Day Fifty-Two…
~~*****~~
[ At Vincent Condo Unit… ]
Vincent bought this place for his niece. He just transferred here to Country M for one purpose.
"Uncle Vince! Let's play!" The young girl approached Vincent who was having his coffee on the balcony.
Vincent's lips curled up into a smile upon seeing the charming girl, tugging his hand.
"Wait. Let me finish my coffee first." Vincent chuckled when the little girl pouted her lips. She looked so adorable.
"Okay. Finish it faster! I missed playing with you!" The young girl complained. "You should stay here. It's boring here when you are not around." She put on a pitiful face.
Vincent let out another chuckle. He pinched her cheeks and said, "Okay, my Little Mia. I'm going to stay here for two months. Are you happy now?"
Her face brightened up when she heard that. "Yey! Thank you, Uncle!"
"By the way, how's the new school? Have you adjusted already with your new classmates? I'm sorry I'm not able to watch your school presentation during Family Day." Vincent sounded apologetic. He was supposed to attend the Family Day but he wasn't able to since he had a business meeting at that time. Furthermore, he was avoiding someone.
"The new school is fine. However, there are lots of bullies there. But I met a cute charming boy. He is also smart. His name is Ethan." Mia's eyes lit up as she mentioned Ethan's name.
Vincent smiled inwardly when he heard that. "Did you get close to him?" This was what he wanted, Mia getting closer to Ethan.
Mia shook her head and replied, "Ethan doesn't like to mingle with other students. But he is kind. He is just aloof to strangers. I am hoping that he and I will become friends."
"I also met his father and his mom. They are such a sweet couple. How about you Uncle? When are you going to introduce me to your girlfriend?" Mia put her hands on the sides of her waist. She spoke like a grown woman.
Vincent could only smile sheepishly while scratching his face. "Hmm. I'll bring your Aunt Helena here… soon."
Vincent hadn't introduced Mia to Helena yet. He was hesitating because Helena didn't like children. He didn't know how she would react once she met Mia.
Mia was such a lovely child. In the papers, Vincent was her Dad, her legal guardian. But he preferred to be called Uncle. He wanted to keep their relationship like this.
"Mia, just continue being a good girl. Who knows Ethan will grow so fond of you later on? You can also invite him here once in a while to play. I would love to meet him." Vincent hid his real motive very well.
The innocent child was clueless about his evil plan. Vincent would do anything just to make trouble for the Sparks Family. Hurting Nathan and Old Man Xu would give him satisfaction and joy. They ruined his family. Now, it was his turn to ruin them.
'They have to suffer and experience my pain. They don't deserve to be happy.' A cold glint flashed through Vincent's eyes.
"Okay, Uncle. As long as you will stay here with me. I will do anything! I will be a good girl." The innocent child smiled at him while bobbing her head.
The two were still having a conversation when Vincent received a call from his assistant. He excused himself for a moment to answer it.
"Sir, both Nathan, and Abigail are alive. But the woman is in a coma." Vincent's assistant reported to him.
Vincent's eyebrow twitched in a deep frown. "Ok. I got it. Just continue to monitor them."
"One more thing, Sir… Mr. Dave visited the hospital today. He looked furious when he left the hospital."
Vincent fell silent for a moment, figuring out what he would do next.
"Assign someone to follow Dave. Keep an eye on him." Vincent gave his order. "Any more updates?"
"Yes, Sir. I found some interesting information. Phantomflake is now awake. And Nathan's men took her away."
Vincent's eyes widened in surprise at the mention of Phantomflake. A series of emotions could be seen on his face.
'She's alive…'
"Sir, are you still there?" The assistant wanted to confirm because Vincent suddenly became silent from the other line.
"How did you find out she's alive?" Vincent asked his assistant. It's been so long since the last time he heard the news about Phantomflake.
"Upon monitoring the happenings in the hospital, we spotted Phantomflake visiting Abigail's ward. It looks like Phantomflake knows Abigail." The assistant continued feeding Vincent with information.
On the other hand, the crease on Vincent's forehead deepened further. How could that be possible? Abigail and Phantomflake knew each other?! This was the first time he heard of it.
"What is their connection?" Vincent asked him again, feeling confused and puzzled.
"I don't know exactly, sir. But I will continue to dig for information." The assistant reassured him.
Vincent just stayed silent. Then Dave's face popped up in his mind. He wondered if Dave knew something about this.
"Contact our men… mobilize our spy. I have to see what the Syphiruz Mafia is planning to do against Phantomflake." Vincent had a nagging feeling about this.
"Got it, sir."
When the phone call ended, Vincent could feel stressed. He massaged his temples and exhaled sharply.
"Uncle, is there something wrong?" Because his mind was preoccupied, he failed to notice that Mia was already in front of him, tugging the hem of his shirt.
He looked at her, feeling conflicted. "Oh, everything is fine, Mia. Do you wanna play now? I'm sorry for keeping you waiting." He smiled and stroked her hair.
Mia giggled giddily. "It's okay, Uncle. I know you are busy. I'm just grateful that you still have time to entertain me and play with me. I truly appreciate it, Uncle." Mia expressed her feelings. She was always grateful to him.
"Don't flatter me too much, young kid." Vincent pinched her cheeks.
"Master! You have a visitor!" The butler suddenly came out of nowhere, catching the attention of Mia and Vincent.
"Who?" Vincent wasn't expecting a visitor today.
"It's me, Babe! Surprise!" Helena came out from her hiding spot. She decided to surprise Vincent today.
Both Vincent and Mia glanced at her with surprise.
"Uncle, who is she?" Mia asked him with her innocent eyes.
Helena was also shocked upon noticing the young girl's presence. "Uncle? Is she your niece?"
Mia bobbed her head in response to Helena. "How about you?"
"I'm your Uncle's girlfriend, Helena." Helena introduced herself.
When Mia heard that, she turned to Vincent and questioned him. "Uncle, why does she look different? She is not the woman in your wallet."
Helena and Vincent were caught off guard by Mia's last remarks.
"Do you keep a woman's photo in your wallet?" Helena asked Vincent exasperatedly.
Vincent darted his gaze back and forth between Mia and Helena. He didn't know whom he would answer first.
"Ladies, calm down first. Don't look at me like that. Why do I feel like you are thinking that I've committed a crime." Vincent tried to put on a smile.
"Mia, this is Helena, my current girlfriend. No other woman."
"Then who is the woman in your wallet?" Mia was referring to the picture she had seen before.
"She is… your mother."