Mid-August of 2002.
Lake sat at home waiting for someone to come and check.
Someone from the Family Court will come here to evaluate whether Lake's information meets the adoption requirements.
only...
When Lake heard the doorbell, he opened the door and looked at his neighbor Richard Cassel who appeared at the door in silence and said, "Why are you running here?"
Cassel went straight into the house: "Come and help you complete the inspection."
Lake chuckled and closed the door again: "If you can raise Alexis by yourself, then so can I."
It's not something that can be cultivated from infancy.
How difficult is it to raise a teenage girl?
Cassel turned his head to look at Lake, then pointed at the wine cabinet in the open kitchen: "It's not up to standard."
"…What are you talking about?"
"The wine cabinet needs to be locked."
Cassel shrugged and said, "Believe me, you definitely don't want to see what a thirteen-year-old girl looks like after drinking. Besides, you don't want to be sued by the family court either."
Lake: "…"
Half an hour later.
Lake stood in the living room and looked around. He always felt that this was no longer his living room. It was a completely locked living room with no freedom.
All the fine wines that were originally scattered around the living room were put into the wine cabinet, and the wine cabinet was locked.
His gun cabinet, which was originally filled with weapons for display, was now completely empty.
even...
In the restaurant, the mine-shaped decoration that was originally placed in the middle of the dining table was also thrown into the kitchen.
Lake came back to his senses and looked at Cassel, who had transformed his home in just half an hour: "This is too exaggerated!"
Cassel said, "That's an exaggeration. You should see what happened to Mrs. Michelle's family on the fifth floor when she adopted a three-year-old child."
"What?"
"You know that Mrs. Michelle used to be a loyal member of the All-Federal Rifle Association."
"Um."
"All the furniture in her house was replaced, and all the guns were stored in her warehouse at the port."
"…"
Lake shook his head and looked at Cassel: "So, this is all right?"
Castle said, "Is Skye's bedroom tidied?"
Lake pointed to the second floor and said, "There are so many rooms on the second floor, and everything is complete. How do we clean them up?"
Cassel couldn't help but slap his forehead.
Lake: "…"
An hour later.
Lake and the people from the Family Court sat on the sofa and chatted, while Cassel directed the IKEA staff to move various kinds of living furniture.
The two people from the family court looked at it and then looked at Lake.
Lake pushed his glasses and smiled, "I ordered the furniture several days ago, but it just arrived. Sorry."
This is completely different from what I imagined: multiple people and multiple pairs of chopsticks.
Lake thought so in his heart.
The family court staff also smiled and said, "Major Edwin, we are here just for a routine check. Your information is perfect and meets the adoption criteria."
Lake said, "So, I passed?"
Another female staff member looked at the layout of the living room and the dining room in the distance, pointed at the locked wine cabinet and the empty gun cabinet, and looked at Lake: "We can see that Major Edwin is very attentive to this matter."
Lake said thank you.
He ignored Cassel who heard these words at the stairs and gestured to him to take credit.
Around noon.
The two family court staff members laughed and declined Lake's invitation to lunch and left.
Lake and Cassel lay on the sofa.
Exhausted.
Lake glanced at Cassel lying on the sofa opposite, and said something strangely: "Wait, how do you know that the inspection has passed? Could it be Alexi..."
I discovered Watson, Blindspot.
Cassel turned over and sat up: "Alexis is my biological daughter."
Lake also stood up and looked at Cassel.
Cassel waved his hand and opened his mouth. "Well, actually, when Alexis was ten years old, I was busy writing and caused Alexis to get lost. After that, people from the Children's Agency came to trouble me, and even the Family Court sent someone to make a final ruling on me."
As Lake listened, his expression became a little strange.
"hey-hey!"
Cassel looked at Lake's gradually emerging expression and pointed at him: "No one told me how to decorate my house at that time. You owe me a thank you, not a laugh."
Lake tried hard to suppress his facial expression and shrugged: "Okay, thank you."
Cassel looked at Lake speechlessly, stood up and walked towards the door.
Lake had no choice but to turn around and once again sincerely thanked Cassel, and promised that when he had time, he would treat Cassel and his family to a high-end restaurant for dinner.
Cassel then left with some satisfaction.
Lake looked at the credit card list he had just swiped on the spot, as well as the high-end restaurant in Kassel. He looked up, his eyes filled with confusion.
He felt like he was being cheated.
