Chapter 158

Howard's POV

After dinner, I settled onto the living room sofa, responding to several urgent emails. This afternoon, after Annie and I picked up Lucy from school.we had invited Penny and her mother Sue to stay for dinner. The children had eaten with enthusiasm, and now thley were playing upstairs,their occasional laughter filling the house with vibrant energy.

"Penny!" Lucy's voice drifted down from upstairs, clear and excited. "The bath is ready! You can gofirst!"

"Okay!" Penny responded cheerfully.

A few minutes later, Annie descended the stairs and satbeside me. Her expression was troubled, which immediately caught my attention. The work emails could wait. I set my phone down and.turned toward her.

"Is something wrong?" I asked, noticing the subtle furrow in her brow-typically a sign she was concerned about something.

Annie leaned closer to me, lowering her voice. "Penny just told me something." She paused, ensuring the children couldn't overhear our conversation. "Lucy is being bullied at school."

Her words hit me like ice water. "What?" My voice instinctively deepened."Why hasn't she told us?"

"I don't know," Annie shook her head, "Penny said she tried to help,but as a little girl, there was only so much she could do. She felt guilty about not being able to protect Lucy, which is why she told me."

I drew a deep breath, controlling the anger rising within me."Who would dare bully her? Which child?"

"Penny didn't specify who." Annie answered, her hand gently resting on my arm, seemingly to calm me. "Tll find time to talk with Lucy privately.Before we take any action. I need to understand the complete situation."

I nodded in agreement. Annie always maintained rationality when I became emotional. "You're right. We shouId understand the situation before deciding what to do." Nevertheless, I was already mentally listing several solutions; if necessary. I would utilize every resource at my disposal to ensure Lucy would never be harmed again.

As we were speaking. Sue emerged from the kitchen, appearing somewhat uncomfortable. As an employee of my company, she seemed ill at ease in the private setting of my home.

"Mr. Thompson, if you have a moment, I'd like to ask you a few questions about the new project," she said, her voice betraying a hint of nervousness.

"I have some new ideas about optimizing our market strategy..."

I glanced at Annie, who nodded slightly, indicating her understanding.

"Of course," I said to Sue, gesturing for her to take a seat on the opposite side of the living room. "Briefly share your thoughts."

Sue immediately began enthusiastically explaining her concept: "We could expand our target demographic to include young professionals aged 25-35,who are more willing to invest in tech products. I've done some preliminary research, and this group is particularly interested in our smart home systems, especially those integrated with AI assistants."

She continued, outlining a cross-platform marketing plan that included social media, industry exhibitions, and collaborations with lifestyle bloggers. I noticed that while her thinking was creative, it lacked maturity in execution details. and some budget estimates were overly optimistic.

When she finally paused for my feedback, I said, "Your direction is good.particularly the targeting of young professionals is quite accurate.However,the market penetration strategy needs to be more gradual,and the budget allocation requires reassessment. If you don't mind, it would be best to note this down so we can discuss it in more detail tomorrow."

Sue nodded. then suddenly realized she hadn't brought her work notebook.She glanced around, visibly embarrassed: "I didn't expect to discuss work details here, so I didn't bring my notebook..."

Annie.perceptive as always, noticed her predicament and reachedfor her own notebook and pen from the coffee table. "Here,use this."

"Thank you. Annie," Sue accepted gratefully.

While I briefly outlined a few suggestions, Annie said softly, "I'll go check on the children and continue working on my comic. I need to finish some work before tomorrow's signing at theprinting factory."

I nodded in understanding. Since checking her account balance in my office yesterday, Annie seemed more invested in her work and more confident. Watching her ascend the stairs, I couldn't help feeling proud of her achievements.

My discussion with Sue didn't last long. By the time we finished, Lucy and Penny had completed their baths and came running downstairs in their pajamas.

"Dad!" Lucy ran toward me, her blue eyes sparkling with excitement."You and Mom absolutely must come see my performance! I've memorized all the poetry!"

"Of course we will," I crouched down to meet her at eye level, gently stroking her golden hair. "I've already rearranged all my meetings.1wouldn't miss it for anything."

"Really?" Lucy's eyes instantly brightened, "Mom said she'd come too!"

"Yes, we'll both be there. This is your important moment, and we wouldn't miss it." I promised.

The children excitedly ran back upstairs to continue their games. Sue sat on the sofa, looking much more relaxed than when she'd arrived. Just then,my phone rang-it was Robert.

Since asking Robert to impersonate me using a newly created private account to communicate with Sarah, he rarely contacted me directly unless something important had happened. I walked to the end of the hallway,ensuring privacy before answering.

"Robert, what's the matter?" My voice remained calm, but internally I was already on alert.

"Howard," his voice sounded tense and hesitant, noticeably different from usual. "Sarah... Sarah just called me."

"What did she say?" I asked, the calmness in my tone masking my inner unease.

"She asked me to... she asked me to kidnap Lucy," Robert's voice was almost a whisper, filled with obvious shock and guilt. "She said she had planned everything."

My blood instantly froze. "What?" My voice dangerously lowered,barely controlling my anger.

"Her plan was to use Lucy as bait to lure out Annie," Robert continued. "Then... then force Annie to have relations with me and record it. She wants to use that video to destroy Annie."

I gripped my phone with such force I nearly crushed it. A cold fury climbed up my spine, but I forced myself to remain calm: "Is that so?When did she call you?"

"Just now." Robert answered. "I called you immediately after hearing her out. I never imagined she would go this far... This isn't revenge anymore;this is criminal."

"You refused her, right?" I asked, my voice terrifyingly calm as I had already begun formulating a response strategy in my mind.