Love Began with the First Meeting
Chapter 486 The Charity Auction (Part One)

I did everything to get your attention only to find out that I was pushing you away all this time.

"Mr. Brian Long, I've just filed your case for custody over Mark. I was just over at the T City court," Spencer reported matter-of-factly over the phone. He paused before continuing, "Spark and Molly will be informed tomorrow and I'll be in T City too."

Brian didn't have to go through all these complicated things just to get his son. Spencer didn't understand why Brian would ask him to do all of these things. But he didn't really need to know why to do his job. If this was what Brian asked him, then all he needed to do was be the good lawyer that he was.

"How soon will the trial be?" Brian asked, gazing back at the TV, which was still playing the live telecast. "I don't want to wait too long." Brian was Mark's father but right now, he was calling another man his father. Brian watched Molly, Spark, and Mark in the news. He sneered. The moment he found out that Mark was his son, he had felt so many things: happy, lucky, and surprised; but mostly, he was angry.

Because that meant that Dr. He, a doctor with the Dragon Empire Group, had helped Molly conceal her pregnancy. If Brian had known that she was pregnant at that time, he would have maximized his resources just to find her even if that meant defying his own father. It had been the Lunar New Year and Molly was aimlessly wandering around the streets of London. It was a cold night and she was without home, money, or identity. Brian felt a spasm of pain in his heart as he thought about it: Molly alone, cold, and homeless. But it was gone as soon as it came when he recalled the reporters' words.

It was time he put a stop to all of this. It was time that his son be with his real father. It was time that his son stop living with another man. And as long as he had Mark, Molly would surely be back sooner or later.

"Around seven to ten days," Spencer answered. "But it might take a little longer if Molly refuses to give up Mark."

"Okay," Brian responded. "Report back to me tomorrow with a detailed plan."

"All right," Spencer said. He had already foreseen that Brian would ask for a plan. While Brian was cold and ruthless, he was also meticulous. Once he made a decision, he planned very carefully how he would be able to achieve it. Brian checked his watch after hanging up the phone. The charity auction was about to begin. Iris had invited him and Molly would be there, so he wouldn't miss it for anything.

When Brian arrived at the auction, the place was jammed with people from everywhere: businessmen, actors, musicians, and so on. After all, it was the biggest charity auction held in the past three years. T City was where Dream Media was founded so they chose to have it here.

Most of the people attending the event had either witnessed or heard what happened with the press. They all took turns stealing quick glances at Molly and whomever she was talking to.

Daniel had never been to a grand event such as this. He was curious about what happened in events like this but he was also nervous. His eyes kept scanning the room, eyeing everyone who was there. Growing up, his family moved out of the military quarters which triggered his father into gambling. Their debts had been piling up ever since. His family scrimped on pennies and cents trying to make their debt seem smaller but it never made any dent. Until he and his father were sent abroad by Brian. While Brian provided everything they needed, those years abroad had been rough on Daniel because of his drug problem. Something he hadn't let go of even after all these years. Brian had provided Daniel with the drug in the past few years to keep him alive. But six months earlier, under Brian's order, the man who had injected him regularly had started to wean him off the drug. The process was excruciating. Daniel hadn't made it. He had run away. He didn't want to go through something like that ever again. Nonetheless, "cold heart" was extremely expensive and without Brian, he couldn't afford it on his own. He didn't know how he would be able to come up with money for his next injection so he had to figure out a way.

With that in mind, Daniel's eyes suddenly sharpened with focus as his eyes swept through the sea of people with big and deep pockets. They were all waiting for the auction to begin.

Meanwhile, Mark was silent ever since the fiasco with the press. He looked petulant when he heard all those rumors about Molly and Spark. None of those could be true. He was the fruit of Spark and Molly's love!

"Mark, who do you believe? Those nasty reports or your parents?" Manny asked as he set a piece of cake before him.

Mark replied in sign language, "My parents."

"Then, why are you so upset?"

Mark cocked his head to the right and thought about it. His face broke into a smile when he decided that he wouldn't believe those rumors anymore.

Meanwhile, Molly didn't look and feel so well. Everything that had happened exhausted her. A string of people had been coming up to her trying to pry something from her under the guise of trying to make a conversation. She was starting to get stressed out but she kept hanging in there, being nice and polite, never removing the smile from her face.

"If you have any questions, please relay them to Manny," Spark was saying as he came over with a plate of food. He was starting to get nettled by the sight of Molly being crowded with people thirsty for a story. "My wife is my personal assistant. This isn't part of her job description."

As he finished speaking, he ward off the crowd and pulled Molly away.

This was the first thing that Brian saw as soon as he arrived. He noticed how Molly had visibly shown relief when Spark came; her eyes were resigned and tired. She never showed anything remotely similar whenever she was with Brian. As far as Brian was concerned, the only emotions Molly showed when he was around were fear and anxiety.