Soon, the police arrived to understand the situation. Mark graciously brought out the surveillance cameras he had in his office. In order to prepare for that day’s commotion, he deliberately instructed to have surveillance cameras installed in his office.Regardless of the angle, Mrs. Rodriguez had jumped out of her own will and Mark had not even moved from his seat at his desk from the beginning. Plus, coupled with the fact that Mr. Rodriguez “silently acknowledged” it as his tears fell without saying anything, the police deemed it to be suicide before closing the case.After the police left, Mr. Rodriguez asked with a shaky voice, “When will I be able to bring my son home with me?”Mark smiled slightly. “Anytime, don’t forget your wife’s corpse as well. Although she’s a complete mess from her fall, she still needs to be buried properly.”Mr. Rodriguez walked towards the door helplessly. After taking a few steps, he suddenly stopped. “Are you… really letting me go?”Mark’s expr
Jackson was on the other end of the phone call. “Mark, where are you? I want to find you now. It’s about… the matter before Arianne got caught up in that incident. The driver and nanny that was accompanying her have been found.”Mark lightly took a breath. “All right… I understand. Come to my house then, I’m here.”After waiting for approximately half an hour, Jackson and Tiffany entered the door together. Coincidentally, Alejandro was with them as well. However, he was there alone without bringing Melanie with him.While they chatted in the living room, Mark asked Mary to bring Smore with her to play somewhere else.Tiffany’s eyes had gone red before she even spoke. “How’s Ari?”Mark shook his head lightly without saying anything. He did not wish to repeat what the doctor had told him. At that moment, Arianne was still in critical condition.Jackson heaved a sigh. “The driver was at the scene when Mateo and Arianne fell from the building. Before that, when they arrived at the ai
After saying that, Alejandro got up and was just about to leave when Tiffany suddenly asked, “Where’s Melanie? I haven’t seen her recently, and she didn’t even reply to my texts.”Alejandro paused for a moment. “She doesn’t have the courage to meet you all. After all… Mateo was her childhood friend and she had even suspected Mark whilst being blinded from the truth. Plus, she blames herself for not staying beside Arianne on the day of the funeral.”Tiffany helplessly said, “No one’s blaming her. If it were me, I would also be blinded by Mateo. He was really good at hiding his thoughts; when Ari and I interacted with him those few times, neither of us could tell that the person he fancied was Ari, even going as far as to cause such a huge commotion.”Alejandro shrugged. “There’s nothing I can do, perhaps she’ll recover after some time.”Tiffany was slightly angry. “She’s your woman, how could there be nothing you could do? You should console her and persuade her, that’s your job! Ca
Helen reined her emotions in. “Where are you taking her?”Mark already had a place in mind. “Switzerland. I’ve heard of a hospital there with a stellar reputation, and I’ve sent some of my people to help facilitate her eventual staying-in. Right now, I’m making necessary arrangements to my company—I’ll be leaving some of my work to Jackson while I’m away. Naturally, I’m not inclined to hand over my duty to him. I simply am not physically available for many of my business dealings.”Helen’s eyebrows creased. “Passing some of your work to Jackson might be fine and all, but what about Little Smore? Is he joining you as well?”It was the million-dollar question that had bedeviled Mark for too many days and nights. “I… Well… To be frank, I don’t plan to bring him with us. My purpose of going there is to have Ari’s malady remedied, so bringing a child with us would only be an inconvenience. Honestly, I think it’s better to just leave him at home,” he explained. “Jackson has two children o
Perhaps the underpinning of Mark’s rationale was Mary’s age. She was so old, she could possibly die before the couple ever returned to their home country, thus dooming her to die in a foreign land. It was a rather cruel prospect that begged to be considered. Hence, in the end, Mark reasoned that it would be better for her to stay behind with Henry as the keepers of Tremont Estate.At first, Mark was worried that Smore might throw crying fits during his first few days with Jackson’s family, so he made it a routine to video call the kid since he touched down in Switzerland. That habit did not last long, because Mark soon realized the full extent of his son’s apathy—the brat never thought of talking to him or Arianne during their calls, let alone throw a fit over missing them!Time flew. Never in Mark’s wildest imagination would he have thought that he would stay in Switzerland for nineteen long years.…Nineteen years later, in the same old White Water Bay Villa, Tiffany Lane West
Aristotle rejected Jackson’s offer to lift his suitcases for him. “It’s fine, I can do it myself. Really, it’s only packed with gifts for all of you, and they are hardly heavy. By the way, Pa West? You haven’t changed a bit—look like you just leaped out of my last memory of seeing you. Where’s Aunt Tiffany and Cindy?”Jackson silently conceded that, as the child had now aged into a full-fledged grown-up, he should not insist on helping him with things he could rightly do by himself. “Well, they are waiting for you right inside,” he said instead. “Look at you! You’re home now. And Lil’ P is coming home soon, too… God, by next month, the three of you are officially reunited once more.”Aristotle smiled wordlessly and sauntered into the villa’s interior.It was but a split second, yet as Jackson stared at the young man’s back, his eyes saw Mark Tremont instead. Aristotle had too much of his father in him, and it was especially evident when one looked at him from behind. Jackson even wo
In a millisecond, Cynthia’s cheeks burned bright red and she ducked her head in panic. Her heart, like a maddened buck, refused to be still inside the cage she called her chest.Growing up, everyone had always teased Cynthia and Aristotle as some sort of one true pair. Back then, it did not mean anything to her; she was just an innocent child who had no inkling of what the adults really meant. Of course, Aristotle was always the kind-hearted, caring big brother in her life, so she slowly came to accept the bond they shared and rationalized it as the way their interaction should be.As for the adults’ suggestion, Cynthia admitted that it had also taken root in her mind. It was only after she grew up when memories of those teasing suddenly made her feel very, very self-conscious.It was undeniable. Aristotle Tremont had matured into a fine, young man—emphasis on “fine”. He had inherited every physical trait that cemented Mark and Arianne as beautiful people. Look at his piercing eyes,
It was thanks to this unknown, faceless “Rey”—who had somehow taken up space in her head—that Cynthia’s sleep that night turned fretful.Her peaceful slumber came later, yet as soon as the morning broke, she was rudely roused from her sleep by Tiffany’s wallop, causing the groggy young woman to catapult out of her bed. “Urgh, Mooooom?! What now?” she wailed. “Geez, are you even my real mother? You just can’t go on a day without picking on me in some ways, can you? I swear, I only look hideous because of your trigger-happy hands!!”Tiffany considered her half-asleep daughter’s dowdy state, her loose, baggy nightshirt, and the chaotic mane she called “hair”. Were it not for her objectively good looks, Tiffany would not even want to admit Cynthia was her daughter.“Well, get your lazy bum up and send this apple pie to Aristotle! Lemme tell you, hon, I woke up early today just to bake this for him. He hasn’t been able to enjoy good o’ American staples for years while he was stuck in F