A Vengeful Ex-Wife
Chapter 414 Pay Back Double

Bob took the opportunity to crawl around the bed happily. He even got down from the bed on his own and tottered forward to hug his father's thigh. "Daddy," he called out, looking up. James smiled down at him before picking him up with one arm. "Let's go. I'll take you outside to see the night view."

When Maria stepped out of the bathroom after finishing her shower, she found the bedroom empty. Bob's giggles came from the balcony from time to time.

She walked over curiously and saw that James was half-lying on the couch, with Bob sitting in his arms. The two of them seemed to be enjoying the night view of the brightly-lit H City.

Later, when they all went to bed, Maria was so exhausted that she kicked James away. She didn't want to take the risk of letting him hold her while sleeping. In fact, she would have preferred if he hadn't come back from abroad. She was sure that if he didn't let her rest tonight, her body would be damaged by him.

Thinking of that, she vowed to cherish her life and stay away from him from now on.

The three of them fell asleep. At four o'clock in the morning, however, James suddenly stirred from his sleep.

He hadn't been having a nightmare, and no one had called his name, so he couldn't figure out why he had woken up.

He glanced around. Maria was sleeping soundly by his side. Then he turned to the crib.

Where was Bob?

James' heart leapt to his throat as he abruptly sat up. The crib, where Bob had been sleeping, was empty now.

He didn't wake up Maria right away. Instead, he turned on the bedside lamp and got out of bed. He walked around the bed, looking carefully at the floor, but Bob was nowhere to be seen. The doors of the bedroom and the bathroom were also both closed.

The security system that James had installed at the villa was very powerful. Logically speaking, Bob could not be in any danger. In fact, he had to still be in the bedroom.

Thinking of that, James frowned and opened the closet door a crack. He popped his head inside and glanced around, but there was no sign of Bob there, either.

Then, he opened all the cupboard doors, but there was still no trace of Bob.

James stood in the center of the bedroom, lost in thought. His heart was pounding wildly against his chest, and his palms were sweating.

Just when he decided to wake Maria up so that they could go downstairs to look for Bob together, he spotted a movement out of the corner of his eye. The curtain in the balcony was swaying. Instantly becoming alert, he quietly tiptoed towards the balcony.

When the curtain moved again, he stretched his hand out and pulled it aside in one swift movement.

It was only then that his shoulders relaxed. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the scene in front of him. While he had been desperately searching around the room for several minutes, the little boy wearing a diaper was sitting behind the curtain, staring at the night view outside.

Hearing the rustle of the curtain behind him, Bob turned around to take a look at James, and then turned back and continued to look at the scenery calmly.

James, who had been on the verge of collapse just moments ago, raised his hand to his forehead and took a few deep breaths. Then, he squatted down and asked in a low voice, "Boston, it's late at night. Why aren't you sleeping? Are you sitting here to plan your life? Or maybe the future of H City?"

"Mommy," Bob replied simply.

Mommy? James turned around and found that Maria was still lying in the bed, fast asleep. He held out his hand with a helpless sigh and said, "Let's go. I will take you to your mommy."

Bob obediently grabbed onto one of his fingers. James picked him up and locked the door of the balcony with his other hand.

After making sure that the door was locked, he drew the curtain.

Then, he put the baby onto the bed and gave him a pat on the butt. "Go ahead! You are allowed to sleep next to your mommy tonight."

A happy smile spread across Bob's face as he crawled to Maria. Then, he lay prone by her side and closed his eyes.

James watched the child with furrowed eyebrows. Why would his son lie prone?

He turned Bob over to let him sleep comfortably, but Bob opened his eyes and glanced at him. Then, he looked at Maria and snuggled into her arms.

James was rendered speechless. This little fish was really insatiable! How could he cuddle with Maria when James himself wasn't allowed to?

Maria, who knew nothing about all this, didn't wake up until dawn. The giggling of her son pulled her out of her dream. When she groggily cracked open one of her eyes, she saw James passing the milk bottle to the child.

Since her son had something to eat, she relaxed and drifted back to sleep.

The next time she woke up, which was a few hours later, it was to an empty bedroom.

James had already boarded the plane to T Country, and Bob had been sent back to Augustine's house by John.

After washing her face and brushing her teeth, Maria applied a thin layer of foundation on her face. While she was putting on the rest of her make-up, her phone rang. Seeing Carolina's name on the caller ID, she slid the answer key. "What's up?"

"Maria, Dad and Mom got divorced."

It was just as Maria had expected. She smiled and said, "That's great."

"Maria..." Carolina sighed, knowing that Maria must have intervened. "No matter what, she is our mother."

"She might be your mother, but she has nothing to do with me!" Maria corrected her.

Carolina could tell how cold her tone was, but she continued, "She's used to living like a rich lady. Now, she doesn't have a job, and she has no employable skills-" "What does that have to do with me? Carolina, I don't want to hear anything about her anymore," Maria interrupted coldly.

After a moment of silence, Carolina said, "I see. Maria, I know you're trying your best to win the H Brocade project. Dad and I discussed it, and we've decided to quit the bidding war."

"That has nothing to do with me, either. Whether you quit or not, I'm confident that DS Group will win this project," Maria said confidently.

Carolina stayed silent, feeling helpless. Maria had always been overbearing, but now, with James' backing, she had a good reason to be confident.

"Well, I have a meeting soon. I'll talk to you another day,"

Maria added before hanging up the phone.

The news of Chandler and Elaine's divorce spread like wildfire through the financial circle of H City. It was rumored that Maria had personally broken up her parents' marriage. Some of them already knew that Maria had long severed her relationship with the Song family. But even so, they didn't think it was right of her to break up her parents' marriage.

Rumors about Maria flew left and right, but there was no response from her.

The woman at the center of attention had her full focus on the H Brocade project, and didn't bother herself with anything else.

One day, Colby's secretary and their son were hurt. Needless to say, Colby was furious. No matter what, he couldn't allow anyone to harm his son.

In fact, the first person he suspected was Maria, but after investigating the traces provided by his secretary, he found that all the evidence pointed to Rosa.

It was inevitable for the Zheng couple to have a big fight. These past few weeks, Rosa had been under great pressure, both mentally and physically, because of the things that Maria had done to her. Now that even Colby was blaming her for something she didn't do, she couldn't take it anymore. Teetering on the verge of breaking down, she lost her temper and smashed everything in the living room.

By the time she calmed down, it was already midnight. She dialed a number and said in a cold voice, "Find a professional killer for me. I need someone to disappear."

On the third day after James went to T Country on a business trip, Summer sent Maria the evidence of the fake accounts of HM Group that she had gathered.

Glancing through all of them, Maria couldn't help but admire James for his ability. She could always depend on him to get things like this done.

Even though she had all the evidence in her hands, she didn't take action immediately. Instead, she patiently waited for the right time.

She had also found out that Mr. Xu's little finger had been cut off, and guessed that James was the one behind this.

Since she already knew who the mastermind behind her drugging mishap was, there was no need for her to see Mr. Xu anymore. She was just waiting for an opportunity to pay Rosa back double for what she had suffered.