Sophia froze on the spot. Her pleading expression immediately contorted into a digested look. "What?!" She snapped. "Have you lost your mind?!" She growled. All the traces of her pleading and repentance had disappeared immediately.'As I thougt...' Ethan thought inwardly. He already expected Sophia to react violently to what he would say. His face remained indifferent to her. What was Ethan telling her to do? The same thing she had ordered him to do for her to release the kidnapped Sophia. She had told him to go half naked and apologize whole wearing nothing but an underwear!"You're crossing the line!" Sophia said again on seeing Ethan's lack of reaction. "Well... Suit yourself." Ethan replied indifferently and wound up his car to zoom off. Hadn't she already crossed the line when she asked him to do the same thing? Moreover, he didn't even get the chance to argue and complain. "It's not like I expected you to go along with it in the first place." Ethan muttered to himself as he

"I'm back!" Maya announced with a bubbly voice as she returned to Ethan's office. She had abruptly excused herself because she felt that the way Ethan had been looking at her felt somewhat different. Naturally, Maya became embarrassed and went to regain her bearings. "So..." Maya said with a faint smile as she threw glances at Ethan. "...what are you doing to do next?" She asked. Ethan was a bit tense and fidgety until he heard Maya's question. He exchanged a quick glance with Andrew and spoke. "I'm going to continue with the case." He declared decisively. Maya frowned slightly. "You are?" She asked.Ethan stared at her. "Sophia didn't do as I asked her to do. It's natural that I continue with this case." Ethan replied stubbornly. Andrew sighed loudly in exasperation. 'Young Master Ethan is pushing himself too far...' Andrew thought inwardly. Andrew cleared his throat loudly. "I think what Mr Ethan is trying to say is that he will resume with the case after some time." Andrew

Maya was overjoyed to hear the news. Ethan had called her to ask her if she wanted to come for the trip. Not that he had to ask her because the kids had already told him that she agreed. But Ethan still asked her due to etiquette and as a show of respect. "Will you be able to leave your office for a few days?" Maya asked Ethan. "It's not a problem. My boss already approved of it immediately I told him." Ethan replied. He himself was his own boss. But Maya didn't know about it yet, he just had to come up with a convincing lie. "Alright!" Maya was ecstatic. "How about you? Can you really afford to leave your company? You don't have to force yourself or create troubles for yourself." Ethan said with a tone of concern. "It's perfectly fine." Maya replied immediately. She was lying, she was already getting into some little trouble at work for not being available most of the time and also using the company resources to look for information about the Waltons. Maya didn't really care

Not long after, Ethan drove up to a beach side. "This is the place?" Ethan asked with furrowed brows. "Yeah." Maya replied delightfully as she stared at the scenery with a smile. Sylvie also beamed with a smile as she stared out the window. "Brother Ethan, let's go! Let's go!" She shouted with excitement and twinkling eyes. "Calm down Sylvie!" Mark grumbled as he tried to calm his restless sister. But Sylvie couldn't be calmed so easily, she was full of energy. Ethan simply shook his head wryly as he watched the drama. Then he drove Maya to the entrance with the kids. After a brief inspection at the security posts, they went in and registered for their brief tour of the beach. "Hehe.." Sylvie was all smiles as her eyes kept darting around inquisitively. She was almost pulling Ethan along to run. "Careful Sylvie, you've not been here before so you might get lost." Ethan cautioned with a sigh. The little girl could not be blamed, she hadn't ever had the opportunity to go to an

"Hahaha!" Maya burst into an hysterical laughter. Ethan's complexion changed and he had a grin expression on his face. He was already trying to stomach the sudden motions of the rollercoaster and now, Sylvie had thrown up all over him. He didn't even know how to react; or rather, he didn't even have the time to. The carriage kept making impossible and thrilling turns without giving anyone the chance to catch their breath. Even Maya was forced to clench her teeth after a short laughter at Ethan's plight. Sylvie on the other hand, simply switched her support line. She had been holding onto Ethan before but now that his cloth was ruined, she had to switch up to the next person... Mark. She gripped his shirt tightly too. "Ahh! Sylvie - don't - throw - up - in - my - shirt!" Mark warned Sylvie in panic, making sure that his voice was heard clearly. Sylvie didn't even pay him attention and continued holding onto him. Ethan's face was colored with embarrassment. He was still sort of