With You For the Rest of My Life

Chapter 19 Risking It

Rose took the paper and opened the cover. An old family photo came into her sight.

The family of three stood side by side behind a worn-out mud wall.

The middle-aged man stood in the middle, with a chubby woman around his age in his arms. The other girl, about fourteen or fifteen years old, stood at the outer side, dressed in a white school uniform, looking dull.

Rose realized that the woman was Amanda.

And the chubby woman who looked a bit like her must be her mother.

"Is this man Amanda Zhao's father?" Pointing at the photo, Rose asked.

"No," Xavier shot a glance along the direction of Rose's finger. He sat down and said, "That's her stepfather."

"No wonder they don't look like a family." Mumbled Rose.

"Amanda's father was missing ever since she was born, and her gambling mother eloped with another man. She lived with her aged aunt grandmother in a remote village. At the age of seven, her aunt grandmother died, and she became an orphan completely. When the police cracked a gambling case, they caught her mother, Janice Chen. After being released from the police station, Janice Chen was sent back to her original village. When she returned to that village, she couldn't bear the pressure of the public opinion and had to bring up Amanda again. " Xavier explained.

"So her mother brought her to Qinshan Town?" Seeing the words on the page, Rose's eyes twinkled slightly.

Qinshan Town was where she first met Burke in her childhood.

At that time, she often went there to escape the summer heat at the hold housekeeper's house. And Burke went there to rest.

During that family feast, Amanda claimed that she had known Burke for ten years. Given her family background, it was not easy for her to know him. They might have known each other in Qinshan Town.

"Yes, she was brought to Qinshan Town by her mother because her mother's lover Lucas Chen opened a repair shop there. At early times, Lucas Chen's repair shop could still earn some money to support their lives. So Janice Chen and Amanda was depending on that earnings at that time." Xavier took a glance at the documents in the hand of Rose, and his eyes fell on the only man in the family photo for a moment. He said in disgust, "I disdain to speak of this man."

"What's wrong with him?" Asked Rose, raising her head.

"Rose, do you know why I have this material?"

Hearing this, Rose was stunned. As far as she knew, Xavier worked in a government department and didn't have much contact with Amanda. The only connection between the two was Burke. Xavier didn't pay much attention to Amanda before her miscarriage. And the date that this document mentioned was seven years ago.

"Why? You knew her long before? "

"I got it from a predecessor. He was investigating a rather difficult case seven years ago," said Xavier hesitantly for a few seconds before he continued, "A case where the stepfather seduced the daughter."

Hearing this, Rose got quite surprised.

Amanda...

"Are you surprised?" Xavier tossed the water bottle in his hands and then his expression became serious. "At that time, this case created a lot of sensation, but the news about the exposure of the victim was suppressed, because Amanda was only 17 years old at that time and she was still under age. In order to protect her, few people knew that she was the victim of the case."

"What happened then?"

"The case we were talking about doesn't have enough evidence. As far as I know, it was very tricky at that time, and all the evidences were kept by the mother of Amanda Chen. However, in the beginning, she tried to protect her husband, but then she couldn't resist the court trial and submitted the evidence. Lucas Chen was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment. "

"Her mother..." Rose had got too stunned to continue.

"Rose, so don't think of a gambler's mind from a normal person's perspective." Xavier said casually.

As Rose was going through the material, her eyes suddenly fixed on the section of Lucas Chen's family relationship. She found a familiar name- Rocky Chen.

"Is this Rocky Chen the son of Lucas Chen?" © 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

"Yes, he is Amanda's stepbrother."

Rose was stunned. Judging from the rough voice of the man threatening her on the phone just now, she guessed that he must be the voice of Rocky Chen.

At this moment, Rose's phone buzzed inside her bag. She stopped thinking and looked up at the clock on the wall. It was half past two.

Her phone was still vibrating.

"Go ahead. Let's see what they are going to do." Xavier said casually.

Rose answered the phone.

Surprisingly, the voice on the other side of the phone was not from Amanda or Rocky Chen.

It was a cold voice that Rose was very familiar with.

"Let the driver to drive you to No. 285 of the reservoir. Hurry up."

He explained the matter in a short sentence at a very fast speed.

The phone was hung up before Rose could make any response.

"What did they say?" Looking at the pale look on Rose's face, Xavier frowned and asked.

Rose shook her head. The screen of her phone, which had not been turned off yet, showed that the call was from Burke Gu, her husband.

"I forgot to notice the caller's name. It was Burke."

"Burke?" Isn't he still on a business trip? " Xavier was more confused. "Rose, what did he say? You don't look good. "

"He wants me to go to..." There was a quick knock on the door in the study before Rose could finish her sentence.

As soon as Xavier got up to open the door, he found that the man standing outside was Rose's driver, Liu.

"Mrs. Gu, Mr. Gu, he... He asked me to go to a reservoir now. And he gave me the address. I have to send you back within half an hour." Liu was obviously running all the way up, holding the door frame and panting.

Xavier was stunned for half a minute and turned back to see Rose's face.

"Rose, what..."

"I already knew it. Burke called me and asked me to go to that place." Rose stood up from the sofa, bowed her head and straightened her dress. She secretly took a deep breath to hide her emotions. Looking up, she politely said to the driver, "Let's go, Liu."

"What? Are you going there, Rose?" Xavier stopped Rose and said incredulously, "Amanda is not a good person. She has a lot of gangsters around her. Maybe it's a trap!"

As Rose looked at the worried look of Xavier, her heart was hot and yet cold, an unknown mixed feelings.

Xavier knew that it might be dangerous for her to go there. Even Burke should have known the risk.

Xavier would worry about her safety, but her husband would not.

"Burke wants me to go. It must be something very important."

"You can't go there now! What if you are in danger? " Xavier was almost pissed off. "I guess he was bewitched by that Amanda Zhao! I'm calling him right now! You are not fully recovered yet. Wouldn't it be extremely dangerous to go there alone? "

Xavier picked up his mobile phone and dialed the number of Burke, but it was busy several times.

"Never mind. I'll go with you." Xavier put away his coat and swore. He turned around and picked up his coat covered on the hanger.

"Xavier, you don't have to do this -"

"But I can't let them bully you either! The more people, the safer. "

Xavier didn't give her any chance to refuse. He picked up the car key and went downstairs. He turned around and said to the driver, "Send me the address that Burke sent you. Then your car will follow mine. Do you understand?"

"Okay, got it." Liu nodded in a daze.