Chapter 460: Please Turn Yourself In
Wendy frowned as she glared at Michael. Sounding a little displeased, she said, "Todd is doing me a favor by going to get my discharge processed. How could we just up and leave without him?
"Even if you are in a cold war with him, how could you just... " As he had predicted, Michael was being reprimanded by Wendy as, once again, she stood on Todd’s side.
Michael quickly interrupted her and placated her, "OK, all right. Let’s wait. We’ll wait for Todd to come back, happy now?"
Fortunately, this was a new Michael. In the past, he would have stormed off on his own.
But not before demanding that Wendy chose between him and Todd.
Todd returned to the room quickly and was surprised to see both Michael and Wendy waiting for him.
On his way to the administration office, he had wondered why Michael had not stopped him from getting the discharge processed.
He had concluded that there was a high probability that Michael intended to send him away and just leave with Wendy.
That was why he had not expected to see them still in the room when he got back.
But then, with just one look at Michael’s thunderous expression, he realized why they had not left.
Smiling, he said, "Come, let’s go."
"Are you coming with me to see Mr. Woods?" Wendy asked.
Todd was not looking forward to seeing Timothy again.
His last visit had been so upsetting.
He recalled that Timothy had told him never to visit again.
If it was just by himself, he would have refused to go.
However, since Wendy was keen to go, he would naturally go with her.
And so, he replied, "Yes, I’m coming too."
At the car park, Todd opened the door to the front passenger seat and said to Wendy, "Corinne, take my car."
Wendy stole a glance at Michael and then looked at the front passenger seat.
However, before she had the chance to decline Todd’s offer, Michael spoke up, "That won’t be necessary. We have our car."
"Mr. Lucas, do you mean the rental?" Todd chuckled. "How could a rental be more comfortable than our car?
"It’s all right for you since you’re not the patient. But for Corinne, who is still recovering from her injuries, traveling in a rental with you would be torturous. Don’t you agree?"
Since Michael had just arrived in Rheinsville City, he was indeed driving a rental.
He had been so focused on going to Wendy’s rescue that he had not cared about the condition of the car he had rented.
Traveling in it would indeed be an uncomfortable ride for Wendy.
"No big deal. A rental would be just fine," Wendy chimed in. In a situation such as this one, she made her stand very clear.
She was, after all, Michael’s wife.
And she would willingly travel in any car that Michael drove.
Besides, since Michael was here, it would be inappropriate for her to ride with Todd.
To top it all off, Todd had even opened the door to the front passenger seat, inviting her to ride up in front with him.
On his part, Michael was reluctant to let Wendy ride with him in the rental.
It was all right for him, but he did not want Wendy to suffer any discomfort.
But then again, the alternative would be Todd’s car.
"Where’s your car?" Wendy walked over to Michael and slipped her hand round his arm, saying, "Let’s go."
Noticing what Wendy had done, Todd looked a little sad.
Catching the change in Todd’s expression, Michael had a breakthrough.
He had decided that they should make Todd their chauffeur while enjoying a comfortable ride in a nice car. It was a good deal by any measure.
And so, taking Wendy’s hand, Michael led her to the back seat where he opened the door and ushered her inside, saying tenderly, "No problem, let’s just ride in Mr.
Lewis’ car then. I have not traveled in such a luxurious car before."
Seeing his bright smile, Wendy was surprised at Michael’s sudden change in demeanor.
Nonetheless, she got into the car after a brief pause.
...
Having settled Wendy in her seat, Michael got in and sat beside her.
Pulling the door shut, Michael said with a smile in his voice, "Thanks so much for the offer."
That said, Michael deliberately taunted him again, "Oh, before I forget. Please don’t drive too fast.
"Since Wendy has barely recovered, I don’t want her rattled by a fast-speeding car.
We’re in no hurry anyway, so better safe than sorry. Don’t you agree, Mr. Lewis?"
On his part, Todd was not looking very pleased and fuming inside at what Michael had said.
It was obvious that, as far as Michael was concerned, Todd was their chauffeur.
Suppressing his rising anger, Todd smiled, "Well, if you’re so concerned about Corinne’s health, you should let her sit up in front instead. It’s roomy, and the view is excellent."
"Hmm, I must say that you are wrong there. The fact is that the back seat of a car is the safest place to be.
"In the event of an accident, the front passenger seat is the most dangerous place to be," Michael explained, unable to keep the laughter out of his voice.
Meanwhile, Todd was getting increasingly irritated by Michael’s tone.
Listening to their verbal sparring, Wendy felt her head aching.
They were at it again.
