Over at the Pearson residence, Aubree had been depressed ever since Lucian chased her out the other day. In the past, Sonya would always take her side and defend her, but she did not that day because there was nothing she could do to change anything.Aubree despaired when she recalled Sonya’s inaction.She was not dumb. After years of waiting for Lucian, she knew in her heart that he was not keen on marrying her. Yet she had always wanted to try her luck believing that Sonya would help her.She had always thought that Lucian would marry her one day as long as she waited for him.However, her hope was crushed when Roxanne returned to the country and Lucian expressed his intention to break off their engagement.After having some time to herself to cool her head off for a day, Aubree still decided to take the chance again by paying Sonya a visit.Sonya was not expecting her to come by that day when she saw her at the door. But after a short pause, she invited Aubree in, as she always di
Unbeknownst to Roxanne, Aubree had begun to plot against her. She was too occupied with the research she had to do. Her busyness was not entirely an excuse to send Estella home.If the children had not insisted that she took a day off because of her injured wrist, she would not have taken a break from her research work.Early the next morning, Roxanne was awakened by a call from her teammate. After a brief conversation, she rushed over to the research institute without even having the time to have a bite of breakfast.The beginning and end phases of a research project were usually the hardest parts. At the start of the project, Roxanne had dedicated so much time to it that she would spend days at the research facility.Since they were then at the final stage of the project, things were picking up again.Colby, who was still a*sisting Roxanne on the project, was alarmed when he saw the injury on her wrist while they were conducting an experiment. “Dr. Jarvis… Your hand…”Roxanne was s
Her change in color did not go unnoticed by Cayden, but the man could not understand the reason behind it. When he saw that Lucian had ended the call, he quickly walked over. “Do you have an umbrella? Where’s your car? I can send you home first before Mr. Farwell comes. He’s going to take a while.”Cayden gestured to open the umbrella in his hand, but Roxanne stopped him.“It’s okay. Someone’s picking me up.”Cayden nodded and just stood beside her quietly after that.Seeing that the man was not going anywhere, Roxanne looked at the rain and hesitated as she distanced herself from him.The rain is abating. I should go before he comes down.“Mr. Farwell! I thought you—” Cayden exclaimed.Just as she took the first step into the rain, Lucian was already behind her.Although Roxanne did not know why Cayden did not finish his sentence, she was too nervous to turn around to check out what was happening.When she felt cold air engulfing her, she fled into the rain without a second thought.
Meanwhile, Estella had been waiting at the kindergarten entrance way before school started that morning, hoping she could see Roxanne, Archie, and Benny.The brothers had told her the day before that Roxanne was finally coming home and would be fetching them to school.The night before, she had also waited for Roxanne eagerly, but in the end, she only saw Madilyn.She felt disappointed at first, yet when she knew that Roxanne had a message for her, she was comforted because it meant Roxanne still thought about her.That was the reason why she was not altogether upset, and she was looking forward to seeing Roxanne the next day.However, not only did she not see Roxanne, but she also did not see the two brothers at school.That made her extremely sad.“Essie! Come on in! It’s almost time for school!” Pippa did not call out until school was about to start since she did not know what the kid was doing.Estella pouted and shook her head in refusal.“What’s going on?” Pippa asked.Ever sinc
“Ms. Jarvis…”At the sight of Roxanne lying on the bed with a sickly complexion, Estella felt tears welling up in her eyes again.Estella’s voice made Roxanne’s heart melt. Seeing the little girl come running toward her bedside, she forced a smile. “I’m fine. Don’t worry, Essie.”Like a pitiful kitten, Estella leaned by the bedside and stared at Roxanne with teary eyes.Estella’s gaze calmed Roxanne down significantly. “Why are you here alone?” Roxanne asked in a gentle voice.“Ms. Ward says you’re sick.” Estella was close to tears.Roxanne nodded and reached out to caress the little girl’s head. “Thank you for caring so much about me, Essie.”Similarly, Estella also stretched her arm out, intending to touch Roxanne’s forehead.Roxanne had let them do a fever check by touching her forehead the other time. She could still vividly recall how Roxanne’s forehead was burning then.When Roxanne realized what Estella was trying to do, she tried to get up from the bed and move her head closer
Just as Roxanne was stumped, the man’s figure appeared in the doorway.Upon seeing the woman on the bed, Lucian furrowed his brows.With just a glance, he could already see that the woman’s fever was worse than the previous time.“Mr. Farwell.” When Roxanne realized she could not avoid him anymore, she had no choice but to greet him in an aloof tone. However, that was all she did before averting his eyes, for she did not intend to speak much to him.When Lucian sensed that the woman was still trying to keep a distance from him, his eyes darkened. Then, he turned to the side to say to Sonny, “Please take a look at her.”Sonny nodded in response and stepped forward to give Roxanne a checkup.Roxanne knitted her brows when she saw the unfamiliar man appear in her bedroom. But as her mind was fuzzy from the fever, she could not react in time to his action.“This is the Farwell family’s family doctor. I brought him over to take a look at you,” Lucian said in a low voice.A trace of resista
