The Supreme Soldier in the City
Chapter 450 - 357 Together They Came

Chapter 450: Chapter 357 Together They Came

The next day, John Brown and his four brothers collectively disappeared. It was as if their presence vanished entirely from YODC City, and no one saw them again.

Gina Lopez slept terribly last night. In recent days, she’d gotten used to having John Brown sleep beside her. She loved the feeling of being held in his arms, loved touching his strong body, loved the way he smelled. But now, it seemed all of that was gone. She tossed and turned for a long time before finally falling asleep.

She was jolted awake by the alarm clock in the morning and sat up abruptly. During this time at home, it had always been John Brown waking her up every day. The sudden sound of the alarm felt alien to her.

Glancing at the time, it was already late. She quickly got up, tidied herself, and stopped by to knock on Sandra’s door to wake her up as well.

When Sandra came out, her face was burdened with dark circles. She clearly hadn’t slept well either. Though the bruises on her face had healed, the external injury on her forehead hadn’t entirely recovered, and she still had a band-aid on.

"Brother-in-law!" Sandra yawned and headed straight to the living room. Normally, this was when she would greet John Brown, and he would respond with a smile and say, "Sandra, you’re up. Go wash up; breakfast’s almost ready."

But today, the atmosphere was eerily silent. Sandra realized John Brown wasn’t home, and her upbeat mood instantly disappeared.

"Hurry up and get ready; you’ll be late for work," Gina urged Sandra as she stepped out of the bathroom.

Sandra lazily mumbled an acknowledgment, washed up briefly, then sluggishly came out. Glancing at the kitchen, she remarked, "Sis, I’m hungry."

Gina shot her a sharp look and said, "You’re hungry this early in the morning, for heaven’s sake!"

Sandra pouted and replied, "I’ve been eating breakfast every morning lately; I’m already used to it."

Gina opened her mouth, sighed, and said, "Quit complaining. Hurry up and get dressed."

"It’s all your fault. You had to drive Brother-in-law away. He’s so great, and you just had to act so petty," Sandra grumbled with a huff before turning back to her room.

Gina sighed again, feeling completely out of place with how things had turned out.

On her way out, she bumped into Lucy Campbell, who now had two bodyguards with her for protection. Without John Brown, she’d resorted to relying on her own security.

Lucy gave Gina a slight smile and said, "Gina, since John isn’t coming back, I won’t be heading to the office either. Otherwise, it’d be too much trouble. Besides, I’ve got some other things to handle lately."

Gina quickly replied, "Alright."

"Don’t worry; John will be fine, and he’ll be back soon. Use this time to calm yourself down a bit too."

"Mm." Gina nodded. He’d only been gone for a day, but she already felt completely unsettled.

"Isn’t Emily back? Why didn’t I see her this morning?" Sandra asked as she glanced at another room’s door.

Lucy chuckled and replied, "That girl must’ve realized John isn’t home, so she figured there’d be no breakfast and decided to sleep in. How could she possibly wake up early?"

Everyone went downstairs together, and Gina drove Sandra to school before heading back to the office. A morning filled with work helped her temporarily forget John Brown, but by the afternoon, she found herself at L-Region again. She had been closely overseeing the project’s progress here. The sooner this factory was completed, the sooner the company could begin operations.

Melody Yoody greeted her, and the two talked business. However, Melody seemed tempted to ask why John Brown hadn’t come this time. Given her history with him, asking about her ex in front of his wife felt inappropriate.

"Has John contacted you in the past two days?" Gina proactively brought up John.

"No, why are you asking?" Melody looked puzzled. She noticed Gina’s expression was rather odd whenever she mentioned John.

Gina forced a bitter smile and said, "John’s been away from home for two days now. His phone is turned off, and no one can reach him."

"Away from home? Did he run away?" Melody exclaimed, her eyes widening in shock.

"Yes, he really left home."

"How is that possible? That guy is so shameless; there’s no way he’d do something like running away from home." Melody shook her head repeatedly.

Gina let out another bitter smile and said, "This time, it’s because of the divorce. He left voluntarily."

"A divorce?" Melody’s eyes lit up briefly but quickly realized her reaction was inappropriate. Awkwardly, she smiled for a moment and said, "No way, he’s never mentioned anything like that."

