CHAPTER 246

"I-Is that so?" Isabel stammered. "I-I'll tell Queenie about it then." If this was in the past, she would have forced Sam to help Queenie and deal with the Hart couple, even if it meant she had to throw a tantrum. She would not do that now, however. Dan and her father had renounced her. She would lose everything if even Sam were to abandon her. She hung up and called Queenie to relay Sam's message to her.

The Shrivers were waiting for Queenie's answer. Queenie was in even more of a hurry than they were, but the result was devastating for her. She almost went crazy after hearing that. "That's not how it is, Isabel! Sam lied to you!" She almost slurred her words. "The investigations won't be the thing that kills us. How the Harts see us is! The Harts made a mountain out of this molehill for a reason! They want everyone to find out that we crossed them. You know how businessmen work. It hasn't even been a while since the news got around, but Clive has already received calls from several business partners to cancel their partnership!"

"Why?" Isabel was confused. "The investigations haven't even started yet. You guys are still okay, aren't you?"

"Yeah, but they would rather not get on the Harts' bad side!" Queenie explained in a hurry. She was infuriated by how slow Isabel was. "They'd die if they got on the Harts' bad side. They probably think we're going down now that we crossed the Harts. They don't want to sink with us, so they're jumping ship! The Shrivers will be ruined even without the Harts doing anything to us."

It was a dog-eat-dog world. Blink, and you were dead.

"Now that's playing dirty." Isabel felt a chill down her spine. "I-I'll talk to Sam again."

"You have to help me, Isabel," Queenie pleaded. She was already hiccuping. "Everyone here hates me now. They think I did this to them. Jay and I would be ruined if I can't settle this. All he did was fight the little b*stards. Yeah, he might be wrong, but he doesn't deserve this."

"I know, Queenie," Isabel comforted her. She knew how Queenie felt. "I know. I'll help you." She hung up and called Sam again. This time, she told him what Queenie said. "You have to help her, Sam. Otherwise, Clive will make Damian divorce Queenie, and Jay's gonna lose either his dad or his mom! Destroying his family over this is too much!"

Sam frowned. That was not what he would like to see either. Jayden was just a child. His life would be ruined if his family was destroyed over a little fight. He was angry about what Jayden said, but he did not deserve this. "I see," he said. "I'll handle this." He did not want to talk too much, and he hung up. Sam spent a long time thinking about the matter, and he eventually called Madeline. "Where are you right now, Madeline?"

"Sam?" Madeline asked. "I'm at Sun Garden."

"Is Sebastian there too?" he asked.

Madeline said, "Yeah, he's here too."

"I heard your boys got into a fight at school," Sam said. "Are they alright? I'd like to see them."

"They're fine," Madeline answered. "It's just some scratches. You're a busy man, Sam. You don't have to do this."

"It's fine," Sam said. "It's been a while since I saw the boys too. I miss them, and I can't rest easy until I see them with my own eyes."

Since he insisted, Madeline did not refuse.

Sam went straight to Sun Garden after they hung up. He met up with Madeline twenty minutes later, and she invited him inside, but the boys were not around. "Where are the boys?"

"In the fun room with their friend." Madeline smiled. "They brought a friend home. That's a first. They love it. Buddy wanted to show his friend everything the house has to offer."

The boys had been growing up in a harsh environment up until now. The fact that they could live as regular kids delighted Sam, and he smiled. "They can ask their friends to come over frequently if they want to."

Madeline nodded with a smile. "I know, Sam. Have a seat." She invited Sam to take a seat, and the servant served tea and cookies without even being asked. "I'll get the boys," she said.

"It's alright," Sam stopped her. "They must be having a blast. Let them have their fun. Sit down. Let's talk."

"Sure. I'll get them when it's lunch time. You should stay for lunch too, Sam. It's been a while since we had lunch together." Madeline sat down across from him.

"Sure," Sam agreed. They made small talk, and then he cut to the chase. "Buddy hurt his forehead, didn't he? Is he alright?" Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

"Yeah. It's just a scratch, and we treated it. He'll be fine in a couple of days." She asked, "How did you know that, Sam?"

Sam answered with a question, "Do you know who Jayden's mother is?"

Madeline paused for a moment, and she shook her head. "No." She kept quiet for a moment, then she said, "But she seems to know about my situation." Or Jayden wouldn't have known who the boys' father is and called them b*stards. And he only knew that because the people in his household brought it up.

"Her name is Queenie. Her mother is my mother's cousin," Sam answered. "Technically, she's my cousin too."

"I see." So that's how it is.

No wonder Jayden knows the boys' father and their past. So his mother is a relative of the Taylors.

She was a nobody back in the Taylor Residence. She used to stay in the servant's room, but Sam moved her somewhere else after the boys were born. The place she stayed was some distance away from the main building. She would never approach the main house, and the Taylors would never invite their friends and family to her abode. Hence, she had never seen her relatives outside of the closer ones like George and Crystal, but she immediately knew what Sam was here for. "Are you trying to help the Shrivers, Sam?"

"Yes," Sam admitted. "Clive, their patriarch, wants Jayden's father to divorce his mother to save the family. I think that's a tad too cruel for a young boy to handle. Can you let this slide just for me? I'll make sure that Queenie and Jayden apologize to the boys."