Chapter 22
Loretta hung up the phone and hit the hay. The sun was just peeking over the horizon when her phone rang again with a response. “Some people busted into Hayden’s crib last night and how he’s in the hospital. Word is, they cut off his… you
know..
Loretta was quite surprised, thinking. Is this what they call karta? It was like a weight off her shoulders, and she didn’t have to lift a finger.
Waking up to such awesome news, it totally set the tone for Lorena’s day. She was so chirpy at breakfast that John had to ask, “Loretta, what’s the scoop that’s got you grinning like that?”
Loretta slurped up some of her tasty seafood soup and grinned at John. “Hanging out with Dad just makes my day.”
John stopped for a sec, his voice kinda shaky. I’ve always got my head in work stuff, but I promise I’ll hang out with you more from now on.”
too caught up in work and hadn’t really checked out Bruno’s story, which got them into He was thinking maybe he’d been this mess. That thought made him feel both guilty and ticked of He decided right then and there that the moment they got back, Bruno was going to get a taste of his own medicine.
John and Loretta chilled at the beach for two whole days, and on day three, they were all set to head back to their cozy home. Before they took off, they swung by the club to grab the Nine Dragons Goblet, then hopped on their flight.
Just as they were flying high, the news outlets in Zyntara announced that Broderick Group was giving away the Nine Dragons Goblet. The story went viral like wildfire across the nation.
The majority of folks were all about how awesome Broderick Group’s boss was for being so generous, and the company’s stocks went up like a rocket. But not everyone was feeling John’s move. Online, people were all talking about it.
[John really knows how to play the game. Dropping 600 million on the Nine Dragons Goblet and then giving it to the state
Isn’t that just a move to get special treatment for Broderick Group?]
(It’s just a publicity stunt.]
I think he’s aiming to be the top dog in Zyntara’s jewelry scene with this. If Broderick Group really gets the government in their corner, we’ll be left eating their dust.]
[That all depends on whether he can actually bring back such a valuable piece and hand it over to the bosses.]
Since John and Loretta were bringing back a priceless antique with tons of historical juice, the embassy sent a couple of folks to keep an eye on them. And Loretta hired some mercenaries, who pretended to be bodyguards, mixed in with their real bodyguards. With all these musclemen around, nobody on the plane would even think about going after the Nine Dragons Goblet.
After a long haul of over ten hours, the plane touched down at Yerkhaven International Airport. When the plane finally stopped rolling, Loretta felt her nerves kicking in.
John, catching her worried look, said with a smile, “As soon as were off this bird, we’lhmake a beeline for the museum to drop off the Nine Dragons Goblet. Then we can hit the hay at home.”
Loretta was cool with that plan.
As soon as John and Lorein stepped out of the airport with their squad of bodyguards, they were hit with a wave of reporters and official people coming to give them a warm welcome
John was a bli surprised, and Loretta wasn’t too happy about it. The reporters, who were held back by security, were yelling questions as fast as they could, and cameras were going off like cozy
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“Mr. Broderick, is it true that you’re going g to give away the Nine Dragons Goblet you bought to the museum without asking for anything in return?”
“Mr. Broderick, how did you feel when you spent 600 million on the Nine Dragons Goblet”
“Mr. Broderick, I heard that before you won the bid for the Nine Dragons Goblet, you called Broderick Group and told them to transfer you all the money they had. Won’t that mess with your company?”
John’s actions seemed pretty selfless to everyone, and the reporters were smart enough not to ask any really tough questions, so John took a moment to answer a few of them. His answers were spot on, and after he was done, he and Loretta made their way to the airport’s exit.
By the time the reporters tried to catch up. John and Loretta had already jumped into the car with the box that had the Nine Dragons Goblet inside.
Seeing the reporters hot on john and Loretta’s heels, Ruben, who was also on the same flight back and dragging his suitcase, gave Malcolm a nudge with his elbow. “Malcolm, you gotta give it to John. He’s smart. I can’t help but tip my hat to him. No wonder he’s a force to be reckoned with against your whole Lindsey family. Think about it. If Michael’s family got their hands on the Nine Dragons Goblet, what would they do with it?”
Malcolm had his hands in his pockets and looked like he didn’t have a care in the world. “They’d hand it over to butter up the right people, naturally. He didn’t need to think twice.
“Tsk.” Ruben stroked his chin and let out a sigh. “This is what makes the difference. If I had won that antique in the auction….”
“You wouldn’t,” Malcolm cut him off, not sugarcoating it at all. “You’d never scrape together 600 million dollars.” Ruben couldn’t deny the truth in what Malcolm said, but the way he just blurted it out without any filter was really getting under his skin.
The two kept chatting as they strolled out of the airport, just in time to see a few cars peeling away.
Ruben was about to make a comment when Malcolm’s phone buzzed. Malcolm glanced at it, and without a word, he sprinted off in the opposite direction.
Ruben was caught off guard. “Malcolm, what’s the rush?” he hollered, but by then, Malcolm had vanished from sight.
A few seconds later, a motorcycle raced by Ruben like a flash. Ruben barely caught a glimpse of the rider, and he muttered. sarcastically, Zipping around on a bike at the airport? You’re asking for a ticket and a chat with the cops.”
Loretta thought that being given a second chance would change things, but some destinies seemed inevitable. As their car was leaving the airport highway and about to merge into the city traffic, a wild vehicle came rushing towards them like a missile.
Thankfully, she had hired these two mercenaries whose skills were way better than she’d hoped. They used their own car like a shield, blocking the crazy driver’s path. The crashing car did a flip, spilling oil all over the road. It was like a slippery ice rink, and cars were slowing down, unsure of what to do.
More and more cars had to stop, and soon, others couldn’t stop in time and bumped into the ones ahead. In the blink of an
into a mess eye, the highway turned
The bodyguards keeping Loretta and her crew safe, jumped out of the car and made a human wall around it. John stayed pur inside, his face serious, with a tiny bit of worry showing, but he figured it was just a car crash and didn’t stress too much about it.
Loretta, though, had a feeling this wasn’t just any accident; she held her bag really tight.
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A short while later, there was a knock on the window. John rolled it down, and there was one of the guys who’d been sent to check things out. He said, “Mr. Broderick, Ms. Broderick, it looks like this mess is gonna take a while to sort out. They’re sending another car, and I can guide you to the next highway exit where it’ll be waiting.”
Loretta and John were totally on board. John opened the car door and stepped out, holding a box that had the Nine Dragons Goblet inside. Loretta wasn’t far behind him.
As soon as they stepped out, a bunch of bodyguards closed in around them like a shield. People nearby saw what was happening and started staring
Some people had just seen the news online about John and that super expensive antique worth 600 million dollars. That really caught people’s eyes. They started whispering and pointing, and some folks even tried to squeeze in for a closer peek.
The official who was sent to help them was starting to look a bit worried. He said, “There’s a problem at the exit as well, and the police won’t be here for a while. It’s going to take us about ten minutes to walk there, but it’s safer than just hanging around here.”
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