Although Roxanne’s fever had gone down, Archie and Benny were still worried, so they made their mother stay at home for another two days.Once she was fully recovered, she sent the two children to kindergarten in the morning. Just as she got into her car and was about to drive to the research institute, her phone suddenly rang.After taking a glance at the caller ID, she realized it was a call from Harvey, her professor.Thinking that he was calling about the project, Roxanne quickly picked up the call and asked, “Professor Lambert, what’s the matter?”Harvey sounded solemn. “Did you offend someone?”Roxanne was baffled by his words. “What do you mean?”“It seems that someone has been looking into your matters during your time overseas,” Harvey said to her grimly. “That’s why I’m asking if you offended anyone in the country. The other party seems to be keen to cause a scene with what happened during your time out of the country.”Roxanne’s heart sank. “Is it possible to find out who i
A ruthless look crossed Aubree’s face after she ended the call. She then made another call and said a few words to the person on the other end of the line.That day was a weekend, and Aubree drove to the Farwell residence early in the morning.Sonya was in the middle of her breakfast when Aubree came in. Almost immediately, Sonya smiled at her. “You’re early. Have you had your breakfast? Do you want to sit down and eat something?”Aubree shook her head. “No, thank you. I’ve come to pick you up.”Sonya did not insist. As she ate her breakfast, she chatted away with Aubree.After Sonya finished her breakfast, Aubree brought her to the shopping district.“Mrs. Farwell, how has Essie been?” Aubree asked nonchalantly when they were on their way to their destination. “I’m worried about her. But after that day, I haven’t been able to meet her.”Sonya’s expression turned solemn at the mention of Estella. “That incident has frightened Essie. Moreover, her condition has been unstable recently.
Roxanne had long guessed Sonya would treat her with an unpleasant attitude. Although she was displeased, she didn’t show it on her face.“It’s Essie and Mr. Farwell’s wishes that Essie stays here. As you’re her grandma, I have nothing to say if you want to bring her back, but I hope you respect Essie’s opinions.”Sonya frowned in displeasure.I’ve already asked Essie just now. I wonder what sorcery Roxanne has cast on her to make her refuse to go home. That’s why I turned to ask Roxanne, but I didn’t expect this woman to be so tactless!Sonya was livid.Just then, Estella spoke. “Grandma, I don’t want to go home. I want to stay here and play with Archie and Benny.”Estella looked at Sonya pitifully.Usually, when Estella wore such an expression, Sonya would have gone along with her wishes. However, she was filled with rage right now, so Estella’s look only added fuel to the fire.“You have to go home even if you don’t want to. You belong to the Farwell family. How can you stay at some
Ten minutes ago, Catalina had been instructing the rest of the household staff on their chores when she heard the doorbell ring.The moment she opened the door, she saw that it was Sonya.Before Catalina could greet her, Sonya questioned her, “Where’s Essie? Tell Essie to come out. Tell her that her grandma is here.”Catalina was put in a difficult position.Estella had not been in the manor for the past few days.She had thought that the little girl was with Sonya.However, judging from Sonya’s reaction, Catalina knew there and then that Estella was with Roxanne.It was obvious that Sonya must have discovered that, and that explained her anger.As a servant, Catalina did not know how to answer her question. In the end, she replied, “I will inform Mr. Farwell right away.”She was about to go and seek help from Lucian when Sonya stopped her in her tracks.“I want to see Essie. If she doesn’t come down, I will go up myself.”With that, she began to walk upstairs.Catalina had no choice
“Please wait for a moment as Mrs. Farwell is taking a nap. I’ll tell her you’re here.” After inviting Aubree to sit on the couch in the living hall, the butler was ready to go up to call Sonya.Aubree knitted her brows and responded, “It’s okay. I can go up and check on her.”The butler knew Sonya doted on her. He hesitated but eventually agreed to allow her to go upstairs.Aubree responded with a nod. After plastering a smile on her face, she took the stairs and went up.Sonya had just woken up from her nap in the master bedroom upstairs. Upon hearing a knock on the door, she opened it right away.“Mrs. Farwell.” Aubree grinned politely. “I hope I’m not disturbing you.”Sonya, too, responded with a smile when she realized it was Aubree. “Not at all. I just woke up.”Aubree walked up to her and held her arm affectionately. “I brought you lots of gifts. Let’s go down and check them out.”“Aww, you’re too sweet.” Sonya glanced at her. “You didn’t have to do that. I’m happy that you’re h
