Not One, But Two!

Chapter 217

"H-How can this be?"

Valerie was at a loss for words.

At first, she had been fond of Abigail and had only protested her relationship with Greg because of her connection to Hitman Island, though the protest had been rather vicious.

Valerie knew that even if Abigail were willing to forgive her, there would still be some lingering resentment that she could not wash away quite so easily.

"When did you find out about this?"

"Not long ago."

Valerie's eyes were fixed on Greg, fearing that he might be lying, but her heart sank as she looked into his unflinching eyes. Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

"I thought there wasn't nothing the Night Assassino couldn't do? Why couldn't they find anything on her before this?"

"What about you, Mom? Were you able to ascertain Abigail's actual situation? You adamantly believed that she was the kind of person Troy said she was, and by doing so, you insulted her to the highest degree! What would you have done if you were in her shoes and someone treated you or your son like that?"

Greg's rebuke silenced Valerie.

If it had been her in Abigail's position, she would have destroyed the person's family.

People often did to others what they would not bear to have done to them.

At that moment, Valerie realized that she had made a grave mistake, and the accusatory look in Greg's eyes further solidified this.

"Greg, why don't you plead my case for me?"

"You need to clean up your own mess."

Greg did not mince words at all.

"I'm your mother! How can you treat me like this?"

"She's the woman I want to marry, but you still treated her as you did! When you made the decision to go to such extreme lengths, did you ever consider my feelings?"

Valerie had no way to defend herself against Greg's retorts. In the end, she lowered her head and said in a small voice, "When have I ever not considered your feelings? Didn't I ask them to keep you away so that you wouldn't have to be present?"

Greg nearly choked in anger.

"Should I be thanking you then? Mom, a mistake is a mistake. Don't think you can just brush it off simply because you're an elder. I can put up with you and forgive you because you're my mother and dedicated your life to raising me, but Abigail doesn't need to put up with you. If she hadn't fallen in love with me, would she have had to go through everything you'd done to her? You should know by now that Abigail went easy on you even though you did such horrible things. Otherwise, with how strong and influential Shadow is, do you think that our Buckley Family would still be able to retain our grasp over Harrion?"

Greg's words were harsh and to the point.

Valerie had not been treated like this for decades, and to make matters worse, it was her son who was talking to her like that. It felt like his words had slapped her across the face, yet she still could not refute anything being said.

"At my age, I…"

"Why didn't you think about your age when you did all those things?"

Greg threw down those words and turned to leave.

Valerie slumped onto the couch like a deflated balloon.

Lisa could not stand to see her this way, so she rushed out after Greg.

"Mr. Buckley, how could you speak to Old Madam Buckley like that? She was just acting in your best interests and for the family's best interests as well."

"What I hate the most is when people hurt the ones I love under the guise of doing it for my best interests and me. Lisa, you've worked for my mother for most of your life, and you know the kind of person I am, so I won't say anything else about this. Abigail did nothing wrong in this. You all are the ones who pushed her too far. Yet despite the harm that's been done to her, do you still think she doesn't deserve an apology? Don't you think that you guys are going too far?"

Greg respected Lisa because she had stuck by Valerie's side. He saw the way her arm was hanging. Someone had obviously broken it.

He knew at once who did it.

However, he did not think that Abigail had gone too far with this. If he had been in her shoes, he probably would have been screaming bloody murder over the fact that they jeopardized the children's safety. That was a fatal blow to any mother.

Lisa knew they had been a little extreme, but asking Valerie to apologize…

"How about this, Mr. Buckley? I will apologize to Dr. Kain on Old Madam Buckley's behalf, and I'm willing to accept any form of punishment. Will that work?"

"What do you think?"

Greg's eyes flashed dangerously.

Lisa did not know what to say, so she could only watch as Greg took his leave.

She did not know if this would cause an estrangement between Valerie and Greg, but Greg's intentions were clear. But, first, they had to apologize to Abigail.

Lisa was beginning to beat herself up over this. Would the situation be a lot better now if she had not done those things to the two girls?

She sighed and went back into the living room, where she saw Valerie still in the same position she had left her. Finally, Valerie said weakly, "Do you think Dr. Kain would forgive me if I went and apologized to her?"

"Old Madam Buckley, do you really plan on apologizing?"

Lisa was stunned by Valerie's initiative.

Valerie had always been a proud woman. All these years in Harrion, she had never kowtowed to anyone, even after taking up the responsibility of raising Greg and building up the Buckley Family after her divorce. She had retired now, but the thought of her being willing to apologize to a young woman was beyond Lisa.

Valerie smirked. "Greg was right about one thing—a mistake is a mistake, and it's perfectly reasonable to apologize after making one. So what if I have to apologize? That's nothing compared to the harm that I've caused Dr. Kain. An apology means nothing."

Lisa was dumbstruck by her words.

Did Valerie say this because she was finally approving of Abigail? Was it just because Abigail was the founder of Shadow?

