Irene raised a hand, gesturing at Ricky to stop talking.She needed to calm down.Ricky helped her to a chair, finally realizing that something was wrong. "Did something happen to the baby?"Irene's eyelashes were already damp without her knowing it and she rasped, "Don't tell my mom."Ricky nodded somberly. "Got it… But what happened?""We think that our baby has been abducted."At least, Irene hoped so—because that meant that her child was still alive.And as long as the child was alive, they would find the child eventually. They would see the child again.As Ricky stayed silent for a long while, Irene was able to calm down."Is there anything I can do?" Ricky asked.Irene held his gaze. "Actually, yes.""Alright, shoot." Ricky's expression turned serious—no longer the half-baked kid from before."Tell me about the driver Debbie hired. Where is he now?""Dead.""What?!" Irene exclaimed, and soon realized something. "Did Debbie do that too?""I'm not sure. After the a
As the photo landed on the floor, Irene looked down on it.She did a double take when she saw the face in the photo, and was left staring blankly for a long while.Why was Isaac keeping a photo of her in his notebook?Irene picked it up and double-checked, but there was no mistaking it. Nonetheless, she quickly stopped staring and returned the photo into the notebook, then put it back on the desk.Turning and leaving the study, she was in such a hurry that she did not notice Sheryl standing by the door."What's wrong, Irene?" she asked in concern. "What's the hurry?""N-Nothing." Irene quickly composed herself when she saw Sheryl."Oh… Anyway, there's someone asking for you."Irene was going to ask who it was when she found Zachary standing in the living room. He said, "I left work early, so I came immediately."Irene told Sheryl to take Mrs. Watson and Tommy on a stroll around the block. "I need to talk to Zachary alone."Sheryl did so, and after everyone left, Irene took
Ricky was glaring furiously at Zachary, his eyes opened so wide they were bulging as if they would pop out.In a split second, he rushed forward, grabbed Zachary by the collar, and launched a lightning quick jab on his face!Pow! There was a dull thud and Zachary tasted blood on his lips. Ricky did not loosen his grip, however, and shoved Zachary to the floor as he kept clobbering him.Stunned for a moment, Irene quickly came to her senses and ran up to pull him away. "Calm down!""How could I?!" Ricky bellowed in rage. "He's a married man, but he had to keep bugging Lulu! That's why she was killed. It's him. It's all because of him…"He had lost all rationality right then. All he wanted to do was to murder Zachary! "Get off me!" he cried and shook Irene off.As she lost her balance and fell on the couch, she grimaced in pain as she felt a pull on the scar over her belly.Ricky did not notice her discomfort, however, and was still punching Zachary relentlessly.Zachary di
Despite Irene's best efforts in hiding her feelings, Isaac immediately heard the tears in her voice."Are you crying?" he asked quietly.Irene did her best to keep her voice in check while denying it. "No, I'm fine."There was silence on the other end. "Alright, you totally weren't crying."Irene hung her head right then, staring at her toes as she said, "I missed you."Learning what had happened to Lulu had left her feeling as if she was punched in the gut.She did her best to keep herself in check, but with Isaac, she suddenly wanted a shoulder to lean on, and to feel vulnerable.There was a long silence from the other end. "You should go to bed."Irene asked, "Weren't you supposed to come home once you're done over there?""Something came up."Irene felt despondent. "I see," she murmured, lowering her head as teardrops trickled over her eyelashes. "You called to tell me that you're not returning soon, right?""Yeah," he said quietly.Heaving a long sigh, she mustered h
As Irene got out of bed, Isaac left the room first to check on Tommy.Everyone else apart from Irene and Isaac already had their breakfast, so they went to the dining table together. "I will have to drop by the office later," Isaac said. Irene nodded—there definitely would be work waiting to be done since he just returned."Um…" She wanted to ask Isaac about the photo in his notebook."What is it?"As Isaac stared at her for a moment, Irene shook her head. "No, it's nothing."She should be trusting in Isaac—he would eventually tell her if there was anything she needed to know. "Stay home and get some proper rest," he told her before he left for work.It just so happened that Irene was feeling spirited for the day.Tommy was sitting on the floor and playing with his little dog, and she walked up to pat his little head. "Are you having fun?"Tommy looked up and beamed at her, and she scooped him up in his arms and gave him a peck on the cheek.Sheryl soon walked up to he
Irene could hardly believe her ears. "Debbie bought the dog? How could it be her?!"It was hardly a surprise if there was something wrong with the dog Debbie bought, given her heinous nature!Mrs. Watson quickly admitted, "Debbie overheard me asking the chauffeur to buy a dog, and offered to do it instead, saying that she knows a lot about animals. I agreed to it, since she had always done well at her job…"Irene was frustrated, but after how Mrs. Watson had taken care of her for so long, she understood that Mrs. Watson did not mean harm.Working hard to keep her emotions in check, she said, "Take the dog to a vet right now for a full body checkup. Found out if it's sick."Seeing that she was flustered, Mrs. Watson asked, "Was it the cause for Tommy's rash?"Irene nodded. "Wait, nevermind—I'll go with the chauffeur."She was worried that something would happen in between again, and she gave Sheryl a head's up before she left. "Don't go anywhere, Mom.""Okay," Sheryl said—Tommy
Although Isaac had now seen Debbie's true nature, he asked, "Why would you hurt James Cross? He was the one who got you recommended to this job. Shouldn't you be grateful?"He wanted to know if James found out about some sort of secret she had, that forced her to silence James."I really liked that diamond necklace you plan to give Irene Spencer, and I put it on as I fantasized that you gave it to me—James caught me red-handed, and I knew right then that he saw through me. So, I tried to silence him… permanently."Debbie then paused for a moment before adding, "Oh, I'm grateful that he got me this job, but he became my obstacle after he saw what I did. Hesitation is the worst thing to do, so I had to do what I did… who knew that he would've survived that instead." "Since you wanted to keep things quiet, why dispense with your disguise now? Are you really that confident that I'll bend to your whims?" Isaac leaned against his chair, but every nerve in his body was stiffening despite
Irene's words did not offer Isaac relief.Even if she did not misunderstand him and trusted him, it only strengthened his resolve to murder Debbie!He had never felt such bloodlust or the impulse to claim another life without regard to the consequences!Just then, Irene quietly said over the phone, "I'll do my best to find a cure.""Yeah," Isaac said quietly.It was not that much of a conversation, but both knew what each other were thinking. …Irene stared outside the car window, her hands sliding feebly to her lap while she watched the passing scenery.The car was driving steadily, but her heart could not calm down at all, and felt as if it was struck repeatedly by a raging tide.As the car came to a stop, Irene shelved her thoughts so that she could examine the current situation with calm composure and determination.She knew that Isaac would deal with Debbie—right now, she must find out what virus was embedded on the dog, and her best chance was Hotmesh Research.It was