Chapter Seventy-Eight


    The sound of footsteps echoed from the hallway. Then a minuteter, Rome walked into the dining


    room and stopped at the doorway as he faintly chuckled.


    "You stole her again. Do you not like me, dad?" Rome teased while watching Mr. Miller and Catherine


    set the table.


    "What are you talking about now?" Mr. Millerughed as he rested the bowl of rice on the table.


    N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material.


    "How can you keep making me wake up to an empty bed?"


    "If my daughter-inw wants to help me in the kitchen, how do you expect me to say, ''no'' to her."


    "Just like you say it to me, ''No!"


    Meeting Rome''s eyes, Mr. Miller didn''t hesitate to mumble, "You and she are not the same."


    "Another way to say, you respect her more than me," Rome mumbled, frowning


    "True."


    "Hey!"


    Unable to take Rome and Mr. Miller''s childish argument Catherine burst intoughter, burying her face


    into her palm.


    "Babe, it''s not funny. Stop waking up earlier to help this man. I need my morning cuddle to get through


    the day." Rome said as he walked towards her.


    Those words only left Catherine giggling loud until she had to pause to catch her breath.


    Then she lifted her head when Rome reached her and gazed adorably into his eyes.


    "I''m sorry, hon. But I love my morning time with father. His stories are so addictive. Who knew cooking


    could be so fun and rxing. I''m feeling tempted now to start a restaurant." Catherine jovially said,


    grinning at him.


    "My daughter-inw wants to be a chef?" Mr. Ford uttered, walking further into the dining room. "Just


    tell me when you want to start, and I will get you the best coach in the business!"


    "Can you guys stop spoiling my wife for me! That''s my job, okay?!" Rome uttered, squinting his eyes at


    his father.


    Then he looked back at Catherine and said, "If a restaurant is what you want, I can get you started on


    some amazing cooking sses."


    "Hey, that''s what I offered." Mr. Ford said, drawing a chair from the table.


    "Dad!"


    What! Can''t youe up with something that isn''t already taken!"


    When Rome drew a breath, Catherine silently chuckled, amazed at how even more ridiculous their


    argument was this morning. But it wasn''t strange to her since conversation like this was normal in the


    mansion and to her.


    "Fine! I will take on the construction of the building for the restaurant." Rome said with the utmost


    seriousness.


    "See. That wasn''t hard." Mr. Ford mumbled.


    Smiling, Mr. Miller gazed at Catherine and then said, "And I can pass on to you years'' worth of family


    recipes and cooking instructions."


    Realizing that the three of them were serious, Catherine''s eyes lit up as a sense of gratitude coursed


    through her.


    Then she grinned and softly uttered, "How about we take things slow, and I continue learning from


    father for now?"


    "Well, anything you say, dear." Mr. Ford said, gazing gently at Catherine.


    Meeting her eyes with a smile on his face, Mr. Miller uttered, "Of course. And tonight, I am upgrading


    you from washing the vegetables to slicing them."


    Drawing his brows together, Rome''s mouth partly open as he looked at Catherine and then stared at


    Mr. Miller in disbelief.


    A few hourster, when Rome arrived at his office, he took a seat behind his desk, strolled through his


    contacts for a while, and then dialed a number.


    When his call got epted, he heard a fellow voice say, "Good morning, Sir."


    "Morning, Rick. Status at DreamTeam." Rome calmly uttered, resting back in his seat.


    "Within a month, thepany''s growth has declined greatly, and clients are pulling out their projects."


    "Mmh,"


    "Also, I did some digging into thepany records as you asked of me, and I found out that Elijah and


    Anthony are using thepany funds like a personal piggy bank without Charles or William''s


    knowledge."


    "Not strange. The leopard doesn''t change his spots."


    "Also, Charles is burying thepany in loan debts to keep it running. And from the looks of things,


    DreamTeam will copse and suffer from bankruptcy within a matter of months."


    "Okay. Thanks for the update, Rick."


    "It''s my pleasure, sir. I will continue working undercover and investigating."


    "Rick,"


    "Yes, Sir!"


    "I need you to find out what Charles is using as coteral for these loans, okay?"


    "I will, sir!"


    After ending the call, Rome rested back in his seat and closed his eyelids, sighing heavily. But the


    sound of his office door opening made him raise hisshes.


    "Good morning, boss," Scar said, stopping a few distances from the desk.


    Sitting up straight, Rome rested his hands on the desk and calmly uttered, "Nice to finally see you after


    weeks, other than hear your voice on the phone. You have been keeping your distance, why?"


    "It''s been months, and I got nothing. I have been cautious with keeping my distance and identity while


    following her, so I don''t think Amara behaves carefully because she knows that someone is keeping


    tabs on her, so why…"


    "Everything falls into ce at the right time when you are patient, Scar."


    "I know, boss. But…"


    "But you are doing your best, and that''s what counts now, okay?"


    "You are right, boss."


    Silence fell in the room for a moment. Then Scar slightly frowned and asked, "So how''s DreamTeam


    since Charles took over?"


    "It''s a mess just like Catherine and I assumed it was going to be if she allowed her uncles and cousins


    back into thepany. Their behaviors are even worse now since Mr. Barlow isn''t in control anymore."


    Rome said, furrowing his brows.


    Then a frown crossed his face as he uttered, "But what I don''t understand is why the puppets'' master


    has gone silent again after giving Charles the family wealth. Is it to torture me by making everything


    that my wife works for go down the drainage?


    The was a brief pause. Then Rome clenched his brows and mumbled, "Or Is the something bigger to


    it?"


    A sense of anger suddenly sparked in Rome, and he subconsciouslyshed out, "Damn it! I just wish I


    knew who this bastard is! And the frustrating part in all this is the list from my father are names of


    ghosts! I can not find out anything on them!"


    "He''s still refusing to tell you what happened that night?" Scar blurted out before getting a grip on his


    tongue.


    Silence instantly fell in the room as Rome red at him and said, "What do you mean by that?"


    With a look of fear in his eyes, Scar lowered his gaze to the floor, realizing that he had messed up.


    Frowning, Rome hardened his face and coldly uttered, "Right! You, Brook, ze, and Ondo have


    been working for my father from the very beginning. If you three were the ones looking for me when I


    went missing, then it shows how much my father trusted you all. So spill it! What do you know?!"


    "I can''t. After your father erased his past, we all sworn not to speak of what happened that night or


    afterward!" Scar said, looking away from Rome.


    A sense of desperation overwhelmed Rome, and he pleadingly said, "Scar, this is your chance to help


    me figure this out faster!!"


    "Your mother wasn''t the only one your father lost doing that time!" Scar blurted out, giving in to his guilt.


    "What?"


    "Oh no!"


    Sealing his lips, Scar jumped to his feet, looking nervously at Rome. Then he sighed and mumbled, "I


    have said too much, boss. Sorry, but I can''t help you with this one. Only the big boss can."


    As Mr. Ford was about to skip the page of his newspaper, Butler Hobson walked into the living room


    and humbly announced, "Sir, Mr. and Mrs. Barlow are at the gate."


    Immediately, Mr. Ford mmed his newspaper shut and his face hardened as anger glowed in his


    eyes.