Who Cares About Him When I'm Married to the Richest Man?-Chapter 38: Father’s Accident

Rosalind responded impatiently, "That bitch found some help from somewhere and has been guarding that old man. I can’t find a chance to make a move."

Haylie tossed her long hair, dismissively saying, "Just find a few more people, take care of those helpers first, and then deal with that old geezer. It’s easy!"

Rosalind shook her head, "It’s not as simple as you say. That old geezer lives in an old community in the city center, surrounded by surveillance cameras."

Hearing this, Haylie stopped what she was doing and lightly nudged Rosalind with her elbow, "If you really want to make a move, I have an idea..."

Rosalind was intrigued, "What idea? Tell me quickly!"

Haylie leaned in and whispered a few words to her, and Rosalind’s eyes lit up.

Elara had a good night’s sleep, and the next day she went to the company. Just after attending a work meeting, she received a call from Yvette Sommers.

"Elara, you’d better come back quickly. Your dad is missing!"

Elara’s heart clenched sharply, and she quickly asked, "What happened to my dad? How could he be missing?"

Yvette Sommers sounded impatient, "How would I know where he went? He was fine last night before bed, and this morning he was gone! It’s so unlucky, I have to attend Aidan’s parent meeting today and now this is messing with my plans. You better come back quickly!"

Elara hung up the phone and hurried to find her supervisor to ask for leave.

The business department has a total of three groups, and Elara belongs to the third group. The supervisor is called Andrew Chambers, who is in his early thirties, has a good temper, and is very popular in the company for his tall and handsome appearance and his small achievements in his career.

When Elara knocked and entered the room, she happened to see a high-ponytail girl coming out with red eyes. Elara recognized her; she was Penny Carter, who had just graduated and joined the company at the same time as Elara, still in her internship period.

Seeing Elara, Penny Carter glared at her indignantly and walked out without a word.

Elara felt perplexed but didn’t think much of it. She walked in and said, "Supervisor Chambers, something happened at my home, and I need to take half a day off."

Andrew Chambers looked up and asked with concern, "What happened? What’s going on at home?"

Elara forced a smile, "My dad is missing, so I..."

On hearing this, Andrew Chambers immediately looked serious and said, "Such a big thing, why didn’t you say earlier? I’ll approve your leave right away."

After approving the leave, he paused and glanced at his watch, "Well, I’m actually going to visit a client, let me give you a lift."

Elara was taken aback and felt a little embarrassed, "No need, it’s convenient for me to take a cab."

Andrew Chambers was already grabbing his coat and computer bag, heading out, "No need to be polite at a time like this. Come on, it’s just a two-foot tap on the gas pedal."

Elara had no choice but to agree, "Supervisor Chambers, then I’ll trouble you."

Andrew Chambers looked back at her, giving her a deep look and smiled, "It’s no trouble."

Elara turned on the navigation, and half an hour later, Andrew Chambers’ car stopped outside the old community. He leaned out and looked around, asking seemingly casually, "The house prices around here aren’t cheap, right?"

Elara, anxious with worry, had to patiently answer his question, "It’s around thirty thousand now. My dad got the house assigned from his workplace a long time ago. It’s not big, and we definitely couldn’t afford it now."

Seeing her anxiety, Andrew Chambers gave a reassuring smile, "You go quickly. I’ll be nearby. Contact me if anything happens."

Elara quickly said, "Thank you."

Andrew Chambers waved casually, watching her go upstairs before driving away.

When Elara entered the house, she saw Yvette Sommers changing her shoes in the hallway, and quickly asked, "What did the police say? Any news of my dad?"

Yvette Sommers replied impatiently, "The police came by but found no clues. They said they’ll check the surveillance. I have no idea where your dad liked to go back in the day. You’re on your own, I’m running late!"

With that, she grabbed her bag and left.

The door slammed shut, and Elara frowned. She never expected Yvette Sommers to have any sense of belonging towards her father but didn’t think she’d be so indifferent.

