"Can I go over and say a few words to him?"
Abyss’ tone was light and he did not hold much hope for that to happen. To his surprise, the agents nodded their heads and they let him go.
Nathaniel watched Abyss was walking towards him without a single expression on his face.
"Leave my grandmother out of this because it has nothing to do with her."
Abyss' voice was not loud, but he knew that Nathaniel heard it.
Nathaniel looked at him with a sneer before he spoke, "You’re telling me that this has nothing to do with your grandmother? Then did Mango and Rita have anything to do with our problems? Did you ever think of sparing any of them while you schemed away?"
"Nathaniel, you've already won. I've destroyed the Tang family's century- old business myself, what more do you want?”
At this, Abyss started to become angry.
If he had known long ago that Nathaniel was willing to sacrifice everything for revenge, then perhaps he would have hesitated and withdrawn. At least he wouldn’t have lost so badly.
However, Nathaniel sneered and said, "Do you think I’ ve won? Even if you serve up the entire world to me on a silver platter, will that bring Mango back? If you could resurrect her somehow and bring her to me, I won’t even give a sh*t about you, much less your family."
Nathaniel’s voice carried a tinge of sorrow.
Suddenly, Abyss didn't know what to say in response.
If Abyss could turn back time, maybe he would have let go of Mango and he would allow her to pursue her own happiness. At least it would be much better to see her living in happiness than the current situation.
"I'm so sorry."
However, Nathaniel did not accept Abyss' apology.
"Go and confess your guilt to them, not me."
With that, Abyss knew that he’d really pissed Nathaniel off this time. Thus, it was the end of the Tang family and Old Madam Tang...
Abyss sighed and he turned to leave.
As he watched the Internal Affairs Bureau’s car drive away from the Tang family mansion with Abyss in it, Nathaniel’s gaze darkened and no one knew what he was thinking.
Thus, Thomas just waited quietly as he didn't dare to disturb Nathaniel.
Suddenly, Nathaniel felt that his life was meaningless.
He eradicated the Tang family, defeated Abyss, and he even threw Yetta into the ocean. But even after he did all this, he still felt an uncomfortable void in his heart. In the end, his frenzied thoughts contained only Mango.
Nathaniel thought of the twinkle in Mango’s eyes and her smile often, so often that he had started to hallucinate her presence. It was so vivid as he almost felt like he could see her if he just turned around.
However, when Nathaniel turned around, all he saw was an empty seat.
Thomas sensed Nathaniel's loneliness, but he didn't know how to comfort him.
"It’s time to go."
After that, Nathaniel returned to the hospital.
The doctor understood Nathaniel’s situation, so as long as he came back, the doctor would just proceed with treatment without any qualms. If Nathaniel was missing, the doctor would not look for him as that would be a pointless search.
When Dylan saw Nathaniel again, he already knew everything about what Nathaniel did to Abyss. In fact, he was relieved that Nathaniel did not make things difficult for Andrea, but he dared not mention it.
As he saw Dylan's hesitant expression, Nathaniel said in a low voice, "Keep an eye on Andrea and never let me see her ever again. If not, don't blame me if I hurt her."
This was Nathaniel's bottom line.
Dylan quickly nodded and he secretly vowed to himself that he would never let Andrea appear in front of Nathaniel again, even if it meant that she had to be imprisoned for the rest of her life.
After that, Nathaniel felt a little tired and he sent everyone away, including Thomas.
The ward was empty, and the surrounding temperature seemed to be much colder now.
Nathaniel wrapped himself in a blanket as he sat on the bed. The sunlight outside was bright and shining, but he could not feel any warmth from it.
Where on earth was Mango?
Was she lucky enough to have survived this incident as she made it out alive five years ago?
The more Nathaniel thought about it, the more restless he became.
Then, he immediately got up and drove himself to the beach.
To his surprise, someone was already at the beach. Her long hair whipped around in the strong wind and it gave Nathaniel a sense of loneliness.
It was Queena.
