A Stiff Reunion

Milo was stunned to see the Chairman smiling as he had never done so even when the Boss was around.

The old chairman had decided to retire and had handed over the reins of their businesses to his Heir many years ago.

He would often stay at home and spend time with his wife, only venturing to the office on days when there were mandatory board meetings.

No matter how much profit the company made or the best news they received during these meetings, Milo had never seen the man smile but upon the return of his daughter, the old man had smiled without a second thought.

'Does he like her?' The assistant wondered as he had not yet been able to assess the extent of the love present in their relationship.

For nine years the daughter had been away from home but never once did this father try to visit her.

In fact, Milo did not even know whether they had been in contact during these long years of separation.

Neither did the Valken family ever let any news about their daughter reach the ears of the media nor did they mention her in any of their public appearances.

This had made most of the people assume that the daughter who was rumored to be demure and obedient had done something unforgivable for which she had been shunned by the family.

However, he knew that they were only speculations made by some busybodies who had nothing better to do.

After all, his Boss, the elder brother of the Miss, often spoke highly of her and expressed how much he missed his baby sister.

This was proof enough for Milo to perceive that the Boss loved his little sister dearly.

'But what about the rest of the family?' He wondered as they were the ones whose thoughts he was ignorant about.

He was close only to the Boss and the rest of the Valken family were still strangers to him.

The Chairman had contacted him in the past only to set up meetings with the Boss or to ask the Boss to return home for some personal reasons.

Yesterday was the first time that he had received a call from the Chairman for something that was unrelated to the Boss.

'Though even this is related to the Boss.' He remembered the reason why the Miss had returned to the city she had left nine years ago.

While Milo was lost in his thoughts, trying to solve the mystery he had taken interest in, the pair of father and daughter had continued with what they were doing.

"Glad you are home." Uri Valken, the current patriarch of the Valken family smiled as he raised his hand.

The others in the room watched with a look of surprise when they saw their patriarch's hand being raised.

'Is he going to slap her right after saying that!?' Milo's eyes were widened at this sight.

Most of the people around had similar thoughts in their minds and were fearing for the delicate face of the child who had returned home after disappearing many years ago.

However, unlike those around her with frightened expressions, Nita stood still with a helpless look on her face.

'Here he goes again.' She held in her sigh as that would not look too good on her part.

As she stood still, her old father raised his hand which he then used to pat her head.

His stiff movements made it clear that he wasn't used to doing this, making it awkward for the others who could only watch in silence.

Her father had never been one to show his affection in an outright manner and this method was one he often used to display his care for her.

It was always mother who was the caring parent while father was the one who stood at the side and watched over them back when she was young.

Therefore, this was one of the rare occasions where he came into the limelight to pat her head which Nita could not help but cherish.

Uri Valken sensed the numerous pairs of eyes on them and retracted his hand despite not wanting to do so.

He had not seen his child face-to-face in so many years and the day she returned, he could not even rejoice to his heart's content.

Recalling the reason for her return, his smile faded just as his hand fell to his side.

"Thank you, Assistant Milo, I will count on you for the other tasks I'll assign to you soon." Uri expressed his gratitude after turning his gaze to the assistant who had brought his daughter over to the mansion.

There was no need for him to do so but he had asked Milo Gavin to escort his daughter since he could not leave the mansion for the time being.

Milo nodded his head in acceptance of the kind words and also the order concealed in them before glancing at the Young Miss one more time.

However, Nita was greeting someone else in the room and had not noticed his gaze.

Not having any more reason to stick around, the assistant took his leave as he had lots of work to complete back at the office.

Not only he but a few others had also followed suit as they took their leave in quick succession until only a few extra faces remained excluding the pair of father and daughter.

Uri sat behind his desk which was placed on one side of the room while the rest took their seats on the couches facing towards it.

Nita sat alone on the one at the center while the remaining four men distributed themselves evenly, sitting on either side of her.

Two men with blonde hair were seated on the couch to her right while two more with dark brown and fierce expressions sat on the other.

"Give me the details." She ordered, crossing one leg over the other as her deep red eyes scanned the four men seated on the couches next to hers

Her voice was cold and intimidating, vastly varying from the soft and gentle voice they were used to hearing in the past.

These men were all relatives of the Valken family and had appeared here to lend their support in the crisis at hand.

The changes they were observing in her made him unable to respond to her query in time, making the old man who sat behind his desk facing them click his tongue in disapproval.

Uri Valken was the one with the highest authority in the family and his second-in-command was the reason they had assembled here today.

Therefore, he took it upon himself to explain the situation to his daughter who had rushed back to the city in order to give them a hand.

"Your brother has been missing for over three days now." He began in a somber tone, prompting the others to remain silent and not interrupt him.