Roxanne didn’t even let him finish his sentence before she bellowed angrily, “Don’t you think you’re going a little bit overboard? No matter what happened in the past, it should stay between us. Just come at me instead! I won’t say no to that, but the kids are innocent. They don’t know anything. Why are you doing this to them?”She dug her fingernails into her palm in an attempt to calm herself down. Trying her best to stop her voice from wavering, she continued, “Yes, I shouldn’t have done that in the past. That was my fault, so feel free to get revenge on me for that. But please, can’t you find it in your generous, generous heart to forgive my kids?”She looked down after that, feeling her eyes start to water from frustration.The head of kindergarten had been right. It wasn’t hard for her to find another kindergarten for the kids, but that was only if Lucian didn’t interfere.If he wasn’t willing to let either of them go, then she couldn’t do anything no matter how much power she h
Roxanne hesitated for a few seconds before telling Madilyn about everything that had happened today.When she heard about Lucian being petty enough to take it out on the two kids, Madilyn was extremely pissed off. “What kind of man is he? How can he do that to kids? I won’t let this happen to my godsons! I’m going to tell him off.”She was about to storm out of the house, but Roxanne quickly pulled her back.They sat down on the couch and Roxanne chuckled. “It’s fine. I’ve already gone to talk to him. On the way back, I thought it through. You know what? This is a good chance to really cut things off with him. I don’t have to worry about him stealing the boys away from me anymore.”However, Madilyn still couldn’t let it go. “What about Archie and Benny? How are you going to explain to them?”Roxanne was still stressing out about that. She hesitated before replying, “I’ll come up with something.”The two of them continued chatting about the matter for a little while until it got late a
Roxanne’s expression became even more scornful at his explanation. “Aubree? So basically it was your idea too, right? Who in Horington still doesn’t know about the marriage between the Pearson family and the Farwell family? Aren’t you afraid she’ll feel bad after hearing how desperately you’re trying to clear boundaries with her right now?”She pulled her wrist out of the man’s grasp and said coldly, “Don’t worry, Mr. Farwell. I’m not shameless, and I won’t annoy you anymore, so you don’t have to explain anything to me.”After that, she walked off without looking back.A dark cloud formed over Lucian’s expression as he watched her leave.Estella began crying uncontrollably after standing in shock for a few seconds. She tossed her father’s hand aside and started to run after Roxanne’s car.She had a feeling that she might not see Roxanne again after this.Estella felt immense panic at the thought and she didn’t know what to do.In her panic, she tripped over a rock on the ground and fe
Close to an hour later, James stepped out of the room, looking quite exhausted.Nothing had worked to the effect that he was hoping for, in spite of him having doled out every trick in the book that he knew of just to coax some manner of response from Estella.“How did it go?” Lucian inquired anxiously.James shook his head. “Essie has completely shut herself in. She has refused to communicate with anyone and is resistant even to me. My guess is that she must have been triggered by something. The only way to resolve this is by identifying the source of her trauma.”Lucian’s expression dimmed when he heard that.Seemingly unaware of the change in his friend’s mood, James continued to ask of the latter in earnest, “Has Essie encountered any situation recently that might have brought about this change in her emotional state?”Memories of the kid breaking her silence because of Roxanne came flowing back to Lucian. The answer thus became obvious to him.After a moment’s pause, Lucian recou
Hearing that, Cayden hurriedly drove to the theme park.After getting the tickets and entering the place, both of them realized that they did not know where Roxanne was.“Let’s split up. Call me the moment you find her,” Lucian ordered coldly.Cayden nodded in response, and the both of them headed in different directions to look for the woman.Soon, the assistant called, “Mr. Farwell, I think I see Ms. Jarvis.”Lucian asked for his whereabouts and instantly headed that way.Since it was a weekday, there weren’t a lot of people visiting Universe Park. Both of them instantly saw the four figures standing outside the haunted house.It seemed as if the four of them were in a stalemate. Though, to be exact, Roxanne was at a standstill with Archie and Benny.The children were holding on to each of her arms, and she was standing rooted to the ground.“Mommy! Come on in with us. We’ll protect you,” Benny whined while tugging at her arm.Apprehension was written all over Roxanne’s face.Right
Lucian’s eyes darkened at her words. He originally planned to get straight to the point and tell her what he was after, but it felt as though her question had pierced right through his heart.If he were to tell her that he needed her help, the woman would have come up with something sarcastic to ridicule him.Staying silent for a few seconds, Lucian approached her in another way. “I just think that I haven’t given you a proper explanation regarding Archie and Benny getting kicked out of school. I hope that you’ll calm down and hear me out.”Roxanne was already determined that he was the one behind this incident. All she felt was irony when she heard what was just said.Explain? What’s there to explain? Did he not have enough of his fun over the past few days?At the thought of this, a cold glint flashed through her eyes. Her tone was distant as she said, “Mr. Farwell, you hold great power, so do whatever you want. You don’t have to deliberately explain after doing what you did. I don’
Lucian was perplexed and dumbfounded.It was only after a long time that Lucian managed to recollect his thoughts. He held on to her slender wrist, lowered his voice, and uttered word-by-word in precise clarity, “Since when did I say that Estella is Aubree’s child?”Roxanne’s wrist started to hurt, but she was distracted by his mind-blowing statement. Shock and suspicion filled her heart.Estella is not Aubree’s child!No wonder Aubree was not there that day when Estella was sick.However, from what she knew, no one else got together with Lucian besides Aubree.Who can it be? Who’s Estella’s mother?The thoughts started to overwhelm Roxanne, and she struggled to resist popping the question.“Mommy!” two familiar voices called out to Roxanne. “We finally found you! Are you okay?”The children ran frantically toward Roxanne, whose wrist was clutched tightly by Lucian.Archie and Benny exchanged glances before scrambling toward Roxanne.“Mommy, don’t be worried. We will protect you!” Ben
Cayden was driving at a blazing speed, and they arrived at the manor shortly after.After getting down from the car, Lucian led Roxanne, Archie, and Benny and rushed toward the second floor of the building.Meanwhile, James was waiting upstairs. Because of Estella’s resistance, he had to keep his distance while monitoring her, fearing that she would harm herself. Hence, he left the door slightly ajar and silently stood at the entrance.When he saw the four of them, James had his brows slightly knitted before nodding. “Ms. Jarvis.”Roxanne nodded in reply, and her attention was focused exclusively on Estella. “Where’s Essie? Let me take a look at her.”James pointed toward the corner of the room.Roxanne walked in that direction, and she saw Estella curled in the corner with her knees tucked in, and her eyes looked empty like a soulless doll.Recalling how Estella used to welcome her with a sweet, bright smile, Roxanne’s heart was wrenched in pain, suffocating her.This morning, Estell
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