"Mikael, wake up!"
"Let me sleep, Ana..." He groaned and turned over, and received a slap on his back.
"Wake up! Dad is here. It's dinnertime." As soon as she finished speaking, he shot up from bed and rushed into the dressing room to get ready.
Anaiah helplessly shook her head and was about to leave when she heard his phone ring.
Seeing that it was a call from Zhang Min-Jin, she hesitated but then picked it up.
"Hello, this is Anaiah," she said, and the girl on the other end paused.
"Hello, Lady Anaiah, may I speak to Mikael?"
"He's in the bathroom right now. You can tell me if it is anything urgent, and I will let him know. Or I can tell him to call you later."
She frowned when she heard the noise in the background.
"I..."
"Where are you?"
"We are in the shopping street next to Madison Park."
"The Western Street?"
"Yes."
"Tell me what's going on."
Min-Jin hesitated, but when the yelling on the phone got louder, and when the Zarayne insisted, she told her everything.
"You don't have guards with you?"
"We have, but the police are involved now, and we have been asked to wait."
"Relax. Give the phone to the guard."
A few seconds later, she heard a gruff female voice speak.
"This is Bonney, My Lady."
Anaiah had an impression of this female guard and knew that she was very capable.
"Do you have the gun with you?"
"Yes."
"Why haven't you used it yet? Shut them up," she coldly said, and only a couple of seconds later, there was stunned silence in the background.
"Done."
"Don't worry. We will handle the situation. You can use excessive force if necessary. Warn that woman that if she speaks again, she will regret it. Slap her if she says even a single word."
"Understood, My Lady."
"Give the phone back to Min-Jin."
"Anaiah..."
"Relax. You cannot go easy on such people. They will take advantage of you and only grow bolder. Just stay patient. We will be right there. If the police come and insist on taking you to the nearest station for questioning, cooperate without any panic or hesitation. Clearly deny any association with them, and other than that, stay quiet. Okay?"
"Okay."
The young Zarayne sighed after she ended the call, and then rushed right into the dressing room.
Mikael was in the bathroom right now, and the door was not closed, so she could hear him taking a shower.
Walking up, she entered the bathroom and looked at his blurry figure in the shower cabin.
"Mikael, Alison's uncle and aunt have created a scene at the Western Shopping Street next to Madison Park. The police are involved, and Min-Jin and your secretary are getting worried," she told him, and he quickly rinsed off the soap and walked out.
Mikael did not bother covering himself and directly used the towel to dry his body, leaving Anaiah blushing like a tomato.
Though shy, she could not take her eyes off him, especially the little Mikael, who was in its flaccid state but still not little.
She followed him out and watched him quickly dress up in grey Levano wool trousers and a white linen shirt.
Anaiah picked up a pair of socks and shoes for him, and he was ready in under two minutes.
"Do you want to come?" he asked as he accepted his phone from her hand and then picked up his wallet.
"Yes, let's go." She nodded her head.
Everyone was confused when they saw the two rushing downstairs, and without explaining himself, Mikael hugged his father and apologised that he needed to go out to deal with something.
"We are really sorry, Dad. A friend needs help. We will try to come back as soon as possible." Anaiah was kind enough to give them some context, and Maria asked both of them to be safe.
By the time Anaiah arrived at the front door, Mikael had pulled the rose-red AminFarina Evangelon into the driveway.
She quickly entered the passenger seat and put on the seatbelt.
As soon as they exited the gate of the villa, Mikael pressed on the accelerator, and the engine rumbled in the night as the car shot forward like a shooting star.
This was not the first time Anaiah was sitting in the car with him, so she was not scared. She trusted his skills behind the wheel.
Mikael opted for the longer route which had less traffic, and the distance that would have usually taken over an hour was covered in twenty minutes by him.
Anaiah could not even get out of the car for a few moments as he parked and rushed out towards the people who were by the side of the street.
She frowned when she saw him bump shoulders with a middle-aged man who had a pot belly, watched him move his hand close to the pocket on the vest, and then, without saying sorry, he rushed towards Min-Jin and Alison.
"Mikael," the hazel-eyed girl smiled when she saw him, but ever since the phone call with Anaiah, she had relaxed a lot.
The police were already at the scene and were talking with Alison, who looked quite nervous.
"Play along," he whispered to Min-Jin, who looked confused, but then he started saying things that confused her even more. "Are you sure it was him?" he asked, furrowing his brows and glancing at the middle-aged man who was frowning as he looked their way.
This scene caught the attention of the constables, who frowned as well before they walked over.
"Yes, I am sure it's him." Even though she did not know what he was talking about, she played along.
"Good evening, Master Zarayne."
"Good evening." He nodded to the man and then furrowed his brows.
"Is everything okay?" the second constable asked.
"No. My girlfriend had my watch in her purse, and now it's missing. She believes that man took it when he harassed my secretary and snatched the purse."
The constables frowned.
"Can you please search him?"
"Of course. Please stay here."
He nodded to them, and the two officers immediately went to Alison's uncle.
As expected, the man resisted, and his irritable personality made him suspicious in the eyes of the officers.
One of the officers held him as the other searched him, and he immediately found something in the pocket of his vest.
Anaiah, who saw the scene, smirked in her heart.
"You are under arrest!" the officer told him when he took out the watch, crested with diamonds, and at seeing it, the middle-aged man paled.
"It's not mine..."
"Of course, it's not yours." Mikael angrily walked towards him. "It has my name on its back."
The officer immediately checked it, and sure enough, the name was on the back.
"No, no! You are framing me!" In panic, the man accused the officers, and their faces darkened at his words.
"Take him away."
As one man led the thief to the car, the other officer quickly took pictures of the watch and registered the charges of theft under the man's name, using his ID card that was in his possession.
