprised. "Old Madam Mortimer?"

"Yes."

"Why is she looking for the old madam?"

"It's said that Old Madam Mortimer is her maternal grandmother." Troy told him about the information he had gathered.

All of a sudden, Greg stood straight up and stared at Troy in disbelief before asking, "Are you sure she is Old Madam Mortimer's granddaughter?"

"That's what Dr. Kain said."

Following that, Greg stood in front of the French windows and looked down at the traffic as he fell into his thoughts. Just a moment later, he dialed Abigail's number.

"What's up? I'm busy now, so I don't have any time to speak to you." Abigail was grumpy. It was the first time she had been loathed by people who were not her family members. However, in this place, she was like a ferocious beast that had to be blocked out of the village at all costs. That was a terrible feeling.

Upon hearing her irritable voice, Greg took a deep breath and suppressed his anger. "If you want to see Old Madam Mortimer, I suggest you come back now and treat me to lunch. I might give you a surprise."

"What did you just say? You know Isabel Mortimer?" Abigail was shocked.

Greg replied smilingly, "No."

"Greg, are you doing this intentionally? Can you just mind your own business instead of irritating me all the time? I—"

"But I know her son, Stanley Mortimer. Do you want to see him?" Greg cut her off.

Abigail was stunned. My grandmother has a son? In other words, he's my uncle. Since I can't see my grandmother now, maybe I can ask my uncle about my mother. She fell silent.

After glancing at these angry villagers who were wary of her, she took a deep breath. "Just choose a location. I'll go back now."

"There's no rush—we still have some time before lunch. Moreover, is this how you're supposed to ask for help?" Greg reckoned that this woman was too presumptuous, so he had to put her into her place. Otherwise, she would never learn to respect him.

Abigail frowned as she was reluctant to do that, but in order to find out more about her mother, she said in a hushed voice, "Just think of it as me begging for your help."

"Just think of it as you begging for my help? I don't like how you've put it. Moreover, I hate people who make empty promises. Just sleep on it. There's no rush as we're still two hours away from lunchtime. If you're sincere enough, I'll consider contacting Stanley for you."

Upon finishing his words, he hung up the call. I've finally got her begging for my help! He sported a joyful smile, feeling utterly pleased with himself.

Troy was astounded upon seeing that, but he didn't dare to say anything. It seems that Mr. Buckley is concerned about Dr. Kain!

When Greg turned around and saw Troy, he said in a small voice, "Book a place at Swanson Hut. I have to ask Stanley to meet me for lunch."

Troy replied in a hushed voice, "Mr. Buckley, you've agreed to meet Mr. Miller from the bank at 1.00PM. If you're going to meet Mr. Mortimer, there won't be enough time."

"Take a rain check and tell him that we'll meet next time."

On hearing that, Troy was stunned. "Mr. Buckley, Mr. Miller is going to meet you to discuss the capital for our next phase of development."

"I know. Since I've stood him up, just give him a newly built villa in the east of the city. Take it as my apology to him," Greg said without frowning.

Troy was astonished. Even though the villas in the east had just been built, they were already worth 50,000 to 60,000 every ten square feet. How could Greg just give a villa to someone without blinking an eye? Did he do it just to have lunch with Abigail and arrange a meet-up with Stanley for her? At that instant, he felt that he no longer understood Greg.

Seeing that Troy was rooted to the spot, Greg asked, "What's wrong? Is there anything else?"

Troy quickly shook his head, yet he couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Buckley, have you fallen for Dr. Kain?"

When he heard that, Greg stopped writing as he looked up at Troy and sneered. "You've been a busybody, haven't you?" he said.

At that moment, Troy shuddered. "I'm sorry, Mr. Buckley. I'll go back to work now."

With that, he turned around and ran away.

As Greg watched him leave, he furrowed his brows. Did he just say I've fallen for Abigail? That's ridiculous! I'm not a masochist! I'm helping her for my daughter. Yes! I only care about my daughter!

At the thought of Alissa, he couldn't help curling up his lips as he grinned from ear to ear. My daughter. I wonder what she wants to eat for lunch. Then, he called Alissa. "Allie, what do you want to eat for lunch? I'll buy it for you."

Presently, Alissa was still frustrated at the fact that her pocket money had been confiscated by her mother. As soon as she heard Greg's words, she knew that the question was for Arianna. However, Arianna's phone number was different from hers. She was jealous, and when she thought about the honey glazed chicken that her father had made for Arianna, she was displeased. "I don't want to eat anything. I'm on a diet. Daddy, please stop asking."

Then, she directly hung up the call. Hmmph! You were happy to eat honey glazed chicken, right? Just starve to death now! A sinister thought flashed through Alissa's mind, and without telling Arianna about it, she turned off the phone.

Greg was startled. What happened to her? Why was she so grumpy? Is she on a diet? Why does she have to do that when she's just a kid? She must have learned that from Abigail who loves to say such things. Alright, I'll have to talk to her about it during lunchtime later.

At the thought of this, Greg picked up his phone and called Stanley. "What are you doing now? Do you want to meet up for lunch later?"

Stanley replied calmly, "I'm worried that I can't as I have to go back home this afternoon. My mom said there's an emergency, so she wants me to go back."

"What about now? Let's come out now. There's something I need to tell you."

After deciding the time to meet up with Stanley, Greg called Abigail, but he couldn't reach her. It was only then he realized that her phone had been turned off!