The search lasted the entire morning.The grim-faced Cayden, who returned with his subordinates in the afternoon, said, “We found nothing, Mr. Farwell.”Admittedly, Cory was an excellent private investigator.Cayden could not help but wonder how he had managed to keep in touch with his employers.Not only did Cayden not find any evidence of how the mastermind instructed Cory to spy on Roxanne, but he also could not find proof that could expose Cory’s identity as a private investigator.Cory began playing the sympathy card. “Mr. Farwell, I told you no one instructed me to do anything.”Lucian waited for half a day but did not get the answer he was looking for. His eyes blazed with fury when he saw the pretentious innocent look on the culprit’s face.“If no one put you up to this, why did you stalk her?” he asked.Cory blinked innocently. “B-Because I find Ms. Jarvis attractive. I wished to snap photos of her since I was trying my hand at photography.”He had felt nervous before Cayden
Meanwhile, Lucian, too, ordered Cayden to investigate the issue.With Farwell Group’s financial capability, the investigation was carried out effortlessly.In less than an hour, Cayden had managed to bring the private investigator to Farwell Group.It was not until the private investigator was led to Farwell Group’s entrance that he realized something was off.“D-Did I do something wrong? Why did you bring me here?”Cayden cast him a cold glance. “Why are you asking me that? I’m not the one who calls the shots here. You’ll find out soon.”The private investigator’s legs trembled when he heard Cayden’s words.The only person who came to mind when he thought of the person who called the shots for Farwell Group was none other than Lucian Farwell.The private investigator had recently been following Roxanne around on Aubree’s orders. During those times, he had indeed seen Roxanne interacting with Lucian.Yet, he paid no mind to that.After all, he was merely doing as instructed. He did no
Upon hearing that, the doubtful Roxanne and Madilyn exchanged glances.They had spoken to nearly all the research institutes that could develop that specific bacterium in Horington, and only that research institute confirmed that their laboratory had previously lost the bacteria.Although it happened half a month ago, the bacteria could remain viable as long as they were appropriately preserved.Madilyn was aware of that and didn’t hesitate to ask, “How did you guys lose the bacteria back then? Do you guys have any findings now?”The person’s answer did not disappoint them. “One of the researchers should have taken it,” he said frankly.Madilyn was filled with confusion when she heard that.“Although we have no solid evidence, we were certain about that. Two days after the bacteria went missing, that researcher suddenly quit. We haven’t heard from her since then,” the person continued.Before Madilyn could speak, Roxanne asked, “What’s the name of that researcher?”The person on the o
At the side, Estella had her head lifted and gazed at Roxanne, looking hopeful.Roxanne’s gaze flickered. Only after obtaining Lucian’s promise did she forcibly suppress the worry within her.“Got it. I’ll take good care of Essie for the next few days.”Lucian indifferently inclined his head a fraction in acknowledgment. Shortly after, he took his leave and left.Roxanne watched as his car disappeared into the distance before bringing Archie, Benny, and Estella into the mansion.All three children were already starving to the point that their stomachs growled incessantly.Without tarrying, Roxanne prepared some quick and easy breakfast to fill their stomachs first.After having breakfast, she had the children play by themselves while she stood up and went into the study.She simply couldn’t sit back and do nothing about the person who used the bacteria on the children.Worse still, Lucian left Estella at her place. Hence, she wanted to catch the culprit as soon as possible to eliminat
“Have you and the kids been here?”Lucian came to a stop under a gigantic tree.Stopping with him, Roxanne looked around before shaking her head. “No.”That tree was located at the edge of the woods.Yesterday, she had been with Archie, Benny, and Estella in the woods or by the waterfall.As such, they indeed hadn’t been to that particular spot.Nodding in understanding, Lucian motioned for her to take a look at the bottom of the tree.Roxanne followed his gaze and took a closer look, upon which she made out a vague footprint.From the looks of it, it obviously belonged to an adult.As the footprints moved toward the edge of the gra*sy area, they grew increasingly faint.Therefore, she had no way of knowing whether the owner of those footprints had gone anywhere near the tent.However, it was certain that someone else was there yesterday other than her and the children.In fact, that person had been watching from the side while she was playing with the children.That realization had a
After Archie, Benny, and Estella had dozed off, Roxanne turned off the small night light in the tent.Consequently, the tent was pitch-dark right then, and she had no idea whether Lucian was asleep on the other side.Well, I didn’t hear any movement in a long time, so he has probably gone to sleep.At that thought, Roxanne quietly got up and left the tent. She sat outside under the moonlight alone and stared blankly into space.The weather had been great for the past two days. The moon shone brightly, but there weren’t many stars in the sky.For safety reasons, Lucian had the headlights turned on, illuminating the tent’s surroundings and rendering it like daylight.As Roxanne looked at the scenery around her, her mind gradually began drifting.Too many things had happened that day.At first, the children suddenly contracted a bacterial infection. Then, she inexplicably ended up in the same space as Lucian.Both of the incidents had her emotions turn into a jumbled mess.While she was