Raphael POV
"Raphael, I do love Essel and Micah, and you..."
Melany paused and said, "Araceli can't love you at all. She approached you to take away Essel and Micah.You must stay away from Araceli! She'll get back at you for what happened five years ago..."
I lifted my foot and stomped on Melany's calf bone.
I didn't want to do this to a woman, but Melany was just too hateful. Even if I had one of my men beat her up instead of me, it wouldn't be able to quell my hatred.
"Raphael, you have to believe me. I have the recording to prove it!"
Melany hurriedly and tremblingly picked up her cell phone.
I frowned slightly.
What recording?
Soon, the recording began to play. I heard Araceli's voice.
"You don't like Raphael?"
"If it wasn't for the kids, I wouldn't have had any dealings with him at all..."
Melany and Araceli's conversation came out clearly from the phone.
Even though I already knew that Araceli's willingness to be my girlfriend was for the sake of the kids, I was still a little annoyed when I clearly heard her say that.
I had moved on from Araceli.
Araceli didn't seem to have me in mind at all.
Araceli was calm and cool when she made her deal with Melany, and it was all for the good of the kids.
What about me?
Araceli had known for a long time that I was the children's father and hadn't told me at all.
Did I even matter in her mind?
In the moment I was stunned, Melany grabbed her cell phone and ran outside in a panic.
The servants guarding the door were all terrified and made way.
Melany grabbed the car keys and drove off crashing.
I stood in the living room of Eclipse's villa, looking at Melany's figure and sneering.
As soon as I closed my eyes, I had a vision of Valeria and Krish in front of me. These two children are my own son and daughter...
Valeria's soft voice rang in my ears in a trance.
Valeria was my daughter...
The lethargy and anger in my heart was gradually smoothed out.
I was really so out of control just now that I actually almost killed Melany.
There were plenty of ways to teach Melany a lesson if I wanted to. Why should I dirty my own hands for that?
I turned around to see the picture hanging in Eclipse's living room.
It was a family picture of Zackary, Carina, and Melany.
That meant that Araceli was an outsider who wasn't valued at all in this family.
Did Zackary and Carina know what happened that night five years ago?
I wanted to go daycare and give Krish and Valeria a good hug right away, but I restrained myself.
If I didn't bring this to a head today, I would remain so distracted.
I walked out the door, looked at the servants at the door, and said coldly, "Where are Zackary and Carina?"
One of the maids said fearfully, "They're both at the office..."
I pulled open the car door and got in. I took out my cell phone and saw two messages from Araceli.
I pursed my lips and replied with a message over, "I'm going straight back to Royal Pack later."
I sent a message over to my assistant and drove to Eclipse Group.
By now it was evening. The sun was sinking in the west. The towering skyscrapers gave off a golden afterglow in the late afternoon sun.
When I arrived, the employees of Eclipse Group had already started to leave work one after another.
I strode in through the front door, not caring about the surprised look of the people next to me.
I stepped into the elevator and went up to the top floor. I'd been to Eclipse Group a few times, so I quickly made my way to the door of the president's office.
Before I even knocked on the door, I heard the sound of arguing coming from inside.
"Zackary, you asshole! You actually cheated on me with your secretary at work behind my back! That bitch... You're crazy!!!"
This was followed by the sounds of smashing things and a woman crying.
I frowned and kicked the office door open with some impatience.
"Who? How dare you barge in without knocking! Do you want to get fired?"
It was Carina.
Carina cursed and turned around. She completely froze when she saw me standing in the doorway.
"Raphael, oh, no, Mr. Lancaster. What are you doing here? Why didn't you tell me beforehand?"
Carina glared angrily at the crying secretary standing on the side. "Go get a glass of water!"
I looked at Carina coldly and didn't say anything.
Zackary straightened his shirt, coughed, and said, "Mr. Lancaster, why are you coming over so late?"
I gave Zackary a mocking look and said, "I wanted to ask you guys something."
Carina smiled and said, "Mr. Lancaster, what's wrong? As long as I know, I'll tell you everything."
"What hospital were Micah and Essel born in?" I said coldly, "I went to ask Melany, but she said she forgot."
"We..."
The smile on Carina's face disappeared.
She scrambled to explain, "I can't remember. By the way, Mr. Lancaster, why are you asking this?"
I looked at Zackary and said coldly, "Mr. Chancey, did you forget too?"
Zackary blinked uneasily, paused, and said, "Back when Melany had both babies before she was even taken to the hospital. She just gave birth at home! The maid at home delivered her..."
I sneered, "Melany said she had a hemorrhage the day she gave birth. Do your housemaids know how to handle maternal hemorrhaging better than doctors?"
Zackary was dumbfounded.
"We have a family doctor for that. He stopped Melany's bleeding that night..."
Carina smiled uneasily, "Mr. Lancaster, did someone say something to you?"
She stared at me warily, looking me in the eye.
I calmly took the water that the secretary had just poured over me and threw it violently in their faces.
The secretary froze in shock, wide-eyed.
Carina and Zackary froze too. Cold water continued to drip from their faces and hair.
All I regretted now was that I didn't ask this secretary to pour a cup of hot water over.
Zackary wiped his face and frowned. He suppressed his anger and said, "Raphael, what the hell do you want? Don't cause trouble in my office! Although Eclipse is not as powerful as Royal Pack, I'm Micah and Essel's grandfather after all! Don't be so arrogant!"
"It's true that you're the grandfather of two children, but..." I look to Carina. "Carina, are you my children's grandmother?"
My eyes were chilling.
Carina took an involuntary step back.
Just then, the assistant knocked sharply on the door.
The atmosphere was tense.
Zackary didn't want the assistant to barge in at this time and was ready to kick the assistant out.
I said coldly, "Come in."
The assistant then walked in with a face full of anxiety. "Mr. Chancey, something bad has happened... Eclipse Group's stock price has dropped five percent! In just half an hour, we lost at least ten million dollars! And the loss is still increasing..."
"What?"
Zackary was stunned.
"Go find out who the hell is dumping a lot of our stock!"
"You don't have to do that, Mr. Chancey."
I sneered, glancing at my wristwatch. "In ten minutes, Eclipse Group's stock price will hit rock bottom. You may go bankrupt as a result."
Carina yelled, "Mr. Lancaster, are you insane? Why are you going after us? What good will it do you? You're going to lose a ton of money too, aren't you?"
"Do you want to know why, Carina?"
I sat down. "We have ten minutes. You two can spend the next ten minutes thinking about what you've done to offend me. If you confess, I can give you a way out. Otherwise..."
I said, looking at them calmly and smiling.
Carina and Zackary winced.
The office fell silent.