Hollywood Zenith

" Thank you for today's lesson." Samuel accepted their criticism.

" And don't skip classes. I also heard about Iblis and Adele, I don't know what is going on between you three, but you have to get your head in the game."

" I promise not to skip classes." Samuel glossed over her hint.

As Samuel left the class, he saw Eleanor. She must be waiting for him. It was still early, so he decided to spend some time with Eleanor. She came all the way here to meet him, making him a little conscious.

He had been neglecting family members, and it was his mistake to not enquire about the mother's side of the family.

When they were leaving the premises, Samuel spotted Adele. She was walking with her classmates. He quickly hid, taking Eleanor with him; he didn't know why he decided to do it.

Eleanor noticed the urgency and followed him but also looked at the cause.

" Is that Adele? She looks like a sweet girl. Why are you hiding from her?" She asked.

" How do you know about her?" He asked. He was sure she was seeing Adele for the first time.

" How can I not know? I have been visiting places to get to know more about you. I spent some time with that boy Oscar and also visited my granddaughter-in-law. She mentioned her."

" What? that sounds more like stalking to me. You could have asked me." He was baffled by her behaviour and began understanding why his mother treated her like this.

" I could, but nobody tells me anything now. Your mother was the same too, so I developed this bad habit." She said innocently, but there was nothing innocent about her ways.

" Hah, Please, I don't know what happened between mother and you, but you could ask me anything in the future. You don't have to resort to stalking with me."

" I am sorry. I will not do it in future. So, what's the big deal with you and her? I could help."

Samuel noticed that Adele and her group had already left the gate. He breathed a sigh of relief and looked toward the old woman. He never discussed it with anyone, only partially with Iblis.

He decided to tell Eleanor about his worries. What transpired between the three of them. She listened attentively and nodded a few times but frowned when Samuel finished his story.

" After which, Iblis left with her mother, and I haven't talked with Adele ever since. I am at fault for causing the rift between those two."

" You might be a genius in everything else, but you are really the biggest fool in this."

" But many lives are at stake. We did what we had to do." Samuel objected.

" It may be too early for you to understand, but remember, you can be selfish sometimes. Whatever you think inside your head might not be the truth; how can you understand another person without talking with them? That is what I will say for now." Samuel looked absentmindedly at her face. At the moment, She had a different air but soon reverted back to her cheerful self.

" I-i will try to. It's just-" Eleanor tussled his hair which made him stop.

" Don't think too hard now. I am hungry; we should go grab something to eat." She dragged Samuel and ordered someone to make some reservations.

During the meal, she informed Samuel about Iblis and Olivia's situation. She laughed when she recalled when the first time she met her. She explained in detail how Iblis's nervous face looked, making Samuel smile a little.

They had a long conversation as Samuel narrated his trip and talked about his book. Eleanor didn't know about his books which made her go on another tangent.

When Samuel reached home, the maid informed him that his father and grandfather had been calling for him.

" They had been waiting for your arrival, but Lady Eleanor's personnel already informed you about your little detour. I was instructed to bring you over as soon as you arrive."

" Ok, I will head after changing," Samuel answered.

" Did something happen?" He wondered why they were looking for him urgently.

He soon visited them and saw them sitting together enjoying the afternoon tea. Several snacks and sweets were present on the table, half-eaten. They must have been waiting for him for a while.

" Father, Grandpa, You called for me." He promptly took an empty seat.

" Oh, you are here. We wanted to discuss something with you." Grandpa Kenneth asked.

" I noticed you started to manage the firm. Is everything fine over there?" Robert asked.

" Yes, father. Everything is going well. We have begun our operations but are still searching for a few more employees."

" I heard. Do you need our help?"

" No, I have reliable people over there. They are doing their best."

" I heard you ran into some trouble a few days ago," Grandpa asked. Samuel knew they received updates about his daily life and must be aware of the incident with Quinn.

" Yes, but we handled it. He won't be troubling us anymore."