Michael’s little piece of information had rendered Todd speechless.
Anyway, he consoled himself that whether he liked it or not, they were already settled in the back seat.
He was resigned to being their chauffeur for the day.
Buckling up his seat belt, he put the car in motion and pulled out.
Once the car started to move, Michael took out his phone and called Mr. York, instructing, "Take everyone with you and follow Mr. Lewis’ car."
Having issued that simple instruction, Michael hung up.
In no time at all, they arrived at HG.
The scene outside was exactly like what Todd had encountered during his last visit.
There was a huge crowd of reporters and debtors at the gate.
The difference was that Todd had been on his own when he last visited.
But now, Wendy was here with Michael and more than a hundred bodyguards.
When the reporters spotted Wendy, Todd, and Michael, they rushed towards them immediately.
"Miss Swift, Mr. Lucas, Mr. Lewis, why have you come here together?"
"Mr. Lucas, when did you arrive in Rheinsville City? Why are you here?"
"Miss Swift, what is your relationship with these two men? One’s an ex-husband, while the other is a recent ex-boyfriend. Why have the three of you showed up here at the same time?"
"Why have you come to HG today? Are you coming to their rescue or to rub their noses in their troubles?"
...
The camera lights were flashing continuously at them.
Wendy raised her hand to shield her eyes that were smarting from the flashes.
Seeing this, both Michael and Todd stepped forward to protect her from the crowd.
Unfortunately for Todd, Wendy had instinctively edged towards Michael and into his arms.
With one arm wrapped protectively around her, Michael shoved the reporters away with his other.
Instantly, Michael’s team of bodyguards spilled out from their cars and quickly formed a barricade against the reporters.
They made their way successfully into HG without answering any of the questions posed by the reporters.
Even the bodyguards at the entrance to HG were overpowered by Michael’s bodyguards.
They walked into the elevator and went straight up to the floor where Timothy’s office was located.
Todd stopped at the entrance to Timothy’s office.
Looking at the entrance, he whispered, "I’ll wait out here for you."
Todd was feeling guilty about having betrayed Timothy and did not want to face him again.
Not wishing to pressure him, Wendy nodded.
She had come here with a specific objective. It was just as well that Todd did not join her.
With Michael by her side, she took a deep breath and entered the office.
Both Timothy and Rosa were still in the office.
...
Hearing the noise at the doorway, Rosa looked out from within the office.
Understandably, she was shocked to see Wendy and Michael.
"Corinne... " Rosa murmured incredulously. "What are you doing here? You... why are you here with Michael?"
Rosa knew that Wendy was involved in the downfall of HG.
She had also wondered if the rumor that Wendy had collaborated with Michael was indeed true.
Despite being somewhat prepared for the worst, she still found it unimaginable that they had shown up here together.
Her hand covered her mouth as tears flowed down over her fingers as she asked, "Corinne, so the rumor is true? That you collaborated with Michael to bring about the downfall of HG?"
Wendy was aware that Rosa had known nothing about Timothy’s illicit dealings. Rosa was the innocent party in all of this.
And she did not want to involve Rosa in any of it either.
With a sigh of resignation, Wendy replied, "I’m so sorry."
Rosa shook her head.
She did not need to hear apologies.
Timothy did not turn around to them. He remained in his seat, staring through the floor-to-ceiling window at the scene outside.
Because he was acrophobic, his office was located on a low floor.
In the past, he had not realized how beautiful the outside view was from his office window.
But in the past few days, he could not get enough of the beautiful scenery.
He was aware that Wendy was here with Michael.
However, he did not turn around to face them.
Wendy stepped forward and walked over to face him.
She looked concerned when she noticed the untouched plates of food and fruits on the table.
Timothy looked disheveled and weary. He seemed to have aged ten years over the past few days.
He looked nothing like the energetic and charismatic Chairman of HG.
Picking up a plate of food, Wendy filled a spoon with some food and tried to feed it to Timothy. "Mr. Woods, please eat something. Please don’t let Mrs. Woods worry."
Moving his head away, Timothy evaded the spoonful of food that Wendy had tried to feed him.
Looking listless, he looked at Wendy, who was on her knees in front of him, sneering, "What are you doing here? Come to gloat at my sorry state?"
"Mr. Woods, believe it or not, I truly value the training and guidance that you have given me.
"However, we have our differences with regards to values and discerning right from wrong.
"You did wrong. Eventually, it would have caught up with you, and you’d have to pay the price," Wendy said.
Sighing, she added, "You should have known that this day of reckoning would come when you first decided on this path in the beginning."
