Chapter 454 Collaboration
"Why would you think that?" Winnie sat up straight.
Sidney recounted the incident, "I bumped into her as I was leaving Grandma Leah's Garden. She seemed surprised to see me. Even her maid looked nervous for a moment. They both acted strangely. If she was simply stunned by my resemblance to Dad, it wouldn't be that expression. Ishara even asked me if my name was Sidney. As if it wasn't right for me to be named Sidney. Who else could there be, looking like me and not named Sidney, if not Oscar?"
Winnie fell silent.
Ishara was certainly up to no good. Winnie surmised she was caught off guard getting involved with Lawrence, perhaps already knowing about Mr. Lawrence's identity.
As for why Lawrence suddenly took a liking to Ishara, Winnie didn't want to think about it.
She remembered when Ishara was photographed in Lymington going to the movies with Lawrence, Oscar had already disappeared.
By that logic, it was impossible Ishara had met Oscar.
Unless... she had been lurking around Lymington for longer than anyone realized.
Oscar had always been close to Winnie. If Ishara had seen Oscar, then she must have been investigating Winnie for quite some time.
Winnie felt a sudden chill regarding Ishara, this woman. She seemed elusive, suggesting she might have made even greater efforts to "cross paths" with Lawrence, watching from the shadows.
Winnie gazed down at her son. "Sidney, your speculations are just that, guesses without any real foundation. The only way to get answers is to ask Ishara directly. And even if we do, there's a chance she'll just brush us off. Was she with Oscar before his disappearance, or after? I’ll keep this matter close to my heart and find a way to coax the truth out of her. I know you’re worried about Oscar, and so am I, but we have to believe in him. He's smart; he was always capable of looking after himself and surviving when we were abroad."
Sidney clenched his fists, comforted by his mother's words yet remained determined. A spark of insight flashed in his young eyes. Until another lead emerged, his instincts zeroed in on Ishara. She looked at him with such eyes tonight, hinting at something hidden, perhaps. He was determined to get closer to that wicked woman. He schemed silently.
-
Inside a car parked at the Rodriguez estate's gate, Ishara twisted her handkerchief anxiously, turning to Claire. "I can't believe Peter didn't find out they had twins!"
"Miss, Peter wasn't digging deep in Lymington. It was just that Oscar happened to be the one Darcy kidnapped, so we all thought there was only him. If we had taken care of both children then…" The implication was clear.
Ishara glared coldly, annoyed by the evening’s revelations. "Another child, just another complication. Oscar already caused a rift among them, and now Sidney is another connection. Plus, who knows if there's some kind of twin intuition."
Claire's eyes darkened with conspiracy. "If you think this Sidney is a problem, perhaps we should get rid of him too?"
Ishara's narrowed eyes showed she got the hint. She inquired sharply, "Has Peter not found that car to destroy? He better not let Mr. Lawrence's people beat us to it!"
"Jeremy is watching on his end, Peter has to tread lightly..." Before Claire could finish, Ishara's scowl silenced her. Claire fumbled with her phone to contact Peter.
Both women looked up as Lawrence was about to return. Ishara promptly fixed her expression and stepped out of the car, coughing weakly in the night wind.
Her cough clutched at Lawrence's attention. He longed to be with his son and Winnie, but right now, Ishara's well-being seemed crucial. There were no perfect solutions.
His expression shaded with conflict, he took a hard drag on his cigarette and texted Sidney: "Two tubes of ointment. One is for your mom."
In the hotel room, Sidney received a text from his good-for-nothing dad and hurriedly rummaged through the medicine bag that Lawrence had left in the car.
"Mom, I need ointment for my ear," Sidney called out, on purpose.
Winnie was prepping him for a bath and glanced at his wound. "I forgot to ask, who picked on you at the Rodriguez's?"
"Some chunky girl. I heard she's my aunt's daughter. No big deal, I'll get her back," he replied nonchalantly.
'Aunt? That must be Amy,' Winnie thought to herself. She had seen her at a party but hadn't spoken to her. She was part of Mars's crowd.
That explained why Sidney was targeted.
"Don't hang with them next time you see Aunt Amy."
"Mom, there are two tubes of the same cream here, for cuts and scrapes. Dad said one's for you, but I don't know where you're hurt?"
Winnie stared at the ointment, lost in thought for a moment. Then, with an icy expression, she tossed the tube into the trash can.
Sidney glanced at her, snapped a photo with a swift motion, and coolly texted it to his scumbag father.
"Great job, Mom. Show him where we stand! He's already given you two sons. We don't need him. If push comes to shove, we can leave him," Sidney blurted out, attempting to comfort her.
Winnie's eyes welled up with tears. Sidney had grown up with Lawrence; making such a statement must have torn him apart inside.
She chuckled, drawing her son into a hug. "I don't want you distancing yourself from your dad because of me. Don't let his choice of women bother you. That's my baggage to burden, not yours. You and Oscar have your own lives to lead."
She sounded upbeat, but she was just summoning all her strength to reassure herself.
Sidney's eyes reddened. He wondered what his dad saw in that mistress. And all that talk about understanding his difficulties later. Perhaps there had been some hardship his dad was facing.
In fact, his dad still cared about his mom. Sidney realized that after cooling down. It was evident from the tube of ointment. But he couldn't understand why would his dad stay with Ishara, a sickly mess when his mom was so much better.
-
The next day, Winnie met with Rock to discuss the valuation of a property she was interested in.
"I'll head back to Lymington this afternoon. Once I find out when the auction is, I'll figure out a way to get in touch with the Rodriguez family corporation."
After business talk and lunch with Rock, Winnie didn't go back to his hotel.
"Safe travels," she said, waving goodbye in the restaurant.
Meanwhile, Rock was profoundly disturbed, still grappling with the blow from the previous night. The parcel of land they were considering belonged to the Rodriguez family conglomerate. Sending Winnie to negotiate would be like throwing a lamb into the jaws of Lawrence, where she would undoubtedly be at his mercy once more.
He clenched his fist, feeling a surge of darkness within as his cell phone suddenly rang. Annoyed, Rock didn't bother to check the caller ID before answering.
After several seconds of silence, a deep, enigmatic voice, chilling like a spectral presence, came through. "Mr. Rock, interested in a partnership?"
Rock’s eyes narrowed, and he furrowed his brows, pulling the phone away to look at the screen. As he had suspected, it was an unknown number.
"Who is this?" He held his breath and composure, his tone ice-cold.
"You're looking for Lawrence's weaknesses…" the voice hissed venomously. "You must despise him, don't you?"
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