Her father was clear-headed, and with his legs not being agile, he usually avoided going out. For him to drag his inconvenient body out in the middle of the night, there must have been something important.

However, her father had retired long ago, and after the incident three years ago, he had little contact with his old friends. Where could he have gone?

Elara searched her father’s room anxiously but found nothing useful. With no other options, she decided to go to the police station, hoping to see the surveillance footage from before her father’s disappearance.

The police station staff were very courteous, "Miss Hale, we are currently checking the nearby surveillance facilities, but results won’t be immediate. Moreover, your father left voluntarily, and it’s only been eight hours since he went missing. The methods we can employ are limited. We hope you understand."

Elara was burning with anxiety but knew she couldn’t hassle the police. She simply said, "Please contact me as soon as you have any results."

After receiving a firm answer, she left the police station.

With no progress there, she couldn’t just sit idle and went to all the places her father used to frequent. No sign of him anywhere.

Elara was getting increasingly anxious. Her father was paralyzed; where could he have possibly gone? Could he be in danger?

Just then, Zara Dalton called, with a teasing tone, "Elara, did you know your dad is missing?"

Elara was taken aback, feeling a surge of hope, "Did you see my dad? Where is he?"

Zara Dalton expressed surprise, "You really didn’t know? Your dad left home on his own last night and my people, switching shifts, happened to stop him on the road."

Elara had previously asked Zara Dalton to arrange for some people to protect her father. She hadn’t expected those people were still there.

She was overjoyed, "So my dad is now..."

Zara Dalton laughed, "Relax, he took your dad back home last night and only told me about it this morning. I’ve already instructed him to send your dad back now."

Hearing this, Elara let out a long sigh of relief, and her tightly wound nerves finally relaxed, "I’ll head back now."

"Alright," Zara Dalton asked somewhat worriedly, "Can you manage on your own? Want me to come over?"

"Don’t worry, I’ll be fine." Elara declined Zara Dalton’s offer and hurried towards her father’s home.

Not long after, Zara Dalton’s people brought David Hales back. They were repeatedly apologizing, "I’m really sorry, Miss Hale, I didn’t expect taking Uncle Hale away would cause you so much trouble."

Elara glanced at her father, safe and sound on the sofa, her eyes slightly red, and gently shook her head, "It’s okay, you were just trying to help. Thank you for taking care of my dad."

"You’re welcome, just a small matter."

After seeing the person off, Elara turned to her father, choking, "Dad! You scared me to death!"

Only now did her tears uncontrollably fall, "In the future, if something happens, can you please tell me? Don’t just leave without a word. After mom passed away, you’re my only family left..."

David Hales looked at his daughter’s slightly trembling body due to the intense emotions, a subtle change flashed in his eyes. After a while, he hoarsely comforted her, "I’m fine, Elara, stop crying."

Elara hugged her father’s thin body, "Dad, why did you go out in the middle of the night? Did Auntie Yvette give you a hard time?"

Her heart was filled with bitterness, and she resolved, "Why don’t we ask her to leave next month? My work is already on track, I’m earning over ten thousand a month, and it will only increase. It’s just that I’ll have to endure for the next couple of years..."

David Hales stroked her hair, amused and exasperated, "Silly girl, how could she bully me? Do you think your dad is a pushover? Worst case, I’d call you to complain! It has nothing to do with her, it’s me..."

He paused, then continued nonchalantly, "I had something to deal with, but it’s all sorted now."

Elara felt uneasy, "Really?"

David Hales raised his voice slightly, "You don’t believe your dad anymore?"

Elara still felt anxious.

Just like she said before, for the past three years, her father’s social circle was very simple. What kind of matter would make him rush out despite his limited mobility?

Her gaze suddenly halted on David Hales’s arm.

Today, David was wearing a long-sleeved shirt, and he usually rolled up the cuffs when he wore long sleeves, but today the sleeves were pulled down long, almost covering the back of his hand, revealing a hint of a blue and purple bruise as the stretched sleeves swayed.