The credit card bill for the $13,000 I just spent is the best proof.
Another week later.
New Amsterdam Hospital.
After undergoing the review and overall health check that Lake repeatedly requested, Skye and Lake confirmed that they were in completely healthy condition, not sub-healthy, and were in completely healthy condition. They walked out of the hospital together.
Get in the car.
Lake looked at Skye, who was silent in the passenger seat, smiled, and drove away.
Star Building.
Lake opened the door, turned his head and looked at Skye who was standing at the door and said, "Come in."
Skye looked at Lake and asked, "Aren't you afraid that I'll make your house dirty?"
Lake laughed.
Without a doubt.
Skye holds a grudge.
Lake nodded and said, "I'm afraid that others will dirty my home."
Without waiting for Skye's expression to change, Lake continued, "But this is our home, and your home too, so you can come in with muddy feet, as long as you clean them up."
Skye: "…"
In the room on the second floor.
Lake walked behind Skye, looking at the large room with a bay window, a brand new bed, a wardrobe, a computer desk, and a dressing table. He looked at Skye standing in the room and said, "How about it? Do you like it?"
Skye's eyes fell on the large bed which looked very soft. "I've never had one."
Lake said, "Room?"
Skye turned to look at Lake: "Bed."
Even when she was in a foster home, she didn't have her own room. The sofa was the best she could get. Sometimes, she couldn't sleep too soundly because there were always some disgusting foster fathers who wanted to get close to her.
Lake felt like something hit his heart.
This is only because Lake is a man. If it were a woman, she would probably burst into tears on the spot.
There was silence for a moment.
Lake smiled and looked at Skye: "You can clean up first, we will go out later."
Skye's own clothes are already very old. Maybe in Skye's opinion, they are still wearable, but in the eyes of Lake or most people, they are the kind that can be discarded.
So Lake planned to take Skye shopping for some new clothes.
to this end.
Lake called Alexis back from school directly, gave Alexis his credit card, and then asked Alexis to take Skye to the mall to shop.
Cassel was the driver.
He is very depressed.
Cassel looked at Lake: "I just drank three cups of coffee and was about to finish the book at home."
Lake said, "I have an appointment with the Dean of Academic Affairs of Central City High School this afternoon. You can choose to meet with me."
Cassel waved his hand quickly: "I'll be the driver."
Lake smiled.
When Cassell was in high school, he transferred to many schools, and Midtown High School was one of them. The academic dean of the school at that time was still the current Nelisse.
Adoption is not something you can just do without any hesitation.
Be responsible.
Learning means you have to be responsible.
Lake still insists that learning can improve himself, so even after having the hope of becoming a god by using cheats and spending money, Lake still chose to go to university for further study.
so.
Skye also needs to learn, and Lake doesn't want Skye, the super hacker who can easily hack into major systems, to disappear from the world in the future because of his adoption.
Skye is very resistant to going clothes shopping.
After all, she is not used to it yet.
However, Lake said directly to Skye: "You can choose to let me go with you, or you can choose to go with Alexis."
Skye chose Alexis.
After saying goodbye to Cassel at the door of the apartment, Lake returned to the National Land Building. Skye's fingerprints had been entered into the system. Lake had a meeting with David Bass in the afternoon, so after saying goodbye to Cassel, he returned to the National Land Building.
There is intelligence from Langley that a terrorist organization is planning to carry out terrorist acts on the homeland.
New York is the first to be affected.
This meeting was held in response to this matter. However, it was just a rumor that Langley's overseas agents were trying to obtain more intelligence. The Navy SEALs in Quantico had also been frequently attacking and questioning under the guidance of Langley intelligence officers.
Wait until the meeting is over.
Assistant Tiffany walked over to Lake and said, "Sir, Ms. Nelis is waiting for you in your office."
Lake nodded and said something to David beside him, then walked towards his office.
Enter the office.
Lake said apologetically to Nelis, the Dean of Academic Affairs of Central City High School, who had been sitting on the sofa waiting for a while, "Dr. Nelis, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."
Nelise stood up and shook hands with Lake: "Major Edwin."
Lake raised an eyebrow: "Does Dr. Nelis know me?"
Nellis said, "A few months ago, I happened to be in Washington, D.C., attending the National High School Representatives Conference. I agree with what Major Edwin said: truth comes before national security."
Lake smiled and said, "Thank you. Please take a seat."
…