"But I never, not in my wildest dreams, imagined that my two beloved mentees would one day betray me and bring about my downfall," Timothy rebutted sounding like a man who had lost all hope in life.
He knew that he had done wrong. But why did it have to be his two beloved mentees, whom he had personally trained, who would topple him from his elevated status in society?
He’d prefer it had been his enemies, competitors, or even total strangers, just not his two mentees.
"Eat something first, then we’ll talk. OK?" Wendy said gently before trying to feed him another spoonful of food.
However, an enraged Timothy reached out and swiped her hand away violently.
Wendy, sitting on her knees, lost her balance at the force of his swipe and fell backward.
Fortunately, Michael was agile enough to immediately reach out and catch her before she fell to the floor.
He would not tolerate anyone who harmed Wendy and in his presence as well.
After helping Wendy to her feet and steadying her, Michael raised his hand intending to hit Timothy.
When Wendy realized what he was about to do, she quickly caught his hand in mid-air and shook her head, saying, "No, don’t do it."
...
Besides checking on Timothy’s condition, Wendy had another motive for her visit today.
And, because she valued their past relationship, she could not stand by and watch Michael beat him up.
She could tell that Michael had every intention of hurting Timothy from the force of his swing.
She hung on to his arm for dear life. However, the momentum of his aggressive swing was so great that Wendy was sent reeling backward.
Once again, Michael came to her rescue and caught her.
"I’m sorry, Wendy. I didn’t mean to do that to you," Michael uttered as he quickly assessed her for any sign of injury. "Are you OK?"
"I’m OK," Wendy replied.
Shaking her head, she looked first at Timothy and then shifted her gaze to Michael, saying, "Let me talk to Mr. Woods in private. Can you wait for me outside, please?"
Michael could hear the plea in her voice as she spoke.
Wendy knew that with Michael in the room, she would not be able to have a good talk with Timothy.
"Nope, I will not leave this room," Michael responded. He was not going to leave her on her own in this office with Timothy.
If he had not been agile enough to catch her, Wendy would have been thrown to the floor.
"Look, just wait for me outside. I’ll be fine," Wendy repeated, pushing him away.
Michael shook his head, refusing to budge.
He needed to ensure that Wendy was safe.
And leaving her on her own in this office with Timothy was the most dangerous thing to do.
Timothy was capable of anything now that his beloved HG had collapsed.
Even though Timothy did look frail, Wendy had only just been discharged from the hospital and was still recovering from her injuries.
Seeing Michael’s determination to stay, Wendy knew that she would not be able to convince him otherwise.
With a sigh, she asked, "All right, stay then. But will you promise me that you will not intervene?"
Having made a concession to him, she added, "This is between Mr. Woods and me. I hope that you will let us resolve this between ourselves."
"I will not intervene as long as there is no threat to your safety," Michael replied.
His only concern, as always, was Wendy’s safety, and he didn’t care about anything else.
Wendy nodded.
When she turned around to Rosa standing silently by the side, Wendy noted that Rosa’s eyes were swollen from crying.
She knew that Rosa would not intervene in her conversation with Timothy either.
Wendy walked over to Timothy who had remained seated in his chair without moving an inch.
Looking serious, she began, "Mr. Woods, let’s have a heart-to-heart talk. There are no outsiders here, so let’s put everything on the table and have a rational conversation calmly."
"Talk? What’s there to talk about?" Timothy sneered.
"You brought Michael along with you today just to talk with me? Are you sure you’re not here to gloat?
"Come on, Corinne. Your wish has already been granted. HG no longer exists. What more do you want to talk about?
"Don’t tell me that you’re planning to get me to turn myself in?"
Since Timothy had broached the subject, Wendy followed up with a nod, saying, "Yes indeed. I was hoping that you would turn yourself in."
The best option for Timothy was to turn himself in.
At Wendy’s response, Timothy threw his head back and burst out laughing.
Wendy took a deep breath and tried to persuade him, "Look, Mr. Woods, HG has already collapsed.
"You know better than me that Christian will not be able to hang in there for much longer.
"So, instead of waiting here like a sitting duck, why don’t you turn yourself in?
"I will get you the best lawyers to fight your case."
Getting Timothy to turn himself in was not an impulsive act on Wendy’s part.
Truth be told, she had always intended to do this.
In the past, with HG still going strong as a viable operation, Timothy would never have conceded defeat and agreed to turn himself in without reason.
But the situation now was different.
With the collapse of HG, Timothy would have a next to zero chance of ever standing up again.
And Christian would follow suit shortly.
So, the best option for Timothy was to turn himself in and, perhaps, get a lighter sentence.