"Old Madam Buckley, we don't know what Shadow is really like. It could just be people parroting what others have heard, but the most important thing is still Hitman Island. Who do you think will win if Dr. Kain goes up against Hitman Island? Hitman Island trains assassins, but they also trained many people for various crime syndicates worldwide, so the network between them is pretty complicated. Dr. Kain's Shadow organization can only be considered a young upstart, so even if she's not part of Hitman Island, I don't think we should get involved with her still."

Valerie frowned a little at Lisa's words.

She had a point.

After all, Valerie had already fallen out with Abigail, so things would not be the same even if they eventually made up again. However, Lisa was right about how complicated things were with Hitman Island. One wrong move, and the entire Buckley Family might go under.

Valerie sighed. "Let's give it some time. I'll think about it."

"Yes, Old Madam Buckley. You should consider this carefully."

Lisa retreated.

After leaving Valerie's house, Greg made a trip to Allie's Garden.

Benjamin was there feeding the cat.

When Greg saw how careful Benjamin was with Snowdrop, he snorted. "Just give the cat enough food that it doesn't die. So, what's up with you? You're even combing its fur for it, huh?"

Benjamin stood up at once when he heard Greg's voice.

"You're back, Mr. Buckley? Where's Abigail?"

"Just keep an eye on her cat. You don't need to bother yourself with her."

Greg's eyes felt like they were shooting out lasers which freaked Benjamin out enough that he stepped back immediately.

"Got it."

Where would he gain the courage to even think about Abigail that way?

All he did was ask a simple question, but he nearly brought calamity onto himself. It seemed like he had to be careful about bringing her up at all.

While Benjamin grumbled in his head, Greg withdrew his gaze and commanded, "Pack up your things. You're coming with me."

"On a job?"

"Just do as I say and don't ask so many questions. That's the number one rule of an assistant, understood?"

Greg was in a bad mood, which was why he was lashing out at the slightest things.

He knew what kind of temper Valerie had, so even if she were unwilling to come down from her high horse and apologize, she would at least recognize that she had wronged Abigail. On the other hand, he was afraid that Valerie would just sit in wait to see how the tides turn. He was worried that she might still be unfair to Abigail out of fear toward Hitman Island.

The thought of Abigail being mistreated suffocated Greg. It felt as though a heavy weight was pressed against his chest.

Absolutely.

He had to move this rock away.

Valerie was wary about Hitman Island's network and connections, right?

In that case, what if Hitman Island no longer existed? Greg doubted that the so-called network would come knocking on his door to try and take his life.

Even if they did, it was still what he owed to Abigail.

Greg narrowed his eyes at the thought of this before speeding up the stairs.

Benjamin could sense that Greg was in a bad mood. He did not know where they were going, so just to be safe, he decided to send the reward he had gotten from Greg back to his family.

It was fifteen thousand!

That was enough for his parents to live decently for quite some time back home.

Once everything was done, Benjamin put out more food for Snowdrop. However, he did not know when he would be coming back, and since this was Abigail's cat, Benjamin decided to drop Snowdrop off at a pet hotel for a while.

When Greg finished packing, Benjamin was nowhere to be found. He frowned and gave Benjamin a call.

"Where are you?"

"I'm sending Snowdrop to a pet hotel as she would go hungry when we're not around."

Greg wanted to scold him for wasting time on a cat, but he reigned his temper once he remembered that it was Abigail's cat.

"Meet me behind Skyscape Plaza in fifteen minutes."

Greg hung up right after saying that and headed out in his sports car.

Skyscape Plaza?

Benjamin knew where that was. Greg had been the one who invested in this development, and there was an expansive open area behind it that was used as a private airfield.

Did this mean that they were going to ride on a private jet?

Benjamin got a little excited.

This was his first time traveling as Greg's assistant, and he would be riding in a private jet to boot. It felt like a dream.

Benjamin sped up as he drove toward Skyscape Plaza at once.

Once he arrived, he was startled to see that Greg had packed a ton of weapons.

"Did something happen, Mr. Buckley?"

"Are you afraid of dying?"

Greg asked without answering his question.

Benjamin instantly shook his head.

"Not afraid."

There were a lot of secrets in this line of work, but Benjamin knew the rules. Life and death became a matter of fate in a job like this, and he had prepared himself for it.

Greg transferred 750 thousand to Benjamin.

"Send the money back to your family. I can't promise that I'll come back alive, but don't worry. I'll make sure you're safe. If I die, you're responsible for bringing my body back."

Greg said this like it was nothing, but Benjamin was shaken to the core.

What did he mean?

When had Greg ever sounded so unsure?

Benjamin looked around and saw that he and Greg were the only people standing in the large airfield. Did this mean that they were going out on a mission by themselves?

Wait, no!

To be more specific, it was Greg who would be going out on a mission alone. His responsibility was just to bring Greg home, dead or alive. Was this what Greg meant?