Ch 107 - I’ve Bought a Car

Kelly gritted her teeth and stopped walking.

Alex coughed a few times, and Kelly patted his back.

"He's obviously also a sickly person," commented one of her uncles.

"I really can't figure it out. Just what does she see in him?" asked his wife.

Her husband agreed. "Judging from the look of him, I know he won't live for much longer."

"It's time to eat," Margaret said as she looked at Kelly angrily and walked away.

The servants had started to remove the reclining chairs, and to bring out wine and snacks. They had placed three long dining tables in the courtyard. The family members sat down in their usual places.

The Phillips men had also returned from their fishing trip at the Purple Dawn Lake. They included Kelly's father, Hamilton, and Simon's father, Walter.

From the outside, it looked like they were talking and laughing together, but in reality, they were secretly competing for power within the Phillips family.

Hamilton walked up to his wife, Alice, and daughter, Kelly. He noticed Alex, but it didn't cross his mind that he was anything to do with his family.

As in the previous two years, Kelly's family walked toward the seats closest to Margaret.

Hamilton went to sit down with his wife and daughters. "Mom," he greeted Margaret, but she didn't respond. She seemed to be upset.

"Don't be in such a hurry to sit down," Margaret said coldly, without even looking at him.

"Oh, okay." Hamilton's backside had nearly touched the chair when he awkwardly laughed and stood up once more.

"We have guests here today. Why don't you take a seat at the end of the table?" Margaret said with a stern expression before glancing at Yvonne and Brian, who were seated on the third and fourth seats to her right. "Yvonne, you and Brian come and sit here."

"Yes, Grandma," Yvonne replied sweetly. Holding Brian's arm, she happily walked to Hamilton's seat and coughed lightly, saying, "Uncle, please could you move so we can sit down?"

Hamilton was perplexed. Trying to retain a shred of dignity, he smiled and made way for his niece and her boyfriend to take their seats.

Hamilton, Alice, and Kelly all headed toward seats further down the table. It was only now that he noticed that the scruffy boy who didn't seem to belong was always next to Kelly.

He asked his wife who the stranger was.

When Alice told her, he looked angrily at Kelly. He wanted to ask her to immediately admit her mistake to her grandmother and to quickly get rid of Alex so that they could retain their respected status within the family.

However, by that time, the servants had laid the tables, and he didn't dare to lose his temper with Kelly as the meal was about to start. He would have to wait until they got home before sorting it out.

Seeing that the people sitting on either side of Margaret were all from Walter's family and that she seemed to be very satisfied with Yvonne's boyfriend, he felt even more upset with his daughter.

"I'm sorry about my family," Kelly whispered to Alex. She regretted begging him to come to the family reunion with her. Looking at his pale face, she was very worried. "Is your throat sore?"

"Not too bad, but I could do with some hot water," Alex replied. He didn't blame Kelly at all, but he did feel an itch in his throat.

Kelly immediately waved toward a servant and asked her, "Please pour me a cup of hot water."

The servant agreed and was about to go get Kelly some water when Margaret stopped her. "You can do it yourself," she said coldly to Kelly. Then she turned away and continued chatting with Walter and his family.

Kelly looked at her grandmother with resentment. Then she was pained when she remembered how her grandmother had helped her before.

She said to Alex, "Come on. We'll go to the house to get you a drink. Grandma also has tea leaves, so I'll make you some tea. That will help you feel better." As she spoke, she helped Alex up, and they were about to head to the house for a drink.

They were stopped by Hamilton, who said in a solemn voice, "Kelly, sit down." The anger in his voice made Alex's heart tremble. He didn't want Kelly to be in trouble with her family, so he said softly, "I'll go by myself."

"It's okay. You don't know where everything is. I'll go with you," Kelly replied, acting as if she had not heard her father's words. She had decided that she no longer cared if her entire family turned against her. In fact, she wanted them to see that she wasn't afraid to stand up to them.

With everyone watching, Kelly supported Alex as they slowly walked into the house. Margaret didn't appear to care that they were defying the family, but as Kelly walked past her, she shook her head and sighed softly.

"Damn," Margaret said to herself, trying to get a better understanding of her family's situation. Walter and his wife, Elizabeth, were quietly listening. Only Yvonne seemed unaffected as she continued playing with her cellphone. Suddenly, she opened her eyes wide and shouted excitedly, "Oh, wow."

"This girl—" Margaret said with a smile. She was very impressed with Brian, and she was also very fond of Yvonne. She patted the back of Brian's hand gently and said, "Don't mind me, Brian. This girl is always excited about something or other."

"Who me, Grandma?" Yvonne smiled as she pouted at her grandmother. She put her phone on the table and said to her family, "Look at this. Aren't you all shocked?"

"Mr. Catulo, the President of the Ferrari Corporation of Italy, is in America." Brian picked up her phone and read it out to everyone.