Nathaniel did not speak and he only stood next to Queena at the beach, together they looked at the vast and endless ocean. Soon, he suddenly felt a strong impulse to jump into the ocean to join Mango in death.
Queena did not know what to say when she saw that Nathaniel had arrived.
The two of them stood there in silence. However, the freezing ocean wind slowly chilled their hands and feet, and the cold seeped into their hearts.
In the end, Nathaniel still had responsibilities that he needed to fulfill.
He still had his daughter, Rita.
Rita still needed him to donate his kidney to her, if not how could Mango ever be at peace?
Nathaniel turned around and he was about to leave when Queena finally spoke.
"When will you return to the mainland?"
Nathaniel paused momentarily and he said in a low voice, "I'm not sure. Maybe I'll leave tomorrow, or a few days later."
"When you leave, I'll go with you."
Nathaniel was taken aback by Queena's words. "What do you mean?"
"Mango is the daughter of Dennis and me. She was an illegal immigrant when she was alive, and now I feel a responsibility to restore her identity to her after her death. It’s the least I can do."
In truth, he was reluctant to leave and he even wanted to stay here and get closer to Mango. It didn’ t matter to him if he could not see her, he just wanted to build a house nearby and he would guard her final resting place every single day until his last breath.
If he had passed on, then what would Mango do if she couldn’t find him after she came back?
However, his daughter needed him so he had to go back no matter what.
Nathaniel looked at Queena's uncomfortable expression and he said in a low voice, "Let’s head back together, I’ll ride you home."
"It’s fine. I want to be here with Mango for a little while longer. After I go back to the mainland tomorrow, I might never come to America again for the rest of my life. After my superiors review my case, it's very possible that I may never step foot anywhere outside our country ever again. Just give me some more time with her. In over twenty years, the amount of time that I spent with her was so short that I couldn’t even get to know her properly before we were separated again. So before I leave, I want to be there for her one last time."
As he saw Queena like this, Nathaniel had nothing more to say. What was the point of blaming themselves now?
Thus, he decided not to push Queena to leave and he left the beach alone.
When he returned to the hospital, Thomas had packed up all of Nathaniel’s personal items.
He could feel the cold seeping from Nathaniel’s body, so he quickly took out a coat and he draped it over Nathaniel’s shoulders.
Then, Nathaniel said in a low voice, "Buy another ticket for the flight tomorrow."
"Mr. Ye, have you found Mango?”
Thomas was a little surprised at that.
However, Nathaniel shook his head at Thomas, "Minister Xiao will be returning to the mainland with us."
At that, there was a trace of despair and disappointment in Thomas’ eyes.
"Oh! I see."
The two of them did not say anything further after that.
As nightfall approached, Nathaniel found himself unable to sleep.
He missed Mango more than he did five years ago. The space next to him seemed particularly empty and the bed felt very cold without her presence.
Thus, he couldn't help but recall the time when Mango still slept by his side.
She always loved to throw her legs over Nathaniel's waist in the middle of the night and her arms encircled him tightly like a koala around a tree. Her body was warm and comfortable, and it warmed Nathaniel up too.
As long as Mango was around, Nathaniel never felt cold or empty. But where was she now?
Nathaniel had no answer to that question, so he got up out of bed and got dressed before he went to the beach again. To his surprise, he found that Queena was still standing there.
"Minister Xiao, you’ll catch a cold if you keep doing this."
At first, Nathaniel did not want to say anything, but he had to in the end. After all, Queena was Mango's biological mother.
Queena’s body was almost stiff with the cold but she remained still as she watched the surface of the ocean. Then, she asked in a low voice, "Where do you think Mango is now? The ocean is so vast, and aside from this port, the other ports are very far away. How far could an unconscious girl like her go? Do you think it’s possible that someone rescued her while they passed by in a boat? When we investigated earlier, we neglected to ask about the boats in the area. Do you think we could find a clue from them?"
Nathaniel's eyes suddenly narrowed in realization. Why didn't he think of this earlier?
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