" I am not sure about that. People like him will try to resist until the end." He talked as if he knew something.

" Grandpa? Did something happen?"

" Yes, he is attacking and discrediting your firm because you hired that girl Abigail. I believe he had a meeting with HKSBC bank this morning. You know that your company is using their banking service, right?" Robert elaborated.

" If you want, we can disclose our identity. Others still don't know about your identity as the real owner." Kenneth said, offering his support.

" He couldn't possibly tell them that, or else no one would support him." Robert chimed in.

" Why, though? He was very brazen and openly tried to discreet me." Samuel asked. He was wondering, he always witnessed that the Rothschild name was the ultimate deterrent, but for some reason, this was not the case.

Kenneth sighed as he explained.

" It's simple. The public always believed that we have a lot of infighting. Quinn might have the idea that you were given some sort of task and could not ask for help from the family."

" That must be the reason. Everyone thinks we are money-hungry savages that would go to any length to hold on to power. But they always fail to notice that we are just people who worked hard; although we might have an early lead in life, it doesn't mean we are evil. Well, some of us are, but not all." Robert said.

" Enough of that! Samuel, what do you think? He will make it difficult for you."

Samuel smiled and shook his head to dismiss the idea.

" I know you worry about me, but I want to do this my way. If I start using the family name every time I encounter a difficult situation, It would be no different than mooching. I will take care of it on my own." Samuel said seriously, which made both of them smile.

They felt proud to have someone like Samuel in the family who wanted to make his own path. They accepted his decision but made him promise that he would not shy away if the situation got too difficult for him.

After Samuel left, Robert called his secretary, Paul. He asked him to visit as he had something to discuss. It was an unexpected request, but Paul obliged. Paul's wife would be mad at him, but what can he do when the boss asks for it?

Three of them were in the meeting room, and Arthur joined for an emergency meeting.

" Paul, Have someone looked into the people that Quinn came in contact with recently," Robert asked.

" Wait! Didn't you promise Samuel to stay out of it?" Kenneth asked.

" Did something happen?" Paul asked. Arthur was also curious about it, so they both explained the situation briefly.

" Master! Give me the order! I will ensure that he who sullied the family name will never see another sunlight!" Arthur showed unexpected anger.

" Calm down! I thought you left that profession." Kenneth asked as he got a glimpse of Arthur's glorious years.

" I could come out of retirement for the young master's peace of mind!"

Listening to Kenneth and Arthur's conversation made Paul smile awkwardly at his boss. He vowed to never betray these people, or his head might end up on a pike somewhere.

" Will you stop it already! You are scaring him!" Robert shouted as he saw Paul's pale face.

" They are joking. don't mind them." Robert said with an awkward laugh.

" Let's get to the topic of why I called you. Do you know what Samuel is planning? He mentioned it a few times but is it possible?" Robert asked.

" Well, the young master gave me the whole plan. He also asked me to transfer every penny he earned to the company account."

" Good. What about our investment direction? How does it fare against my son's idea?"

" We have some ventures in the technology sector, but they are small. I also checked the name of some companies that young master provided, we have some shares in those, but you have to ask our firm for the whole picture."

" We have some money lying around, right. Order the firm to follow my son's plan but do it discreetly. Just a few billion, not much." Robert asked. He talked about billion like some chump change.

" Alright. But you could have informed me over the phone, right? My wife was furious as it was a date night." Paul asked, which made Robert flinch.

" What? didn't I tell you? I made a special reservation for you and your wife. You must hurry; your wife must be waiting for you!" Robert blatantly lied through his teeth. He looked toward Arthur, who vanished into thin air to make it happen.

Paul was surprised but became excited. He thanked his boss, and his wife was waiting for him when he reached the lavish restaurant. She was at home when people barged in and forced her to come to the restaurant.

She felt relieved to find her husband but felt weird when she thought about his ways of showing affection.

" He could have mentioned it. Who plans a kidnapping scenario for a date?" She thought she knew her husband very well after twelve years of marriage, but you learn something new daily.