Since Mona had her doubts, she could not put full confidence in the man’s story. She could not possibly take a stranger’s words at face value. Besides, the whole thing sounded far-fetched. Thaddeus gave her a ten-million-dollar necklace last night, and it, at least, showed that he cared enough to give the relationship something. Why would he harm her mother? Things were not as simple as they seemed. Mona drew a deep breath and asked, “You must know where my mother is. Give me the address, so I can save her from danger.” The man rattled off. “She’s in Neuffield. The rescue mission won’t be easy. Thaddeus has her under lock and key. I doubt you can pin her location down.” Mona remained unfazed. “I can call the cops.” The man smiled broadly but not for a good reason. “You are naïve, Ms. Susan Mayers. Your mother has been issued a death certificate years ago. The police will just think you’re a lunatic for sending them on a wild goose chase. Save your breath.” Mona fell sil
“I’m not too sure about that, but Mr. Fontaine is there to talk business.” In fact, Marcus knew what was going on. Thaddeus went to Neuffield to meet Mona’s mother. However, it was not something he could tell Mona. At the very least, it should not come from Marcus. “Alright. I got it. No need to get in touch with him. It can wait. I’ll talk to him when he comes back.” “Alright, Ms. Ortega. Just let me know if you need anything at all.” After hanging up the call, Mona hesitated for a bit but dialed Thaddeus’ number in the end. The phone rang for a while before it was connected. “What’s the matter?” The man’s husky voice was heard on the other end. “Nothing. I wanted to ask you when you intend to visit the kids.” “Why? Do the kids miss me?” The man’s tone reflected delight. It was the best thing in the world to feel needed by the children. “Yes. They’ve been talking about their trip with you to the amusement park this morning. Are you free today? Do you want to take them
Isabel scoffed. “Just admit that you’re upset. Don’t pretend to be a good sport. There’s no one else here. Who are you acting for?” That comment was a bolt out of the blue to Mona. What did Isabel mean by acting? Was Mona not supposed to offer well-wishes? She guessed she could never do good in Isabel’s eyes. “Ms. Graham, I’m here to collect my final paycheck. Spare me details of your personal life.” Giving Isabel the cold shoulder, Mona made a beeline to the finance office. “Victor, why did you come so early to pick me up?” In the back, Isabel’s shrill and biting voice suddenly turned soft and tender. Mona got goosebumps. She looked back and saw Victor with a bouquet of flowers. God knew when he arrived. Paying him no mind, she hurried to the finance office to collect the paycheck. “Suzy, hold up,” Victor called Mona from behind. She stopped in her tracks, and her internal alarm bells were ringing off the roof. She had a feeling that the name “Suzy” was going to give
Victor was all over Mona’s face like gum to a shoe. Not knowing what to do, Mona quickened the pace and turned the corner, only to bump into someone. The person’s rock-hard chest nearly crushed her nose. She lifted her chin and saw that it was Raymond. Standing next to him, Isabel was giving Mona the death stare. Seeing that it was Mona, Raymond stopped her. “I finally caught you. You won’t take my calls or answer my texts. You just quit without saying a word. I see you grew some balls.” “I got a job lined up. I have already gone through the resignation formalities.” Mona made it clear that she was not coming back, leaving out her personal conflict with Isabel even though it was the real reason for her quitting. She did not want to put Raymond in the spot, so she chose to keep mum. Raymond had a clear idea of the situation. Although he wanted to retain her, Mona had made up her mind. There was nothing much he could say. “Why were you in a hurry to leave? What? Was someone
“Mona, I won’t let this slide. I will never forgive you.” “Enough. Haven’t you embarrassed yourself enough?” Victor helped Isabel up and glanced at the onlooking crowd. He tugged on Isabel’s sleeve. It was humiliating for Victor. Isabel shook Victor’s hand off and hysterically shouted, “What? I was beaten up by your lover. Not only did you not help, but you think I embarrassed you too?” Victor was flustered with this cocky woman. Nevertheless, he had to concede for the sake of pride. “You’re hurt. I’ll take you to the hospital.” Isabel’s resentment only intensified. “Oh, you know that I’m hurt, but it’s only now you’re showing concern. It’s too late!” Drained, Victor sounded peevish. “Then, what do you want me to do?” “Victor, watch your attitude when you’re talking to me. Respect should be mutual. I’ll call my brother to swing by if this is how you intend to treat me.” Isabel peered at Mona and threatened, “It’s time to end this.” It was like a switch was flipped in
“Isabel again? Why can’t she quit it? Nothing good ever happens whenever you run into her. Who won the fight?” Linda gave the vegetables a rinse. “Duh. Me. She slapped me, but I mounted on her and pulled all the hair out of her.” Mona flung her hair back. Satisfied, Linda smiled. “She deserved it. It’s high time someone teaches her a lesson.” Mona popped her head out to check on the kids and nudged Linda with her elbow. “Hey, I’m telling you now. You’d better play along when the kids ask about my face. Just say that I had an allergic reaction to the makeup. The kids catch on quickly, so you should put on the best show of your life.” Linda gave her an OK sign to say she got it covered. The pair were busy in the kitchen when the doorbell rang. After an exchange of looks, Mona went to open the door. Standing at the door, Victor had a bag in hand. It contained a few bottles of medicine. “What’s this about?” “I got medicine for you from the hospital. Does your face hurt?”
“Cosmetic allergy.” Mona looked at Linda, who immediately played along. “Yes, Suzy is allergic to alcohol. Her face became like this after using counterfeit products.”Thaddeus narrowed his eyes and looked at the two women who lied without batting an eyelid. It was a lie that could only convince themselves. Even children like Bobby and Millie would not believe it.Moreover, he had the misfortune of bumping into Victor when he came upstairs.“Is that so?” The man asked instead, “Why is there medicine on the floor here?”“I called an errand boy to deliver some medicine.” Mona made up an excuse and bent down to pick up the medicine on the ground, trying to appear calm and collected.Thaddeus did not expose the woman’s lies. He already had a vague guess upon seeing the red mark on her face.He put his hand into his pocket and said, “Didn’t you say the children missed me? Aren’t you going to invite me in?”Mona replied, “Take the children to the playground. Linda and I will eat at ho
After saying that, Bobby turned around and went back to the kitchen to find Mona. He quietly stood behind her without saying a word.Mona turned around only to find that her son had been standing silently behind her. She did not know what he was thinking about.She squatted down and asked, “What are you doing here? Why don’t you go change your clothes?”“I don’t want to go out today. I still have a lot of homework.”“Really? But I didn’t see your teacher assign a lot of homework in the group chat.”Mona took out her phone, looked through the chat history of the WhatsApp group, and confirmed it again. As she wondered, she suddenly thought of something and lifted her eyes to look at her son.“Do you want to stay home with Mommy?”Bobby did not speak and answered Mona’s question with silence.Mona felt a warmth blossom in her heart. Her son knew what she was thinking.Although on the surface, she pretended to be generous and allowed Thaddeus to visit the children, as she watched