That same evening, the aunt and niece were in serious conversation in Vergilโs office in the Winchesterโs mansion.
It has been a few days since the time Cassandra told her of her idea to adopt Wyatt instead of getting guardianship.
She didnโt want her niece to make a hasty decision so once she told her, she left to give her a few days to think it over.
During that time, Chantal would stop by at the nursery room to watch Wyatt as she mull things over. Her frustration was that he wouldnโt react much when sheโs near. Itโs as if he doesnโt recognize her as his mother. But when it comes to their maids, Wyatt would give a reaction as soon as they approach. She would even attempt to sing a lullaby once she heard him cry but he wouldnโt even be pacified by it. She even speculated that he could have been switched at birth, thinking back on what happened when she was born. It was because Diana was switched with an unknown ba
Sunday evening, phones beeping one by one as they received notification of email. Every one of them opened their mailbox to read it. โ.....hang out with friends? Sure.โ โSure! Iโm game! When?โ Cora replied instantly. Not long after, the others expressed their interest as well. To Cora, Koby and the others from her class, she told them that sheโll invite her friends at work as well as some family members. To Kate and the others from the Institute, she told them that sheโll invite her friends from Henhall University as well as Lucasโs brothers and cousins. โOh! Cool! Weโll get to finally meet them. Canโt wait. So when is it going to be? Why donโt we create a group chat then, so you donโt have to reply to us one by one? Heheโ Cora could imagine Diana sending emails separately. โRight.. Hahaha.. Iโll make one now.โ Diana created a group chat for them
His message appeared on the group chat. โNext Saturday at The Waterfront Well.โ Meanwhile on the other group chat, Rowena asked them if they could meet up for brunch. She also wondered if they could have the whole day free just in case they would go somewhere afterwards. Rowena was more than pleased that Dianaโs friends were easy to make plans with. They would go for it as long as they had enough time to plan their schedule in case it would coincide with work. What she didnโt expect was for her brotherโs friends to also be so accommodating. Truth be told, this would be her first time hanging out with people she doesn't see at social gatherings of the wealthy. The same goes for her brother and his friends. Of course, this was until Lucas met Diana. They didnโt have any preconceived ideas towards others not in their social circle though. There just
โI agree. Although Lucas asked us to watch over her, she seems to have adapted well in her class. Anyway, now that her identity was revealed, who would dare try to harm her?โ Remus Forrest has seen Diana on the campus many times. โHmm.. Only the ignorants would dare do so.โ Marcus Forrest chuckled. โI bet cousins Lillian and Ernest are proud to have such an addition to their family.โ There was a trace of envy in Marcusโs voice as he said those words. If they were to have such a granddaughter in their own family, he would be over the moon as well. Instead, they have Meraud Pascow as his sonโs wife and Elys as a granddaughter, although not by blood. His son, Remus Forrest, has been married before with Sienna Elliot. An accident happened and Sienna died. A few years later, he married Meraud Pascow who already had a daughter from her previous boyfriend who didnโt take responsibility. Remus, Sienn
At Forrest Research Institute, everyone was busy with their tasks. Drawing blood, collecting urine, saliva or stool samples, and analyzing it in the laboratory. Their manager, Tamara Silva was all praise for them. Especially when every now and then they would be flooded with lab orders, still everyone, especially Katherine Atwood did exceptionally well. Not to mention, Katherine was fairly new to the Institute compared to their other coworkers. They could compare her to how Diana worked. If they asked, they would know that when Diana was still working regularly in the Institute, both of them would work side by side. They would exchange inputs on how they could make their tasks easier and more systematic. She was becoming a familiar face as well at Forrest Hospital. Everyday, she would stop by at the hospital to visit her mom. The other employees at the hospital who noticed her frequently going in even when not in h
After consulting the lawyer, Cassandra Barnes told her parents, Vergil and Regina. โShe really agreed for you to adopt Wyatt?โ Regina was taken aback. She knows that it has been hard on Chantal these days but she didnโt think she would actually decide to give up her rights as a mother to her own son. โYes, mom. Also, I didnโt want her to give me guardianship only and then let Wyatt wait for her to see him and for his fate to be determined whether her new man would like him or not. I canโt put him in that kind of situation.โ She explained her thoughts. โBut what if thatโs not going to happen?โ The old lady still didnโt want to believe that her granddaughter would base it on the new manโs opinion. โIf she herself didnโt think she has any motherly love towards her son, and she canโt even say that she would try to make it work, having him with her as she lives her life, then itโs better to spare
Their voices carried over from the hallway. The maids brought the luggages and took it to their rooms. The Winchester mansion had plenty of rooms. Cassandra of course shared a room with Winston while Harlan had a room by himself. โDo you want to wash up quick before we have dinner?โ Cassandra asked the father and son. โYeah.. Iโll clean up first so I can hold the baby later.โ Winston pecked on her lips and went to their room. โMe too..โ Harlan stretched his arms as he left for his room. โAre the food ready?โ Cassandra turned to the maid. โIt will be done soon, Madam. In half an hour, everything should be set on the table.โ โAlright. Is Chantal home?โ โYes, Madam. Sheโs at the Nursery room at the moment.โ โOh? It's good that sheโs spending time with him.โ A
โOkay! Ah.. isnโt she at the University tomorrow?โ Harlan just remembered. Is it really okay to meet her for lunch? โYes. We can go to the restaurant closer to her University so she wonโt be late for her afternoon class.โ โOkay.. But that would mean that we would have to cut it short.โ Harlan was sullen as he thought about it. Even when they already know Dianaโs identity, Harlan still feels that Diana is his favorite cousin. โThen weโll talk about meeting again afterwards.. No worries..โ Winston chimed in. โHmm.. You got a point.โ Harlan nodded. โSure, I do.โ Winston smirked, making Harlan scrunch up his nose and Cassandra chuckle. After their dinner, they went up to the nursery room to meet the baby. The maid was inside, playing with the babyโs little hands and feet as the baby cooed.
