Time was needed to retrieve the footage. Ella told Larissa to leave first, and that she would send it over to her later.Larissa held Aster's hand tightly. She was really scared. The unknown man Ella mentioned … Although she had not seen him in person, she had a feeling that the man was not anyone with good intentions."Ms. Gilmore said that a man came to pick you up?" Larissa asked Aster."Yep." Aster nodded. "But I didn't know him, so I didn't leave with him.""Great job!" Larissa smiled and gave him a thumbs-up.Ever since he was able to understand them, she and Wendy had been teaching him about stranger danger. It seemed that their hard work had paid off."If Mommy ever needs someone to go pick you up, I will call Ms. Gilmore beforehand, okay? If I never informed Ms. Gilmore, you can't leave with anyone who says that they're here to pick you up, and that includes Uncle Kevan and Uncle Dylan, do you understand?""Aww …" Aster's face crumpled. "Why are Uncle Kevan and Uncle Dy
Larissa felt worse. She would miss Aster too, but there was no other way.She took three days of leave and booked the flight tickets to Aldovia. Moreover, she had to deal with the handover properly before leaving and arrange tasks and assignments for the others to ensure that her three-day leave would not affect their work progress.She also called every VIP guest of the hotel and informed them. "I will not be in the hotel for the next three days, so if you have any issues, you may find our assistant manager. I will send his number over later."Gary asked her, "Where are you going?"Based on the information he received, Larissa was a workaholic. When she was in Aldovia, she never applied for a single day of leave, working from the early hours of the morning until the late hours of the night. After returning to Caldor, she left work earlier than she used to and would occasionally apply for a day off or two, probably because she needed to take care of her child. But to apply for thre
Larissa was pulling her suitcase with her out of the elevator when she turned only to halt abruptly.Someone was sitting on the floor outside the door. His back was against the wall, and his legs were pulled toward himself while his head was down, his shoulders completely slumped. There was an aura of desolation around him.She had not yet figured out what was going on when she locked eyes with him.The moment he saw her, his dull eyes brightened up immediately. Kevan scrambled up from the floor and dashed toward Larissa while she was confused and blanking out in a few steps, grabbing her by the shoulders and yanking her into his arms.The fresh smell of mint pervaded her nose, and his broad chest as well as his strong arms caused Larissa's heart to pound, her body feeling hotter and hotter.Kevan hugged her tightly as if he were going to crush her.Feeling his trembling, Larissa stopped herself from pushing him away and hugged him back instead."... What's wrong?" she asked sof
Kevan was certain that Larissa and Aster had no reason to be targeted by anyone."I'm only doing what I should be doing."Larissa knew that too. But she just thought that these were all Kevan's sins from before, and he should not be paying for them now."I've already gotten a friend to look into it, so you don't have to waste your energy.""Friend?" Kevan studied her face.It was likely due to her sad childhood that Larissa never liked being close to anyone. All these years, the people around her had changed a lot, but Wendy remained her only friend—though Dylan could be somewhat considered her friend too.Larissa would never ask Wendy, who was on the other side of the world, to help her out with this. But if she reached out to Dylan, he would inform Kevan at once. So, this was either an excuse she used deliberately so he would not be troubled, or there was really such a "friend" that he was unaware of.Kevan suddenly felt a sense of danger."Who? Do I know them?" Even though h
The information Gary found was more than what Larissa had anticipated. At the same time, it was completely different from what she expected."The man who appeared at the kindergarten that day was called Ron Jules. He's a street thug who extorts money from small business owners as a way of living," Lewis explained to her in a neutral tone of voice."Street thug?" Larissa clutched the folder she had in her hand, which was something Gary just gave her. The papers within were slightly over an inch or so thicker, making the folder bulky."Yes." Lewis nodded and gestured at the folder, saying, "You can have a look at what's inside. Most of it is his criminal record."Larissa flipped open the folder, accidentally letting it slip from her hands, and it crashed onto the floor. A stack of photos slid out of it. The photos were likely printed from some sort of internal system as almost every one of them clearly displayed the front of Ron's face, who had stared obediently at the camera when th
"No way! Absolutely not!" Larissa denied the possibility at once.The Seymours hated her so much, so how could they suddenly want to meet her son? Even if she considered things from a different perspective, they should not have let someone like Ron go pick Aster up if they wanted to meet him so badly.Her reaction was just as Gary had predicted.The truth was, his suggestion from before had only been just an attempt to sound Larissa out. He already knew that she did not have it good with the Seymours from her previous narrative. She did not like the Seymours, and they did not like her either. But he had not been sure if their dislike would be bad enough that they would take it out on an innocent child."Then … what could the reason be?" Gary asked.Larissa's mind was a mess. She could not answer that question at all. "I don't know," she said.Kidnapping Aster was either to make her upset or to gain some benefit from her. If it was the former, it was too sudden; but if it was the
When Gary first came, he mentioned to her that she would stay in Bartham for a week. His room was also booked for a week's time. But it had already been a week, and he did not seem like he was going to depart at all. She even heard from the janitors in charge of cleaning the presidential suite that Gary seemed to stay in his room all day long, calling the restaurant to send up all three of his daily meals.His idleness looked more like him coming to vacation in Bartham, and not to talk about business deals.Gary was a little panicked with her question. "No." He coughed lightly into his right fist to conceal his unease. "I was ill and was hospitalized for a time. Soaring Corporation recently had many things going on too, so Mr. Rogers called me to apologize and told me to wait for a few more days."Years of working in high-pressure jobs as well as his high position—which only got higher over time—in the industry made Gary develop a bad temper. Under normal circumstances, combined wit
Maybe they were only waiting for a better opportunity.She was in a constant state of tension, bringing her assistant with her wherever she went in the hotel. When she was at home, she was paranoid, needing to check the windows and door many times every night. Sometimes, she would startle herself awake at night.Larissa's headache grew worse. She was sure that if things kept going on like this, she would develop some form of mental illness.Maybe this was the Seymours' true goal?Kevan and Gary were always able to gain first-hand knowledge of her mental state.Gary would find all sorts of reasons to meet with her, asking about her in roundabout ways. When she relented and complained about her troubles, he would give her some comfort.Kevan, on the other hand, could only be anxious—Aster was gone, so he did not have a legitimate reason to meet with her. If he randomly went over to her home, she would probably chase him away."What should I do?" he asked Dylan, who had long since