Chapter 236: Midnight Surprises and New Melodies

Once the police arrived, Eric filed his report and requested that David be locked up in a holding cell since he had nowhere else to go. The officers understood and hauled David away despite his continuous cursing and protests against being treated that way. Afterward, Eric messaged Caleb and Jade, who replied with a smiley-face emoticon shaking its head while holding its forehead. Eric also contacted Mike to arrange for him to accompany Eric to court on Monday to secure a restraining order.

Once everything was wrapped up, the security guards directed Eric to park his car in a reserved slot right next to his RV and Maybach. He and Emma then got out and rode the private elevator straight up to the penthouse, carrying bags of food and chatting as if nothing unusual had just happened.

When they stepped inside,

"You guys took forever!" Monica shouted the moment Eric and Emma appeared from the elevator.

"Sorry... sorry... got caught up in a lot of stuff," Emma replied.

"You said you were just going out for lunch, but you’re getting back almost at midnight. What were you even doing?" Priya asked.

"It’s a long story, I’ll tell you guys later. Oh yeah... we brought back a ton of food and snacks," Eric answered, holding up the grocery bag and Tupperware containers.

"Here, let me help," Heidi said, standing up to walk over to Eric.

"Oh right... I saw the photo Ruby shared. You guys honestly look like a real family now," Chloe remarked, flashing her smartphone screen.

"Kind of, yeah. Like I said, it’s a long story," Emma said, walking over to sit beside Laura.

"Well, spill," Laura urged, giving Emma a gentle nudge with her elbow.

"Sigh." Eric, sitting between Heidi and Emma, let out a breath, and together they recounted everything that had happened throughout the day from start to finish, including the dramatic confrontation right outside moments ago. Monica, Heidi, Chloe, Priya, and Laura listened intently while casually snacking out of the Tupperware containers. Once they finished,

"That’s wild. So because your dad’s lakehouse was bought by an acquaintance of Emma’s mom, your uncle got kicked out and came over here to throw a tantrum. Unbelievable," Chloe said.

"And he even dragged your mom into it, hoping she’d stir up trouble after seeing that photo Ruby posted... seriously messed up," Priya added.

"Man, we should’ve tagged along. Sounds like we missed out on all the action," Heidi chimed in.

"For real, we totally missed the chance to see what your uncle and Jade’s dad look like in person," Monica agreed.

"You guys can go next time, count me out. I’d rather sleep," Laura yawned.

"Ugh, you’re no fun at all, totally lame," Monica shot back.

"Oh yeah, tomorrow’s Sunday. Do yourselves a favor, pull out your smartphones, and lay them flat on the coffee table face up," Eric instructed, pulling out his own device to open a specific app.

Emma, Monica, Chloe, Priya, Heidi, and Laura exchanged confused glances, but ultimately gave in and followed Eric’s instructions. Without wasting a second, Eric tapped his phone screen against each of the six girls’ smartphones one by one. Right after, "ding," notification chimes echoed across all six devices. Naturally, the six of them checked their screens, and their eyes popped wide open, the bank alerts showed direct transfers of $100,000.00 deposited straight into their accounts.

All six of them whipped their heads toward Eric,

"Wait... what is this?" Emma asked, completely baffled.

"Yeah... what’s this money for?" Chloe asked.

"Tomorrow, go out, hang out, and buy whatever you want, alright?" Eric answered.

"Huh... go where?" Monica asked, bewildered.

"Wait... what are you even doing tomorrow?" Laura asked.

"Tomorrow? I’m tagging along with you guys, obviously," Eric replied.

"Is there a specific reason you’re suddenly handing us cash and taking us out?" Heidi asked.

"Yeah... care to explain?" Priya added.

"Sigh." Eric didn’t answer verbally. Instead, he simply pointed to the messy coffee table, the carpet littered with food crumbs, the dirty floor, the disorganized kitchen, and piles of random clothes strewn across the sofa.

"Oh," Emma, Chloe, Monica, Priya, Heidi, and Laura groaned in unison.

"Get the picture?" Eric asked.

"Got it, hehehe," the six of them answered in sync.

"Wait, but why give us cash? You know I don’t even need the money," Chloe pointed out.

"So you’re forced to shop all day until every last cent is gone," Eric replied smoothly.

"Whaaaat... are you serious?!" all six yelled together.