At Henhall University the next day, Jayden Lewis looked at the back of the person he has been trying to get close to since the first day of classes. He kept wondering why itโs so hard to get close to even a few feet from her. Itโs like each time he sees her and is about to approach, someone would suddenly pop out of nowhere and block his way. Once the person would finally walk away, Diana would already be gone by then. Jayden especially came to the University early this morning, planning to meet her. He waited outside of the classroom where Diana will attend for that day. He has already memorized her schedule from observing her all this time. At that moment, the woman was looking at the bulletin board outside of the room. She was looking at the posters and didnโt notice that he was standing a few feet away from her. โGood. Sheโs by herself.โ A grin pasted on Jaydenโs fa
Lillian, Ernest and the rest arrived at the airport and were quickly assisted through the process. They were able to leave the airport and head to their residence easily. Adrian looked around and saw that everything seemed strange in his eyes. Nothing was familiar to him. It was when they were finally close to the mansion when he recognized the structure. He had dreamt of this place so many times. It had become hazy at some point. But now, he could see that this was more or less the place he lived in before he was taken. It had some new additions along with other changes such as the paint and the landscape design. But the overall structure was the same. As they entered the gates, he saw that there were a lot of people outside of the house. They were lined up even in this cold weather. Most of them seemed to be wearing uniforms under their black coats. The only ones who looked different than the others were the three couples and two young men. โAh.. Everyoneโs here.โ Emma smiled
Adrian and Violet were apprehensive when they saw the big plane that they were going to ride on.Fortunately for them, they were flying through the private plane of the Lovell family, else, they would be even more embarrassed by the way they were acting.To their memory, this was their first time being on any plane.That simply was not true for Adrian, as the family had gone on vacations before that needed the plane. Itโs just that this memory may have been forgotten by Adrian already.As for Violet, this was her first ever flight.They at least knew what a plane was.They were only anxious as to how they would feel once theyโre already up in the air.Lillian and the rest tried to distract them from these thoughts.Hugh and Leroy offered them some wine and snacks.Emma and Priscilla showed them the movies they could watch on the screen in front of their seat.Lillian especially made sure they felt warm and comfortable, giving them blankets and pillows, showing them how to recline thei
โYes, Dad. AlrightโMn..Goodnight.โ Lucas said to Hugh on the phone.Hugh had called him to let him know that they would be heading back in the morning with Adrian and his friend, Violet.Hugh and Leroyโs secretaries have received updates regarding a background check on Violetโs family.Theyโve decided to let Violet stay with the Lovell family as a guest.In the residence, thereโs usually only the elders living with their staff. Usually, it would be busier during holidays and if there are any special occasions. In those times, everyone would gather in the residence and stay in their rooms reserved for them.Lillian and Ernest have held out hope that Adrian would return to them so they never thought of letting anybody else use it.Lillian would personally clean it and it was only in the later years that she let her staff help her.She wanted to preserve whatever remaining scent Adrian had left.There were times when she would burst out in tears, realizing that she could no longer recall
Soon, the driver, John Garcia, pulled up outside of the hotel where Lillian and the rest were staying.Adrian was no longer as anxious as he was half an hour ago, still he could still remember the bullets trying to penetrate through the car and the explosion after those goonsโ cars had collided.Detective Jones glanced at him, noticing how pale Adrian was.Still, he commended him for not breaking down and not getting in their way.And also, because of him, they were able to rescue so many people who have been missing for years.Perhaps the Mayor might even think of rewarding Adrian because of his contribution.At the moment though, it was inappropriate to bring it up, given what the man had just experienced.So after escorting them to the hotel, Detective Jones left them, joining the other Officers with the rescued people.It was a field day for the reporters, gathering outside the police department.On the televisions of most households, they showed several people with their heads lo