The news was that the president of Ferrari in Italy had come to America in person to deliver the world's most expensive brand-new Ferrari to a mysterious buyer. The car was worth over two million dollars.

Brian calmly told everyone, "This is interesting news. Ferrari was founded in 1929 by Enzo Ferrari, a world-famous manufacturer of Formula One cars. Ferrari's cars are handmade and very few are produced. As of 2018, a total of only 14,628 new cars have been made."

Margaret's eyes lit up as she watched Brian and thought, to know so much about one particular news story, this young man clearly has an impressive depth and range of knowledge.

Walter and Elizabeth both smiled at Brian with satisfaction. Walter said, "Brian, you seem to know Ferrari quite well."

Brian replied casually, "You flatter me, Mr. Phillips. Actually, I bought a Ferrari not long ago, and at the time I did a lot of research into the company."

Hearing that Brian owned a Ferrari, Walter was pleasantly surprised. He rubbed his hands as he contemplated the possibility of taking it for a spin. He said, "What? You drive a Ferrari? Why didn't I see it when I arrived? How did I miss it?"

Brian replied humbly, "Oh, you didn't see it because I didn't drive it here today. If you'd like to try it out, I can get someone to drive it over here." He was determined to make a good impression on the Phillips family and lay a solid foundation for his marriage to Yvonne.

He had planned to keep his Ferrari as a backup plan, but since the topic had come up, he decided to use it now to impress his future in-laws.

Walter replied excitedly, "Can you? I would really appreciate it if you can get someone to drive your car over here. I would love to try it out and find out what it feels like to drive the world's best luxury car." Walter was very proud of his future son-in-law and wanted him to bring the car over to show off in front of the rest of the family. No one else in their family owned a Ferrari.

"Okay," Brian agreed. He immediately called a member of his staff and told him to bring his car over.

Margaret watched Brian and quietly nodded her head. A satisfied smile appeared on her face.

A few minutes later, the servants started to bring out the plates of food and place them in the middle of the long table for everyone to help themselves.

Kelly accompanied Alex back to the table, carrying a cup of tea for him. He had drunk some hot water in the house and was feeling much better.

They walked to their seats and sat down. Everyone started their meal and chatted as they ate.

Alex realized that he was a little hungry and helped himself to some vegetables and salad. But just as he was putting the salad onto his plate, he noticed that the man sitting opposite him was staring at him in disgust and muttering obscenities to himself.

The man said to him, "Aren't you worried about infecting the rest of us if you're sick? You're so thoughtless."

His wife agreed, "I certainly won't be eating from any of the dishes that this sickly boy has touched. I don't want to catch anything."

Kelly was annoyed when she heard them discussing Alex in such a derogatory manner. However, she already knew that none of her family liked him, so it didn't seem worth getting angry with these two in particular.

"Don't worry about them," she said to Alex. "Tell me what you want to eat, and I'll serve you," she continued in a whisper as she spooned some stew onto his plate.

The meal went on without incident, and the family members continued to chat happily amongst themselves.

Halfway through the meal, Alex's phone rang.

Everyone watched him with contempt as he pulled out his cell phone. It was such a cheap brand that they all concluded that he must be a complete loser, and their opinions of him sank even lower. Of course, they all had the latest expensive models.

Alex looked at the number on his phone. It was the manager of the New York Auto Exhibition Center. It must be news about my new Ferrari, he thought as he answered the phone.

"Hello, Mr. Ambrose," the caller said excitedly, "I've kept you waiting for a long time, but I'm pleased to say that the new super luxurious Ferrari that you ordered has now been delivered to New York. Where are you now? We will bring it to you."

Alex was surprised. He answered, "The car is here in New York? But I still have half the money to pay, don't I? Wait a moment, I'll call the manager at the Metro Sky Bank and get him to transfer the rest of the two million dollars to you."

The manager replied, "Oh, didn't you know? The payment has already been taken care of." It turned out that while Alex had been recuperating at the Azalea Guest House and had been completely focused on Debbie's disappearance, Ken Stokes had taken a call from the Ferrari Company asking for the rest of the money and had settled it for him.

"Oh, that's brilliant," Alex replied happily. "Right now, I'm at the western villa in the southwest corner of Purple Dawn Lake. It's easy to find. Please get it sent here."

"Yes, Mr. Ambrose. It will be there shortly. We will deliver it for you right now," the manager agreed respectfully and ended the call.

Alex put his phone away and realized that everyone was looking at him curiously.

Simon rubbed his chin and asked him with a smile, "Alex, what were you just talking about that was worth two million dollars? What's going on? Tell us about it."

"It's nothing really. I just bought a car," Alex replied and started eating his salad. There was a moment of silence at the table before everyone in the family burst into laughter.