Ice and Fire novel Chapter 138

Cherry looked at Selina in disbelief, and as she shook her head, said, "What…what are you talking about?"

Selina looked back at Cherry, and replied, "Jackson was the one who commanded that the Shen Group disappear from the city. I had to obey his order and supervise the whole process of its destruction."

Cherry still couldn't believe her ears. She stared at Selina with her eyes wide open, and suddenly a tear stole down her cheek.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier about this!" cried Cherry.

When Selina saw that Cherry started to weep inconsolably, she quickly said, "I didn't know that you were…"

But before she could finish her sentence, she was interrupted by Cherry. "Selina, do you even know how much I hate Jackson because of what he did to the Shen Group?"

Selina still couldn't utter a sentence and was again interrupted by Cherry. "I… I…"

"Haha… I'm so stupid! I should have realized that you were on Jackson's side from the very beginning! Even yesterday, immediately after Jackson said that he would buy the Anshi Group, you announced officially that the JS Group was going to make that happen! You were in cahoots with Jackson all along!" said Cherry infuriated.

"But Jackson changed his mind, he's not going to purchase the Anshi Group anymore. Both Stephen and his company are safe now, " quickly said Selina, afraid that she was going to be interrupted again.

Cherry was somehow relieved to hear the news that Stephen and his company were finally okay, but she didn't know how to control her other emotions when she thought of the fact that Selina was the one who had taken action against the Shen Group and her father.

Cherry stared at Selina and coldly said, "Miss Selina, we'd better keep our relationship as professional as possible from now on."

She then took her bag, turned around and walked away.

"Che…" Selina tried to call after her, but couldn't, and was very upset when she saw Cherry's figure fading in the distance.

After she left the JS Group, Cherry didn't drive back home and instead went to visit Stephen.

She parked the car in front of the bar's door, got out of it, and walked inside.

As soon as she stepped into the bar, she found that the atmosphere inside it was very usual for a typical day. It was obvious that there were only a few customers and that the waiters were pretty relaxed with their workload.

When one of the waiters saw Cherry come in, he quickly walked up to her and greeted her, "How are you doing today, Miss Cherry?"

Cherry wasn't surprised to hear the waiter's greeting. She had already been there for several times, and every time to visit Stephen. It wasn't surprising that all of the waiters knew her.

Cherry nodded to him, and said, "Good afternoon." She then asked, "Where is Mr. Stephen?"

"He… he's in his office, " replied the waiter.

"Okay, I'll go to see him, " and after uttering these words, Cherry turned around and left.

When she arrived at Stephen's office she gently knocked on the door, but she got no answer. After Cherry thought for a while, she eventually pushed the door open.

She saw Stephen sitting on the sofa with his hands tightly laced behind his head. He seemed to look distressed, and Cherry was the same when she saw him sitting like that.

She slowly approached him and then sat down next to him. She was about to pat on his shoulder, but her hand stopped in mid air. She called out to him, "Stephen."

When Stephen heard Cherry's voice, he quickly raised his head and blankly stared at her.

He then asked, "Cherry, when did you come here?"

"I just arrived earlier, " replied Cherry. Slightly hesitating, she asked, "Are…are you alright?"

Stephen pretended to be doing well; he forced a smile, and said, "Yes, I'm great."

Cherry was still a little worried, and continued to ask, "Are you sure you're alright?"

Stephen nodded and replied with bravado, "I'm good; don't worry. You must have heard the news. The JS Group has given up on their plan and they are not going to buy the Anshi Group anymore. I couldn't be much happier..."

Cherry looked at him and found that he was visibly wasted away. She wondered what he was actually hiding deep down in his heart. Stephen always appeared simple, but when it came to Jackson, she found that he became mysterious and complex, and that it was hard for her to gain any kind of insights into his thoughts.

Cherry didn't continue with the topic. She instead lowered her head, and said, "Jackson isn't the only one to blame for the Shen Group's bankruptcy; Selina also helped him."

Stephen sensed the disappointment in her words and replied to her, "Cherry, don't you know that Selina and Jackson are birds of the same feather? No matter what Jackson wants to do, Selina will always help him without any sort of hesitation and vice versa. They're definitely a team."

Cherry replied by sitting quietly on the sofa and dropping her gaze on the floor.

Stephen didn't want Cherry to feel distressed, and tried to comfort her, "Cherry, don't worry, I'll ask my friends to help you look for your father. If I guessed it right, your father must still be hidden somewhere in the city, " said Stephen.

"Really? How can you be so sure about that?" Cherry quickly raised her head and looked at him with gleaming eyes.

Stephen looked into Cherry's eyes and started to tell her about his speculation. "Cherry, after you left five years ago, Jackson has monitored all the transportation systems, including airlines, railways and buses; all of them are under Jackson's eyes. If your father had left the city, he should have found out about it, judging from his reaction yesterday but I can tell that he also doesn't know anything about his whereabouts. That means that your father is still somewhere here in the city, but pretty well hidden!"

"Are you sure?" asked Cherry again. What Stephen said gave new hope to her. She believed that as long as her father was still in the city, she could find a way to find him, and even though he had treated her badly in the past, she still wanted to find him and see what he was doing. As his daughter, she only wanted to make sure that he was okay.