Chapter 312


    Avery was prepared for Shane''s advice. However, Shane just nodded and didn''t say anything,


    which made Avery feel very surprised.


    "You''re not going to give me any advice?"


    "Is there a need for it?"


    "If this decision was made by Braden, would you advise him then?" Avery was curious.


    "He''s not that smart."


    Avery immediately smiled.


    Shane''s meaning was very simple. If Avery was smart enough to make such a decision, it meant


    that he had considered the pros and cons. In that case, there was no need to persuade or remind


    him.


    At this point, the discussion was over, but Avery had no intention of leaving. Instead, he asked for a


    cup of coffee and took out a stack of documents.


    "Come on, let''s continue with our work."


    Sometimes, Charlotte really envied their energy to handle so many things. It had only been 30


    minutes and she couldn''t stand it anymore. She just wanted to find a ce to rest.


    It was a waste of time to think about official


    business.


    On the other side, in the orphanage.


    Under the sun, the trees formed shades on the ground, and children were running around at the


    yground.


    After Peter took the little girl toplete some paperwork, he took her home. Zoe''s house was still


    being renovated, so she and Peter still lived together.


    "Uncle Peter, I thought you wanted to leave me in the orphanage." The little girl climbed into the


    passenger seat and buckled her seat belt.


    "Why do you think so?"


    "When I was a child, my mother adopted me from an orphanage."


    Peter was stunned and pointed to the scar on her arm, "When I asked you the first time, you said


    you got it while working. Is that true?"


    The little girl shook her head. "I''m an orphan. Even if I was brought back from the orphanage, I was


    always abused. They treated me very well in front of outsiders. I don''t know why they could do this.


    They could have treated me well, but they didn''t do so." "Mr. Emerson said that you didn''t want to


    leave for River City. Were you afraid of getting hurt again?" The little girl nodded.


    Peter smiled and took off his shirt, revealing the injuries on his shoulders and arms. "Don''t be afraid.


    I have the same past as you, although I am not an orphan."


    "How do you know for sure?"


    Peter frowned.


    The little girl looked at him seriously. "How do you know that they must be your parents? You don''t


    look like a child who has been abused at home. You''ve had a stroke of luck, haven''t you?"


    "What a mischievous kid." He sighed and turned on the ignition.


    "But a good opportunity requires a good brain. Do you think your parents'' biological child would be


    as smart as you?"


    Peter froze instantly. The little girl reached out and gently held his big hand. "Peter, I am an orphan,


    so I understand. I am different from other children. My parents must be very outstanding, so I''m


    smarter than others."


    "You..." Peter turned and looked at her. Her eyes were as clear as his eyes in the past.


    The little girl smiled at him. "Peter, you like Zoe, don''t you?"


    The focus of the conversation shifted a little too quickly. Peter nodded. "I like Zoe very much."


    "Zoe has a simr experience with us, but she is different. Her eyes show that she is very satisfied


    with her biological family and epts the status quo. Everything she does is to get away from the


    past, and this separation gives her a sense of aplishment."


    "So what you''re saying is..."


    "And Ms. Emerson, although she is optimistic and positive, she is very envious of you and me. She


    keeps sighing whenever she looks at us. But whenever I mention my mother, she has a look of


    longing on her face, which means that her family is not bad. Her daddy is a bit of a jerk, but her


    mom is very good to her."


    Text property ? N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org.


    Peter gradually believed in what the little girl said. He couldn''t wait to ask, "What did you see in my


    eyes?"


    "I see myself when I grow up," the little girl replied. "That''s why I said you would leave me in the


    orphanage, because if I were you, I wouldn''t want a child with me. It''s so troublesome."


    "I have indeed thought about it, but you are the job that Ms. Emerson assigned me, so don''t worry."


    The little girl smiled sweetly. "We''ll be able to find our own parents, won''t we?"


    Peter answered in a very responsible manner.


    He clearly knew that she was just a child, and she spoke without holding back. He should not have


    taken her words to heart, let alone take them seriously. However, he was actually looking forward to


    the truth behind this matter.


    Back home, the little girl obediently took the tablet Zoe gave her and watched TV.


    Peter was investigating his family background to the best of his ability, and he ended up with no


    conclusive result. But it didn''t mean that he was an orphan.


    It just meant that he didn''t have any information about his birth.


    When he was three years old, his name appeared on the household registration system out of


    nowhere. He then went to school, grew up, and left home.


    He was someone who knew how to hide his identity. Of course, he knew the year he was born. If he


    wanted to hide his identity, then it would be extremely difficult.


    Peter smoked several cigarettes to calm himself down. He took out his mobile phone with a


    trembling hand and made a phone call on the balcony.


    Zoe was cooking when she suddenly heard the sound of something breaking. She immediately


    rushed out and saw Peter smashing everything in sight on the balcony. His hands and legs were


    covered in blood, and his eyes had turned red. He stood at the same spot and heavedboriously,


    as if he was crying orughing.


    The little girl looked at him evenly with no trace of surprise, and even gave him a smile.


    Zoe felt that thismotion was unusual, like the scenes in horror TV dramas. She quickly put on


    her sneakers and ran to the balcony to grab Peter''s hand. "Let me treat your wounds."


    Peter felt that he was engulfed in the darkness, and everything became chaotic and untouchable.


    However, in the next second, a ray of light pulled him out of the chaotic darkness.


    He didn''t know what Zoe was talking about. He only knew that she was dressing his wounds with


    the utmost care and tenderness.


    Peter suddenly turned around and kissed Zoe. He pressed her under his body roughly and bit her


    lips. Zoe was frightened and struggled to push him away, but Peter was stronger and she couldn''t


    break free.


    "Peter..." Zoe shouted at him in a hoarse voice, "Let me go."


    Peter exerted more force and grabbed her arms with both hands. His freshly bandaged wounds


    reopened under the sheer pressure and blood ran down his arms and dripped onto the sheets.


    Two voices in his head urged him.


    To destroy all beauty, or to embrace beauty.


    He stared at the person below him and once again bent down to kiss her. This time, it was even


    more forceful. Her lips were covered with bite wounds, and the metallic scent of blood drifted


    between them.


    Zoe''s threshold for pain was high, but in this moment, her eyes watered from the pain.


    She didn''t understand what was wrong with Peter. She didn''t think what had happened was in the


    spur of the moment. It was more like Peter lost his mind and sumbed to his sea of emotions. In


    the midst of drowning, Zoe was his only driftwood and he desperately clung to her.


    "Peter, can you hear me?" Zoe tried talking to him again.


    Peter just looked at her. Suddenly, he reached out and pulled at her clothes.


    Zoe seized his hand and stared at him. "Peter, talk to me. Calm down!"


    She knew that he wasn''t in his right mind. What did this action mean? He lost all self- control,


    leaving only the primal instincts of an animal.


    And as animals, the most instinctive demand was to take.


    To take food, to take warmth, and to take desire.