Return Of The Prodigy
Return of the Prodigy Chapter 60

Katie asked anxiously, "Where is Annie? Didn't you say you would take me to see her?"

"Don't worry," Adam said calmly, "Annie will return in some time."

"What do you mean?" Katie queried in puzzlement, "Is Matilda not back yet?"

Adam glanced at Dave and said coldly, "She'll be back sooner or later. After all, she's not bold enough to gamble with her life. She knows what the consequences will be if she's found guilty of child trafficking. That's why I believe that she won't dare to hurt Annie." Dave frowned before saying, "Adam, what do you mean?

"Are you implying that us Hartleys were responsible for everything that happened today? You better not slander my family!

"Using these lowly methods is beneath us Hartleys."

Katie was startled. She asked in disbelief, "Adam, this... this can't be real, right?"

A moment ago, she was kidnapped and almost killed. No matter how much the Hartleys hated her, she refused to believe that they would go this far to get rid of her. At the end of the day, she was also a member of the family. Adam said coldly, "In a while, you'll know what's real and what's not."

The people in the hall fell silent, with the air in the villa becoming especially heavy.

Looking at the helicopter hovering above the Hartleys' residence and the machine guns pointed at them, everyone felt jittery.

Time slowly passed by. Katie kept calling Matilda the whole time, but the latter's phone was still unreachable.

While Katie was getting more and more restless, a car stopped before the villa's main gate.

Matilda, Annie, and Bobby alighted from the vehicle, entering the villa.

The pupils of every member of the Hartley family constricted.

Seeing Annie with Matilda left them shocked. They wondered if everything that had happened was indeed the doing of one of their family members.

"Annie!"

Katie rushed forward and hugged Annie. "Annie, are you okay? Are you hurt? Did... Did she do anything to you?" she asked while nervously checking if her daughter was hurt. Matilda stared at Katie in shock. What is she doing here?

Didn't Peter say that Katie would die today?

Looking at her messy hair, swollen cheeks, and dirty clothes, Katie seems to have gone through a lot. Why didn't she die, though?

Who saved her?

Adam said coldly, "Are you finally willing to show your face?"

Dave also questioned her, "Matilda, what's going on?"

Matilda shivered and recovered from the shock. She raised her head and looked at the helicopter hovering above the villa. The whole scene gave her a bad feeling.

"Why are you standing there like a fool? Speak!" roared Dave.

Matilda debated for a short moment and said with a cold smile, "Grandfather, it just couldn't be helped. Everything is the fault of these negligent fools.

"It was time to pick up the children at the kindergarten, yet none of Annie's parents showed up. If it weren't for me, who knows what might have happened to her. What if someone kidnapped her? "Katie, shouldn't you be thanking me for picking up your daughter?"

Katie was stunned, and she looked at Matilda inquisitively.

Is she telling the truth? Did I misunderstand Matilda's intentions? However, Matilda being so gentle is too out of character for her... Adam snickered, "Next, are you going to tell me that doves are black and crows are white? You sure were quick to pull a whitewash. "You're acting like classes ended earlier today, yet the kindergarten didn't notify me of such a change.

"And if you were just picking up my daughter... Why are the clothes she's wearing at this time different from the ones she donned before?"

Katie looked at Annie again, noticing that the clothes the little girl was wearing right now were different from the ones she did this morning.

Earlier this morning, Katie made Annie wear a pink dress from a set of designer clothes that Adam had bought. Although Annie still wore a pink dress, it was of a different style from the previous one. One needed but a glance to see that this other version was much cheaper.

Katie's heart trembled. Don't tell me that Matilda tore Annie's dress... Is that why she bought Annie a new dress?

Katie could not be blamed for being so clueless. After all, she knew nothing of that girl wearing Annie's dress that had led most of the police forces astray, pushing Adam to make a difficult choice.

If not for Adam keeping his calm and making the correct decision, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

Secondly, Katie was reluctant to believe that Matilda would go to such lengths just to take revenge on her.

"Annie, come with me." Katie carried Annie in her arms and returned to the villa. She wanted to inspect her daughter to see if Matilda had mistreated her.

Matilda shivered at Adam's words, but she refused to confess. "You dare question my motives? I bought her a new set because your daughter is a little pest, and her clothes got dirty while she was fooling around. Out of kindness, I bought her this new set of clothes. That way, she would at least look presentable while hanging around with me."

"What happened to the original set of clothes?" Adam said with a sneer.

