Free Web NovelChapter 200: Chapter 203: Welcome Home
"...What do you mean?" Ethan Lockwood asked him, raising an eyebrow.
Felix Preston smiled faintly. "You know what I mean, Mr. Lockwood."
Ethan Lockwood’s eyes turned cold, and the air around him seemed to drop in temperature.
Felix Preston said, "You and Cecilia Quincy—neither of you will get away."
Ethan Lockwood’s eyes were full of scorn. "Then try me."
Felix Preston replied, "Alright."
BUZZ—
BUZZ—
His phone suddenly vibrated. It was a call from Charlotte Shaw, who was waiting in the car.
Felix Preston answered the call right in front of Ethan Lockwood.
"Babe, what is it?"
Charlotte Shaw’s voice held a hint of reproach. "Didn’t you say you’d be right back? Why are you still talking to him?"
Felix Preston’s lips curled into a light smile. He turned and walked back to the car. "Don’t worry, babe. I’m coming back right now."
"Just hurry up." Charlotte Shaw hung up, her voice a soft command.
He opened the door, got in, and switched seats with Wilder Preston.
"I’m good. Let’s go home."
Charlotte Shaw reached out, taking his hand and lacing their fingers together. "We should have left ages ago. You’re not to waste your breath on him."
Felix Preston looked down at her and obediently apologized. "My mistake. I won’t speak to him ever again."
Charlotte Shaw nodded. "Mm-hmm..."
As they spoke, the gray Volkswagen drove around Ethan Lockwood and headed straight for the parking garage exit.
The dim garage gave way to daylight, which blazed down from above.
"Chairman Shaw, could we have a word...?"
"Mr. Shaw, where’s your sister?"
"Why isn’t Charlotte Shaw here? Is she not planning on coming home?"
The hospital entrance was a madhouse. Mason Shaw and the others were mobbed by dozens of tabloid reporters, still unable to even get out the main doors.
The parking garage exit was just to the right of the hospital’s main entrance. The gray Volkswagen had just passed the gate when Felix Preston suddenly said, "Stop for a second."
The driver hit the brakes immediately. "What is it, Mr. Preston?"
Felix Preston rolled down the window. He looked over at the reporters swarming the hospital entrance and, after a few seconds, suddenly grinned.
"Charlotte, how about we cause a little trouble for Ethan Lockwood?"
Charlotte Shaw looked at him. "What kind of trouble did you have in mind?"
His eyes curved, and he gave a mischievous grin.
"Ahem..." He cleared his throat, covered Charlotte’s ears with one hand, and then bellowed:
"ETHAN LOCKWOOD OF THE LOCKWOOD GROUP IS IN THE UNDERGROUND PARKING GARAGE! GO GET HIM!!"
"..."
The crowd of reporters fell silent for a beat, then instantly exploded into a frenzy.
"Ethan Lockwood! Ethan Lockwood from the Lockwood Group is here! Let’s go get him!"
"Hurry, hurry, go get him!"
"The garage exit is over there! We can run straight in!"
Ethan Lockwood of the Lockwood Group was clearly a bigger story than the Shaw Family. The moment his name was mentioned, two-thirds of the reporters at the hospital entrance took off running.
Mason Shaw seized the opportunity, hurrying Jackson Shaw and the others into their car and escaping the media encirclement amid the chaos.
"Go!" Felix Preston ordered, closing his window.
"On it!" The driver slammed on the gas, pulling the car onto the main road and speeding away.
"They’re here again? What the hell does that family want?"
Ethan Lockwood was on the phone, searching for his car.
He held the key fob in his other hand and pressed the unlock button.
A moment later, the BEEP BEEP of his car unlocking sounded from ahead and to his left.
He walked toward the sound, his sharp brows knitted together.
"I have nothing to talk to them about. Get someone to make them leave."
"What about Cecilia Quincy? Get rid of her, too. What am I supposed to do, ask her to stay for lunch?"
"The engagement party... just cancel it. I’m not getting engaged to her anymore..."
"Mr. Lockwood!"
"Mr. Lockwood, just a few words!"
Before he could finish his call, a chaotic mob of reporters appeared from behind him.
He froze for a second. Before his mind could even catch up, his body reacted.
"Mr. Lockwood, about Miss Cecilia—"
He abruptly ended the call, clutched his phone, and bolted.
"Mr. Lockwood!"
"Mr. Lockwood, please wait! Just say a few words!"
A dozen reporters chased Ethan Lockwood relentlessly. He dashed to his car and was just about to pull the door open and dive inside when a heavy black camera was suddenly shoved in his face.
"Mr. Lockwood, is it true what the rumors say? That you’re a gold-digger?"
"Get away from me!" Ethan Lockwood shouted, shoving the camera aside and glaring furiously at the reporter blocking his path.
The reporter was completely unfazed, even thrusting the microphone right up to his mouth.
"Mr. Lockwood, please answer the question."
Ethan Lockwood remained silent.
But then, more and more microphones were shoved in his face.
Countless questions swirled around him.
"Mr. Lockwood, why are you at this hospital? Did you hear Sonia Quincy was coming home today and came to see her?"
"Mr. Lockwood, are you still going to marry Cecilia Quincy?"
"Is Cecilia Quincy your mistress? Did the two of you conspire to betray Sonia Quincy?"
"Mr. Lockwood, don’t you have anything to say to Sonia Quincy?"
"Sonia Quincy’s real identity is the heiress of Shaw Technologies. Mr. Lockwood, do you regret your choices now?"
Ethan Lockwood felt like his head was about to explode from the noise. He raised a hand to cover his face and screamed, on the verge of a breakdown and full of resentful fury:
"GET LOST!"
"ALL OF YOU, GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!"
...
The CRACKLE AND POP of firecrackers echoed from the main gate to the living room and back again, a cycle that repeated at least ten times.
The front of the villa was shrouded in hazy smoke, a carpet of crimson firecracker scraps covering the ground.
Charlotte Shaw, the guest of honor, was the center of everyone’s attention from the moment she walked through the door.
"Welcome home, Charlotte!"
The phrase rang in Charlotte Shaw’s ears. She wasn’t sure how many times she’d heard it, but she wasn’t the least bit tired of it. On the contrary, it made her incredibly happy.
She responded earnestly to every welcome, taking all their well-wishes to heart.
After the grand welcoming ceremony, Jackson Shaw had a dozen tables set up for a banquet.
The tables were filled with relatives from the Shaw and Bell families. Everyone from elders in their eighties to toddlers just learning to walk had gathered to share a reunion meal with Charlotte Shaw.
The meal was lively. Everyone was laughing, happy for Charlotte Shaw.
"My dear," Brianna Bell said, pulling Mrs. Preston by the hand to sit on the sofa, beaming so brightly her eyes crinkled shut.
"We’ve already prepared rooms for you and Lynn. You mustn’t go back just yet. Stay here with us. We can take care of Charlotte together."
"I can’t, I have to go back." Mrs. Preston looked troubled. "This is too far from my job. The commute would be impossible."
