The chill in Shirley’s emotionless voice was palpable.Adam looked at Shirley, tightening his grip on Cathy’s hand, and continued toward the door.Barely a few steps and Shirley’s voice drifted from behind once again.“Adam, I brought her here so that you can be content with your lot. Don’t you even think about stepping out of the door.”Upon hearing these words, Cathy instantly understood.She was merely bait for Adam, who would come and look for her here, luring him into this trap.Adam’s fists clenched as he suddenly turned around. When he saw Shirley smoking in a carefree demeanor, his face fell. “Shirley, you should’ve already read dad’s notebook. Why are you still acting like this?”Shirley stepped toward Adam, her face insipid. “Adam, you’re already an adult. Are you so naive to think you could solve this matter, one that had been gnawing at my mind for all these years, just by doing that? Let me tell you. It’s not possible!”She gritted her teeth as she spat out the las
“I think so.” Cathy was certain about this.She suddenly thought she could see her old self in Shirley.Back then, she would similarly do anything for Felipe without hesitation. She would do it for Felipe no matter what it was.Back then, she had even hypnotized Jeremy for that man…However, that day was already long gone.Now, not only was that day long gone but so too was that person. While she was lost in thought, she heard Adam’s phone ringing.“It’s Jeremy,” Adam said, gesturing to Cathy to not make a sound.Cathy nodded, then Adam picked up the phone. “Don’t worry. I assure you, I’ll develop the anti-toxoid test reagent to heal Eveline as soon as possible. I've been busy with my research recently, so don’t worry if you can’t contact me. I’ll call the moment there’s an update.”Cathy could tell that Adam did not want Jeremy to know about his captivity. Her heart suddenly ached for this man who always prioritized the needs of others with little consideration for himself.
When the class teacher saw that Lillian had stopped, she curiously looked at the man standing outside the gate. She then bent down and gently asked Lillian, “Lily, do you know that man? If you do, nod your head. If you don’t, you can shake your head to tell me.”After the class teacher had spoken, Lillian neither shook nor nodded her head for more than ten seconds.The class teacher found this to be a little peculiar. She knew that while Lillian could not speak, she could understand simple sentences.She glanced at the man outside the gate and let go of Lillian’s hand before walking over.“What’s your name, sir? You’d said that you’re Lillian’s family, but it seems that she doesn’t know you.” The class teacher voiced her concern.“My last name is Johnson,” the man replied. He looked toward Lillian, who remained unmoving, and slowly took out a piece of candy from his pocket.Lillian seemed to be roused by the candy. She blinked her vivid, clear, and large eyes, then put her small
While Fabian could be considered a stranger, his behavior toward their little princess was out of the ordinary.Otherwise, why would he find Lillian immediately getting off the plane?An amusement park nearby.Since it was winter and the working hours, there were not many people at the park.Even though the sun shone brightly, it was not enough to warm the body in the chilling winter.Fabian was standing by the railing, watching Lillian who sat happily on the carousel. His face and eyes no longer held the warmth from earlier.He narrowed his eyes, staring at the candy on the palm of his hand.The candy wrapper had already faded, and the candy inside too had expired. Just like some other things, they had deteriorated in these two years.However, he very well understood that, despite the faded wrapper and expired candy, some ingredients, like some relationships, still held unique meaning.While still deep in thought, his phone started vibrating again.He knew that it had to be
Madeline had not been able to contact Fabian the entire time. She also did not know where Fabian had taken Lillian. Despite her uneasiness throughout this ordeal, she still believed that Fabian would certainly not hurt Lillian.“Linnie, I know where Fabian had taken Lily.” Jeremy sent Lillian’s location to Madeline’s phone.This surprised Madeline. “Did you put a GPS tracker on Lillian?”“That’s the work of our precious son,” Jeremy looked proud as he said that. “Even though Jack is only, he could sometimes think more comprehensively than we could.”Madeline strongly agreed with this fact.There were several instances where Jeremy had managed to save Madeline from trouble in the nick of time thanks to her son.However, upon seeing Lilian’s location, Madeline’s heart started racing again.“Why’s Lily in the hospital? Why did Fabian take Lily to the hospital when she’s fine?”“Linnie, let’s not worry too much yet. We’re heading over now, and we’ll know what happened as soon as we
‘What?’Fabian’s answer, like a thunder in clear weather, shocked Madeline and Jeremy. The weight of the news felt like a sudden, heavy downpour, drenching them head to toe.Madeline’s vision went blank, as though all the oxygen in her body had been sucked out.“Linnie!” Jeremy supported Madeline, who seemed to be on the verge of fainting. Madeline, suddenly roused from her state, shot a glance at Fabian, then turned around and ran toward the doctor’s office nearby.Jeremy too glanced at Fabian, then quickly chased after Madeline. “Linnie, slow down.”He was worried about her, but at the same time, he was also worried about Lillian.‘No, there must be a mistake.‘Lily has been fine all this while. How would she have leukemia?’Jeremy kept denying this in his heart, as did Madeline.When they reached the doctor’s office, Madeline pushed the door open. As the doctor was about to speak upon seeing Madeline and Jeremy, they heard Lillian calling out to Madeline lovably, “Mom.”
Madeline and Jeremy turned toward the voice and saw Fabian slowly walking into the office.He gazed at the little one, who was standing at a side, blinking her clear, large eyes at him. He could not help but frown slightly.“We basically could confirm that Lily has this disease,” Fabian answered with certainty. “I’ve already reminded you to be mentally prepared.”“Fabian, how would you know that my daughter has this disease? Why did you find my daughter immediately after getting off the plane?” Jeremy questioned, feeling doubtful. “Can’t I come back to see an old friend?” Fabian seemed to be downplaying his answer. He was even teasing the five-year-old Lillian as an old friend.Madeline resisted waves of pain crashing against her as she turned back toward Lillian.She had been so distressed earlier that she only just noticed the thick layer of gauze covering Lillian’s knee. “Lily, what happened here?”Lillian lowered her head and, for a few seconds, stared intensely at her k
“No reason. I want to see her, so I did.”Fabian answered matter-of-factly. “That’s why you want to cut ties with us? It’s because you want to?”“Uh-huh,” Fabian replied with a half-smile as he lit the cigarette. “If there’s anything else you want to ask, I can answer you now so that you two won’t keep contacting me through all sorts of channels.”Fabian’s answer clearly showed that he had no intention whatsoever of maintaining contact with them after this.Jeremy’s long eyebrows knitted together as he was about to speak, but then he heard hurried yet familiar footsteps behind him. He looked back and saw Madeline running toward him with a worried expression.Jeremy, not in the mood to deal with Fabian, quickly turned and ran to Madeline.“Linnie, did something happen to Lily?” he asked with concern, fearing that the situation would go from bad to worse.The look on Madeline’s face looked especially frightful, worrying him further. Madeline glanced at Fabian, who was enjoyi