"What about it? I threw them away!"

"Yeah, if the clothes were dirty, it's not strange to throw them away. Adam, why are you making such a big deal out of it?"

"Matilda picked up your daughter and even bought a new set of clothes for her, yet here you're interrogating her like a criminal instead of thanking her!"

"Sigh, you can't expect much from this hopeless family. Even if you give them a lifetime, they won't change their ways."

The other family members chimed in Matilda's support and started berating Adam.

They had had enough of getting bossed around by Adam. They resented him because he broke the main gate of their residence and thrashed the place. They resented him because he yelled at them and acted all high and mighty. They resented him because he taught them what fear was.

Earlier, they thought that Matilda had mistreated Annie after picking her up, so they did not dare to speak so as to avoid adding fuel to the fire. If Adam were to lose control and go on a rampage, none of them would be able to stop him. However, Matilda was back now, and Annie turned out to be fine. This meant that they had nothing to feel guilty about and that Matilda was just doing a favor to Adam and Katie.

Such being the case, there was no need for them to indulge Adam and let him do as he pleased.

In fact, Adam should apologize and thank them.

Dave also felt reinvigorated and shouted, "I've had enough of this. How dare you make the Hartleys look like a joke in front of every respectable person in Lisle? I no longer want to have anything to do with a bunch of maniacs. From today onward, you're no longer part of this family!"

Hearing Dave's words, everyone clapped. Adam had dared to boss them around, so it was time to make him pay.

With Katie and company removed from the family, they did not have to worry about them encroaching upon the family assets ever again.

Matilda's eyes brightened. This outcome was unexpected but a welcomed one. Was this also part of Peter's plan?

"Since you're no longer part of the Hartleys, get the hell out of here!"

"Call Katie here and throw out this family of good-for-nothings!"

"Make them pay for the damage as well!"

The Hartleys began cursing at Adam.

Adam glanced at them and said with a sneer, "Are you done with your nonsense? The real play has yet to start. Calm down and find a nice seat."

In the next moment, they heard the sound of sirens, and several police cars stopped in front of the Hartleys' residence.

Jake Allen alighted from one of the police cars, followed by a group of police officers armed to the teeth.

The Hartleys were stunned. Dave returned to his senses and hurried to greet them.

"Mayor, what brings you here?"

"Hmph!" Jake snorted. "Peter Hartley and Matilda Hartley are suspected of being involved in a case of kidnapping. We're taking them to the police station for further questioning. Guys, arrest them."

Two police officers walked up to Matilda and handcuffed her.

The cold sensation of the metal made Matilda shiver. She glared daggers at the police officers and called out, "Why are you arresting me? I haven't done anything!"

"Mayor, there must be a misunderstanding. Matilda only picked up her niece from the kindergarten. She didn't kidnap anyone."

"If you don't believe us, you can just go inside and take a look. Annie has already returned. Someone call Katie and Annie here!"

"Yeah, Matilda is Annie's aunt. Even if she picked her up, it's not kidnapping!"

All the Hartleys spoke up for Matilda.

Two people barged into the villa and went to look for Katie and Annie.

"Mayor, as you can see, Annie is safe and sound. There was no kidnapping," pleaded Terry.

Jake snorted and added, "I never say that she was under arrest for kidnapping Annie Hartley. She's under arrest for Katie Hartley's kidnapping!"

"What?" The Hartleys shouted in unison, wondering if they had misheard.

"That's impossible. Katie is inside the villa."

"Yes, Matilda only picked Annie up at the kindergarten, how did she end up being involved in Katie's kidnapping?"

"Even if you're the police, you can't arrest people without any proof!"

Jake swept the crowd with his cold eyes and said in a deep voice, "In a while, everything will be clear. We wouldn't have placed her under arrest if we didn't have any proof. Let's continue the discussion when Peter Hartley shows up." Everyone burst into discussion again. "That makes no sense. Peter was admitted to a hospital recently, how can he be involved in the kidnapping?"

"Yeah, Peter is a good lad. There's no way he'd do something like that!"

"I bet it's all a scheme from Katie and her family to hurt Peter. They probably want to get full control of the construction project. They sure are vicious!"

"I can't believe they dare to frame my daughter! I'm going to kill them!"

Terry flew into a rage and tried to kick Katie, who had just returned from inside the villa.

Bwak!

Adam instantly appeared before Katie and kicked Terry in the stomach.