Elara’s heart skipped a beat, she immediately grabbed her father’s arm, and before David could react, she quickly pulled up his sleeve.

At that moment, her heart was tightly clenched.

His thin arm was covered with bruises, blue and purple, some even bloody, clearly from a beating.

Elara’s breath caught, almost unable to believe her eyes. She asked trembling, "Dad, what happened?"

David’s eyes showed a hint of discomfort, brushing it off, "I fell on the way home, you know my legs aren’t good, accidentally fell down the stairs..."

Elara did not believe his lie, her fingers trembling as she lifted the hem of his shirt.

David’s chest and back were covered with the same blue and purple marks, and drawn-out bloody scars.

She was almost fainting, gripping David’s wrist, her voice dry, "Dad, don’t tell me these are from falling down the stairs too, are you taking me for a fool?"

Even a fool could see he had been violently beaten!

Who, who did this...

Elara’s voice choked with emotion, her tears uncontrollably flowing down as she frantically pulled at David’s clothes, David hurriedly tried to stop her, "Elara, I’m fine, stop this..."

Elara collapsed on the ground crying, though David was quick to pull his shirt back, she saw, from top to bottom, her father’s body was full of marks from the beating.

And the beating was very severe, she dared not imagine what her father had gone through that night.

She cried, "Dad, let’s call the police, they will get justice for us!"

David still tried to brush it off, "Elara, I’m really fine..."

Elara cried uncontrollably, "You call this fine? Dad, you’re the only family I have left in this world. If something happened to you, how would I continue to live? Tell me, what actually happened..."

David fell silent.

Elara persisted, "Dad, what actually happened? Who did this to you? Why did they attack you?"

After a moment, David sighed and told her what happened.

"Last night, I was already asleep when I received a phone call saying something happened to you, you were in critical condition at the hospital. I was so panicked, didn’t care about anything else, and rushed out in my wheelchair. But unexpectedly, just at the entrance of the neighborhood, someone forced me into a van.

I don’t know who they are. They started beating me right away. I heard one say, ’Why don’t we just finish him here,’ while another said, ’No, this place attracts too much attention, we’re paid to do this job, but can’t get ourselves into trouble!’

They beat me up, then tried to drive away. I thought for sure I wouldn’t survive, but at that moment, someone came by. For some reason, they threw me off the van. I was brought back by Dalton’s people, and returned here this morning." 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

After finishing, David glanced at Elara’s face and hesitated, "Elara, honestly, I think they might have mistaken me for someone else. Why else would they let me go? Maybe we should just let this go."

Elara’s face was grim.

Zara Dalton’s friends were nearby, her father was unaware.

Those people intended to take her father away but after encountering Zara’s friends, released him instead.

This indicated they knew Zara Dalton’s friends, and might have been lurking around for some time.

They... had been targeting her father for a while!

But father was neither wealthy nor had anything else, and was also disabled, why were they targeting him? What did they want from him?

Recalling the words father overheard during the ordeal, Elara clenched her fists tightly. Could it be they wanted her father’s life?

Who did father offend? Or unknowingly crossed?

Elara’s mind was tightly gripped, but fearing her father might be frightened, she dared not voice these speculations openly, only asked tentatively, "Dad, you haven’t gone out recently, have you?"

David waved his hand, "You know it too, ever since my leg became useless, this is the first time I’ve gone out. If I hadn’t heard you had an accident, I wouldn’t have been tricked."

After pausing, he comforted Elara, "Don’t worry, even if someone wants to harm me, I just won’t go out. I can hide at home, no one can do anything to me, don’t worry."

Elara pretended to be reassured, even tried to smile, "Alright, then make sure you stay safe, don’t get fooled again."

Seeing her calm down, David relaxed too, and quickly promised, "Okay, I promise."

Elara wiped her tears, got up, and said, "You haven’t had breakfast yet, right? I’ll go make you something."