As John Garcia was driving the car forward, everyone in the car held their breaths.They already knew that those people were Mortimerโs men. They could only play along for now, hoping for them to think that Adrian was in the other cars.But thenโthat possibility is very low.The black car theyโre in was far from ordinary upon close inspection.And like clockwork, shots rang.Adrian ducked, covering his head with his arms.John Garcia gripped the steering wheel while Howard Dawson and Detective Jones cocked their guns.A voice of one of the policemen came on the comms. โKeep going. Follow the second group!โNo matter what, they couldnโt let Adrian and the people who had just been rescued be in Mortimerโs hands again.John Garcia didnโt hesitate and quickly sped on.Mortimerโs men have picked the road where thereโs only farm crops on each side, the road only leading one way.The city was still quite far so blending in or hiding in some alleyway would still be impossible.For now, they s
The drive was calm, with John Garcia, the driver not making any stops if he could help it.The car could drive even without gas as it can run on solar power.It could be recharged at a charging station, could store gas and could be powered through solar. This is all thanks to the upgrades done by the Lovell Technologies.With the drive being calm, Adrian fell to sleep.Even Detective Jones dozed off as well, his head hitting the window a couple of times.An hour into the drive, the car suddenly beeped in alarm.Adrian and Detective Jones groaned, having been woken up by the alarm.โWhat is it? Whatโs happening?โ Detective Jones asked.โThere seems to be an accident up ahead.โ John Garcia answered, pointing at the GPS shown on the screen in front of him.โIs there another road we can take?โ The bodyguard, Hoyt Cole asked.โThis is the only road back to Westbury..โ John Garcia answered.โMaybe the road is not totally blockedโโ Detective Jones said.โAlright thenโweโll keep going..โโSta
After canvassing the full layout of the building and accounting the number of people inside, Detective Jones and the other Officers made their strategic plan.An hour later, they made their move.Adrian was made to stay in the car while he viewed their perspective from the tablet device.He was given eyes for different cameras. Two more Officers were also monitoring it from their tablet devices.They compared every person found to the sketches from Adrianโs description of the people held captive. And also of the ones Adrian said were the people who ordered them around.Adrian watched as the trained Officers infiltrated the area covertly.CCTV cameras were hacked and made to play the same view over and over again.They knocked out the guards with tranquilizers, making sure they wouldnโt be waking up so soon.They were separated into groups. One made way to the sleeping quarters of the captives, another entered the main building, and another surrounded all possible exits.There were onl
Adrian held her hand, squeezing it.At that moment, Hugh returned to the room and was startled by the silence.โWhat happened?โ He asked. His eyes wandered to Violet who now had her head lowered, her hand covering her eyes and her shoulders shaking.โIs she crying?โ His brows furrowed.โViolet just remembered what happened that time when she was taken away.โ Emma summarized it for him.He nodded. โBy the wayโIโve just received information just now. Violetโit has something to do with you. If this is not a good time, I wonโt say it.โShe looked up, quickly wiping her tears with the cloth napkin.โNo, please, I want to hear it.โHugh nodded.โWhat is it, Hugh?โ Emma asked.โItโs about her family.โThey all glanced at Violet, gauging her reaction.โI rememberโmy mother died that time.โ She said.Hugh nodded, confirming what she had remembered.Her heart fell. Deep inside, she was hoping that she was wrong. That she remembered it wrongly.Tears continued to fall down her cheeks. The napkin
Knock. Knock.โIโll go get it..โ Emma said.She opened the door and saw her younger brother, Adrian.โAh.. Adrian.. What is it?โAdrian was startled.He stepped back to check if he knocked on the correct room or not.โYou have something you need from Violet?โ She smiled.His brows shot up. โOh. UmโI was going to bring her to the dining room.โโAh.. I see. Well, just in time. Weโre done here as well.โ Emma smiled. She turned her head and called over. โCome on you two..โโOkay!โ Priscilla said. โLetโs go Violet..โPriscilla brought Violet over.Adrian was struck for a moment when he saw Violet.He had never seen her so dolled up.Her hair was beautiful and so is her overall look. Her face was even more beautiful than usual.Violetโs head hung as her cheeks blushed bright red.Adrian cleared his throat.โLetโs go..โ Adrian tilted his head.โMn.โ Violet nodded.