"Hey... cleaning all of this up takes a whole day, and that’s just the first floor. Don’t even get me started on the bedrooms upstairs, not to mention getting rid of this weird smell starting to hang in the air. From now on, I expect you girls to keep things neat and clean, okay? That’s why I’m handing out allowance money upfront as an incentive," Eric explained.

"Oh... so that’s your game plan. Fine then, I’m gonna spend every single penny," Emma declared.

"Go right ahead. If you run out, don’t ask me for more," Eric smirked.

"Thanks, babe," Priya squealed, leaping up to wrap her arms around Eric in a tight hug.

"Just so you know, I’m dropping you guys off at the mall tomorrow. I’ve got some business to take care of at the cemetery," Eric noted.

"Got it... I understand," Laura replied, lacing her arm through Eric’s.

Right after that, Monica, Heidi, Emma, and Chloe leaned in close, showering both of his cheeks, his forehead, and his lips with kisses all at once. Looking around, Eric caught the messy, rumpled looks on all the girls’ faces, everyone except Emma. He then pulled out his smartphone and opened two notes containing tracks tailored specifically for The Empress, showing them to Monica, who took the phone to view them alongside Chloe, Priya, Heidi, and Laura.

"The titles are... Sweet Yesterday and Fate Intersection?" Monica asked, looking up at Eric.

"That’s right. The first one is about the beauty of yesterday’s memories carrying forward into the future, and the second is about someone suddenly faced with three distinct paths of destiny to choose from," Eric answered.

"The lyrical meaning is solid, and just imagining the arrangement, these two tracks sound epic," Priya praised.

"Are you planning to drop both songs at the same time?" Chloe asked.

"No, one at a time, spaced out by a month. But since the songs are already written, you guys will have plenty of breathing room to practice, right?" Eric asked.

"True that, we’ll try playing them out tomorrow," Heidi said.

"Tomorrow is for shopping," Eric reminded her.

"Oh right... completely forgot, ehehe," Heidi laughed.

"Thank you, darling," Laura whispered, kissing Eric on the lips.

"Hey... no stealing all the kisses for yourself!" the other five girls protested at once.

The rest of the night quickly turned lively. Watching the six girls happily singing along to the songs he wrote, Eric smiled, feeling a deep warmth he hadn’t experienced in the last ten years. He glanced sideways at the holographic screen hovering beside his head,

[Quest: Compose three songs for Nobelia and two songs for The Empress (3/5)]

"Hmm... two more to go... alright, no rush," Eric thought to himself.

After that, he picked up his smartphone and noticed Caleb had replied to his text. Opening the message,

"Bro, Jade and Mike are at the police station where my dad was taken. Mike just let me know," Caleb texted.

"Oh... I see. Are you heading over?" Eric replied.

"Nah... why would I? I just sent my regards through Jade. No way I’m showing up in person," Caleb answered.

"Why did Jade go over there then?" Eric asked.

"Filing a report, plus giving a full statement on everything that went down this afternoon. Mike said you asked him to come along with you to court, so Jade wants to go too," Caleb answered.

"Oh... I thought she went to visit him," Eric replied.

"Ha... no chance. Jade feels the exact same way I do, she just didn’t have the guts to run away back then, haha," Caleb texted.

"You guys are something else. Alright then, I’m heading to sleep," Eric replied.

"Alright bro, I’m gonna put Abby to bed too. See you Monday," Caleb texted back.

"Yeah... see you Monday," Eric replied.

After that, Eric set his smartphone down and turned his eyes back to the six girls in front of him, who were still singing merrily. He then stood up and walked toward his bedroom on the second floor. Naturally, all six girls watched Eric head upstairs,

"Whose turn is it tonight?" Monica asked.

"Hmm... I forgot the order," Priya replied.

"Doesn’t matter who goes first, we all end up in there eventually anyway," Laura added.

"Hang on, let me check the agreement," Chloe said, reaching for her smartphone.

"Forget the contract, whoever gets there first gets first dibs," Heidi said, snatching Chloe’s phone away.

"Alright... then I’m going first!" Emma declared, leaping to her feet and sprinting toward the stairs.

"Hey... no fair! You’ve had our man all day!" Monica, Laura, Priya, Heidi, and Chloe shouted in unison.

Emma paid no attention and hurried upstairs, with the other five chasing right behind her in a frantic, laughter-filled rush.