"Thank you for waiting, Master Zarayne. Here's your watch."
"Thank you, Officer. Also, I wish to file charges of domestic violence and abuse against that man and his wife. He and his wife have been abusive towards my secretary, and if you question the neighbours, they will tell you what kind of people they are."
"Rest assured, Master Zarayne, we will look into this matter." He promised and immediately went away to contact the station.
Being rich and powerful sure had its perks.
And Mikael was angry tonight. Very angry.
These scums dared to cause trouble for his girls and even tried to extort money from them, accusing Alison of being in debt to them after all that they had done to her.
Their goal was simple. They wanted to push Alison into a corner, force her to believe that she could avoid trouble and save herself from the bad publicity that would cost her the job, and all she had to do was pay them from time to time.
Unfortunately for them, neither Min-Jin nor Alison were the same as before. They refused to give in to the demands, and so the couple started creating a scene here. Eventually, things got out of control and the police were involved.
When the female constable ceased questioning Alison and her aunt, his dear secretary walked over to him and nervously stood in front of him.
"I am sorry, Boss..."
She flinched a little when he placed his hand on her head and relaxed as he caressed it.
"You don't have to apologise, Alison. None of it is your fault. As for your uncle and aunt, I will make sure that they won't bother you again."
"Thank you." She tearfully looked at him, and his heart ached to see her like this.
"Do we need to go to the station?"
"No." She shook her head.
"The officer said that we just need to send someone over to deal with the procedures."
"Alright." He nodded and looked at the female bodyguard, who was standing a few steps back. "Bonney, go to the station and finish the process. Once you are done, come to the villa."
"Yes, Master!"
"Come. My family is having dinner together, and you can join us."
"I..." Min-Jin panicked a little and he smiled at her.
"Yes, you, and you." He looked at Alison. "Alright, let's go. I don't want to keep Father waiting."
"Okay..."
Since he came here in a two-seater hypercar, Anaiah decided to sit in the AMG which belonged to Min-Jin, and Alison nervously sat in the passenger seat of the beautiful AminFarina.
She did not know how to wear the seatbelt in this vehicle, and Mikael helped her do it, which made her blush.
"Don't panic, okay?"
"Mhm." She nodded and relaxed when he drove slowly out of the street. However, as soon as they entered the expressway, she was shoved back into the seat due to the sudden acceleration.
For the next thirty minutes, Alison experienced the most thrilling ride of her life, and as her excited giggles entered Mikael's ears, he felt very warm in his heart.
She was breathless when they arrived at the villa, and he stayed in the car with her to let her catch her breath.
"Had fun?" he knowingly asked, and she innocently nodded her head and giggled some more.
Ten minutes later, Anaiah and Min-Jin arrived as well, and when they got out of the car, the four went inside together.
Surprisingly, everyone was still in the lounge, waiting for them, and both Mikael and Anaiah felt a little bad.
"Sorry, Dad."
"It's fine." Gabriel nodded to him and then glanced at the two new faces.
His eyes froze on Alison for a while, and his brows furrowed a little.
"Dad, this is Alison, Brother's secretary, and this is Min-Jin, a senior at the School of Arts and also the Chief Fashion Designer of Brother's company," Anaiah introduced the two girls, who immediately stepped forward and bowed to the majestic-looking man.
"I hope everything is fine now?" he gently asked, and both nodded their heads. "What happened?" he inquired.
Alison hesitated and did not want to speak about it, but Min-Jin, after a slight hesitation, told everyone in the lounge the truth.
When they learned that Alison's uncle and aunt were abusive towards her and used to beat her up, leaving marks and bruises, Grisha and Sariah grew really mad.
The rest were unsettled as well, and even Rayea and Klara were frowning, feeling disgusted towards the couple who abused a helpless orphan.
Maria was curiously looking at Alison with some sadness in her eyes, and then pulled the girl away from everyone and hugged her.
As soon as she did it, Alison broke down and cried.
Mikael asked everyone to give her time and head to the dining room for the meal, which they agreed with.
However, Gabriel stayed behind.
After the Albonns were led away by Anaiah and Sariah, he walked over to his older wife and put his hands behind his back, clenching his fist, something that Mikael noticed.
"Child, can you tell me your parents' names? I will look into the details and make sure your uncle and aunt don't bother you again."
"It's okay, Master Zarayne. Boss has already promised me that he will deal with them," she nervously said.
"I see."
"Come on, you don't want to tell Aunty your mother's name?" Maria suddenly asked out of the blue, and Alison innocently answered her, not realising that something was wrong in their eyes.
"My mother's name was Diana. As for my father, I have never met him. Mother never spoke about him, and Uncle and Aunt call me a bastard... but they too don't know his name."
"It's okay." The lady hugged the girl again and kissed her on the head.
Her heart ached at how she flinched, almost as if she was expecting some pain.
Mikael frowned as he watched his parents behaving strangely, and he clearly saw his father's body tremble when Alison told them her mother's name.
Suddenly, his mind ran wild with a thought, and the more he now looked at the girl, the more he found the Zarayne features in her.
She really did resemble Anaiah.
"System, is she my sister?" he coldly asked in his mind.
{Yes, Host. Alison Woods is your half-sister. You share the same father.}
"And why did you not tell me this before?"
{This was something you were eventually going to find out, Host. It was not important. The System does not tell you a lot of things that are not important.}
"It is important to me!"
{Not in the System's eyes.}
Mikael was quite irritated now and he was not in the mood to argue with the System.
"Alison." He called out to the girl, who immediately looked his way. "Let's go. Dinner's getting cold."
"Yes, Boss!" she answered, and after bowing to Maria and Gabriel, she rushed to his side.
The young Zarayne left his parents alone to talk to each other and joined everyone at the dinner table.
However, the girls did notice that he seemed a little lost.