Gina explained how Emily Berns had approached them, which made Melody’s eyes widen even further. She then furiously cursed, "That scumbag! He even has an illegitimate child." After saying this, Melody involuntarily coughed. She herself was pregnant with John Brown’s child, which for Gina would qualify as yet another "illegitimate" situation.

Gina said, "I find this reality unbearable too. We just got married, and now he’s gone and fathered a child elsewhere. He didn’t come home for two days. I wanted to sit down and discuss things with him, but after just a few words, he left immediately, as though he couldn’t wait to divorce me. This made me even more heartbroken. I thought he’d meet with you to talk, but it turns out you haven’t seen him either."

"Hmph, that scumbag is definitely with Emily Berns right now," Melody said through gritted teeth. She was utterly furious at this point. Since Emily Berns had given birth to his child, she felt her pregnancy with his child should have earned her some priority. Yet John didn’t even come to her—or bother calling her. This blatant disregard stung deeply.

Gina was equally despondent and failed to notice Melody’s peculiarity. She sighed and said, "If he really is with Emily Berns, then I’ll just accept it."

"Accept it? Absolutely not! What right does Emily Berns have? Just because she had a child with John doesn’t mean she can dictate everything! I’ll go with you to find him. No way am I letting that scumbag be with her," Melody declared as she grabbed Gina.

In such situations, Gina was far less bold and decisive than Melody. She hurriedly said, "Melody, don’t be like this. Wouldn’t confronting him like this just embarrass him?"

"He abandoned his wife to go mess around with another woman, and you’re worried about him being embarrassed? Listen to me; we’re going to drag him back. When we find him, I’ll give him a good beating, that’s for sure."

At first, Gina had harbored resentment toward Melody. After all, Melody was John’s first love, and first loves are notoriously hard to forget. Even when John had wronged her, she couldn’t bring herself to let him go.

But ever since learning that Melody’s child wasn’t John’s, Gina’s hostility towards her faded. Instead, she began to view Melody as a fellow strong woman like herself, feeling a sense of mutual respect and camaraderie. Their relationship had grown into something resembling friendship.

"But... I don’t even know where Emily Berns is."

"You don’t know? Then can’t you track her down?"

"How?"

"Wait here; I’ll get someone to help."

Just as Melody was about to make a call, Gina’s phone rang. The caller ID was an unfamiliar number. Gina answered and heard Emily Berns’s voice on the other end: "Gina Lopez, I’d like to talk to you."

Gina was overjoyed but quickly regained her composure. Facing her rival, she didn’t falter. In business dealings, Gina had always thrived under pressure. The more difficult the opponent, the calmer she became. She responded, "Alright."

Emily Berns quickly shared her address—her villa in YODC City. She wasn’t someone with many friends, and being in Gina’s turf, meeting at home provided her with a sense of security.

Gina promptly agreed. After hanging up, she turned to Melody and said, "Emily Berns wants to talk to me. I’m heading over now."

"I’m coming with you," Melody said instantly.

"That... won’t be necessary, right?"

"Of course it’s necessary! What if you can’t handle her alone? I need to back you up. We can’t let you get the short end of the stick."

Not waiting for Gina’s response, Melody dragged her along. Gina felt that bringing Melody along might be inappropriate for this discussion but recognized her good intentions. Refusing might seem discourteous.

Half an hour later, Gina and Melody arrived at Emily Berns’s villa. They parked the car and walked into the yard. Emily was sitting on the lawn, wearing a simple, casual outfit. Her hair was casually tied back, and she appeared every bit the sweet and endearing girl.

"You’re here. Come sit down. Why’d you bring backup? Afraid I’ll beat you up?" Emily said with a cheerful tone as she gestured for Gina to join her.

Melody snorted and glared at Emily, retorting, "Touching you would dirty our hands."

Gina tugged at Melody and approached Emily. Emily remained seated, casually waving them toward her. Gina sat down on the lawn, and after a moment’s hesitation, Melody begrudgingly sat down as well, though she continued glaring daggers at Emily.

Emily laughed softly and said, "Gina Lopez, who’s this you brought along? Her hatred towards me seems even deeper than yours. Is she another woman dumped by that scumbag?"

Her words struck a nerve in Melody, who retorted angrily, "You think just because John abandoned you, he’d abandon me too?"

Emily’s face changed, and she snapped back, "Well, isn’t this something! That scumbag really has a gift, managing to keep both his wife and mistress at peace together."