It was empty with no sign of anyone inside, not even Tommy. Irene's heart almost leaped out of her throat just then. Where was everyone? Where had they gone?As panic seized her, she rushed out of the door, only to see a car driving inside.Jimmy the chauffeur alighted to open the door, and Isaac emerged with Tommy in his arms. Mrs. Watson came out as well, and she was carrying several bags.Irene walked up to them and asked, "Where have you been?"That was when she saw that Tommy's cheeks were red, with his usual smile gone. In fact, he looked rather upset, and there were red circles around his eyes as if he had been crying for a while.Sharply realizing that something was wrong, she asked, "Is Tommy sick?'Isaac simply ignored her and headed straight inside with Tommy in his arms, but Mrs. Watson walked up to her and whispered, "Tommy had a fever…""Mrs. Watson," Isaac growled.Mrs. Watson quickly stopped and entered the house after him, leaving Irene pursing her lips as
Irene could not hide in time, and Isaac saw her trying to blink back her tears.There was a twitch in his gaze, though soon he regained his calm. "Are you upset?"Irene wiped her own face firmly and said stubbornly, "I'm not.""Oh." Isaac turned and headed to the shower, leaving Irene clenching her fists and absolutely frustrated by his coldness.Throwing away all pretenses right then, she ran in front of him just to snap, "You don't believe me, do you? Fine! I'll cheat on you right now!"As she tried to run away, Isaac grabbed her by the wrist and chuckled. "You're going to cheat on me?"Irene struggled. "I'll do it—you don't believe me anyway! Then you would actually have a reason to get upset with me!"Isaac pulled her a little firmly then, and she immediately fell over his chest. He then held her tightly with one hand while he lifted her chin with the other, and she could cry from the pain just then. Struggling even harder just then, she complained, "Let me go…"Isaac l
Irene pursed her lips—she was aware that she should be staying home right now to take care of Tommy.However, Stephen Carr would be examining Layla Gooding today, and there is a possibility that he would operate on her. Irene herself might be allowed to watch, and it would allow her to find out her secret. That was why she must go to the hospital today."I'll try to come home earlier, okay?" She was not great in trying to appeal, and actually came off stiff.Isaac was speechless, so she wrapped her arms around his neck and cajoled, "Pretty please?"Even though it was not her best skill, Isaac enjoyed her trying to cozy up to him.Smiling faintly, he said, "Get home by five.""Home by five, got it.""Good." Isaac finally agreed to it, and Irene gave him a peck on the lips. "I'll have something to tell you by then.""Okay, and stay away from Harvey Gooding," Isaac told her."Yes, definitely," Irene promised—it was not easy to calm Isaac down, and she was not about to upset
Layla saw the stunned expression on Irene's face."Is everything alright?" She peeked at the CT scan as she spoke, but she did not understand what she was looking at.As a doctor, however, Irene did—there was a distinct nail-sized object in Layla's hippocampus. Irene could tell from both position and the imaging that it was no tumor.Irene then asked, "What are your headaches like? Do they last for a while, or are they just short episodes on each occasion?"Layla thought about it. "I don't know… I think it just happens whenever I try to remember, but I tend not to remember anything, and my head will hurt briefly if I try to focus too hard. There are occasions when it lasts, especially recently—not even medication helps."Irene seemed to realize something then, and after another glance at the CT imaging, she said, "Let's go back now."Layla nodded, but asked again, "I thought you look a little serious just now. Did my condition deteriorate?" Irene shook her head. "No, you don'
Irene turned toward the door to find Mick glaring at her with crimson eyes—Layla, who was standing beside him, was stunned by his reaction too."Mick…"Layla put an arm around Mick's, and he suddenly realized that he was overagitated—Layla was still with him.However, Irene could see that he was panicking. Why? What was he trying to hide?Layla asked mildly, "What got you upset, Mick?""No, I just misheard," Mick quickly tried to assure her. "Did I scare you?"Layla shook her head. "I'm fine, but you don't look too good.""I'm just thirsty. Could you get me something?" Mick said."Okay," Layla replied.Having diverted her away with ease, Mick turned to level a vicious glare at Irene. "You're Isaac Jefferson's wife?"Irene took a step back, and kept a hand on Stephen's desk to keep her balance. "Yes."Mick narrowed his eyes and started to approach her, but Stephen quickly stepped in between them. "Calm down, Mick."Mick simply shoved him away. "You did this on purpose, did
And right now, whatever it was in Layla's brain must be extracted, or it would kill her.Mick's intent to silence Irene was a clear sign of his guilt—that Layla was in fact Yvaine Lynd. He must have renamed her after himself, but was sentimental enough about her old name to use another name that meant 'night'. Irene understood most of it, but not about how Mick made the switch without the Jeffersons noticing!Keeping herself calm, she stood off against Mick and retorted, "Even if I didn't say it, did you think you could hide your secret forever? You have two choices right now—the first is not to do anything about that thing in Layla's mind, and keep her amnesiac even if it risks her life. The other is to extract it, though that means she would regain her memories and you won't be able to lie your way out once she remembers. But I wonder—would she hate you more if she finds out that you killed her daughter-in-law? Unless you choose to do nothing, of course."Mick stumbled right the
Mick started to panic right then—why was Isaac showing up here, and with Layla at that? Seizing the moment as Mick let his guard down, Irene rushed to Isaac's side and told him quietly, "That woman is Yvaine Lynd."She knew that she just had to say her name, and Isaac would understand.Isaac lowered his gaze at her, surprised that she would say something like that.She knew that he was investigating Layla?However, now was not the time for the questions—he was here because James Cross had tracked Layla to this hospital. After running into her on the walkway, they followed her here.On the other hand, Mick was paranoid that Isaac had come to take Layla away, and kept her behind his back while glaring at Isaac warily. "What do you want?"Irene was just about to speak when Isaac raised a hand to stop her, while gesturing for James to pass the DNA test results from before to Mick."What's this?" Mick was clearly reluctant to take it, let alone look.James shoved it at him again,
"How did you know?" That question had been nagging Isaac for a while.Irene explained, "I saw Layla Gooding's photo on your desk, and she looked just like Stephen Carr's photo of a special patient. Luckily, I have Stephen's trust, and I managed to make contact with her. My guess was that you're investigating her, so I wanted to help you and find out what's her deal."Isaac's gaze softened right then. She had insisted on coming to the hospital to investigate Layla—she was helping him in secret without him knowing. Reaching out to take her dainty hand in his, he gave it a squeeze and said, "Thank you."He had actually misunderstood that she was so obsessed with work she could ignore Tommy's illness—but it was not entirely the case.Irene smiled. "We're married—you don't have to thank me. Also, there's not much to worry about, since your mother's memories would return once that thing in her brain is taken out. She'll definitely remember you… also, I was going to tell you tonight