Chapter 465 Drowning
"Yeah, he reached out to me too. The kid's talking, so he's probably okay."
Lawrence rested his arms on her car window, his towering presence strangely reassuring, "Do you want to go in, or shall I? Kathy's there. She was at the Rodriguez place earlier today but she just got back."
If they both went in, it wouldn't look good.
"I'll go!"
Understanding her urgency, Lawrence stepped aside for her. His deep-set eyes softened slightly, "Call me if you need anything. I'll wait here."
As Winnie dashed inside, her peripheral vision caught him lighting a cigarette, his intense gaze following her into the house.
"Sidney?!" Winnie burst in, calling out for her son.
In the Blanchet family's villa living room, Madam Rodriguez, a figure of considerable stature, had also just arrived and was asking questions.
Eleanor appeared clueless, keeping her smile, "A problem? Sidney was playing in the backyard. What could possibly happen to him? Please, Madam, have some coffee first..."
"Aunt Eleanor! Sidney called me, he's drowning!" Winnie cut straight to the chase.
"Lawrence told me Sidney was drowning. It must be true!" Kathy's expression turned grave.
A flicker of unease crossed Eleanor’s eyes, but she quickly looked up with counterfeit cheer. "Winnie, what's your relationship with Sidney that he’d contact you?"
Her insinuation aimed to stir Madam Rodriguez's suspicions.
Winnie saw through her, responding with a chilly laugh, "Sidney and I are close. He's met with trouble here at the Blanchet’s, and you’re here talking in circles?"
Kathy eyed Winnie. The girl had come straight for Sidney, and Kathy was already forming some theories. She wasn't about to dwell on that now.
The air was thick with tension when she commanded, "Mrs. Blanchet, you need to have your staff pinpoint Sidney's location at the Blanchet estate immediately!"
"Oh, of course," Mrs. Blanchet responded, slightly flustered. "I was just preoccupied with the accounts in the study... Stewart!"
Eleanor realized there was no room for further delay and shot the butler a knowing glance.
Rushing over with a deeply worried expression, the butler announced, "Madam, Sidney has been spotted by the pond on the east side of the property..."
"What!" Eleanor's face drained of color. "Please don't tell me Sidney actually drowned?"
Winnie glanced at Eleanor with a steely gaze and took off toward the east end of the backyard.
Supported by a employee, Kathy followed at a more subdued pace behind Eleanor.
The large pond on the east was a picturesque feature of the Blanchet family's garden. As Winnie reached the spot, she saw several servants frantically trying to fish something out of the water. Dusk was setting in fast, and Winnie's eyes searched the area desperately, calling out, "Sidney! Sidney!"
"Mama... I'm here." Sidney's voice came through, weak yet chillingly composed.
The pond was deep and vast, prompting male servants to dive in in a search for the missing child.
Winnie circled the water with no sign of Sidney until she finally spotted him on a protruding rock formation.
"Sidney, how did you get up there!" Kathy's voice trembled with fear.
The rock was sharp and steep, a mere slip away from danger.
"Don't move, just wait for help," Winnie instructed, her face pale as she tried to reassure Sidney.
Eleanor arrived on the scene and saw Sidney was fine, but that the person in the water was Tiffany, who was now struggling. A spiteful satisfaction washed over her - her plan had backfired.
Useless Tiffany...
"I'm okay! It's Tiffany who's in trouble, though she had it coming," Sidney uttered with a hint of spite, staring at the water's surface. "Did you get her?"
"We've got her!" A servant pulled a drenched little girl from the water.
Tiffany coughed and sputtered, crying out for Kathy in a feeble voice, "Mrs. Kathy! Save me!"
The matriarch turned pale in shock. "Rou Rou? What are you doing at the Blanchet estate?"
After the chaos settled, both children were rescued from the pond and laid on the grass.
Winnie swiftly moved to Sidney, checked his airway, and started chest compressions to expel the water he had swallowed.
Sidney, pale-faced, nestled into his mother's embrace, feeling a wave of relief wash over him.
Tiffany wasn't so lucky - after being pulled out, she was coughing violently, her forehead bruised from hitting the rocks, and her whole being shook with fright, her face a ghastly shade of blue as she continued to cry.
Kathy was gripped by worry, leaning on her walking cane and looking at Eleanor, "Mrs. Blanchet, when did Rou arrive at the Blanchet household?"
"Both children nearly drowned on your watch. How can you not have any idea about what happened?" she asked.
Eleanor collected herself quickly, having rehearsed her response. "Miss Rou came in the afternoon, after you had returned to the Rodriguez residence. She came on her own. I thought she was here just to play with Sidney, so I let the two of them be outside in the backyard. As for the drowning, ma'am, you saw—I just got here with you. I have no idea what transpired. Could it be that the kids were just roughhousing and accidentally fell in?"
Winnie listened quietly, squinting her eyes, then she bent down to her son. "Sidney, is it like Kathy suggests?"
"Not at all," Sidney replied, pointing to a red-eyed and coughing Rou, "I was playing just fine by myself when Rou stormed in, as if she'd found out I was here and had come specifically to cause trouble. I wasn't even playing near the pond, but she shoved and pushed me, insisting on dragging me this way. Mrs. Kathy, I already told you, if Rou targeted me again, I wouldn't be so forgiving! She knew I couldn't swim and tried to push me into the pond. The first time she didn't succeed because I held onto a tree branch, but she wasn't content. She even had her servant try to shove me in. That's when Rou and I started scuffling, and she ended up falling in!"
"You're lying! When did I ever have a servant push you? I didn't bring any servants today! Mrs. Kathy, this brat is slandering me!" Rou yelled out.
"I saw it! There was a staff member behind you pushing me!" Sidney argued back.
Winnie's eyes narrowed. Rou claimed she didn't bring any servants from the Rodriguez family, yet Sidney said a servant had pushed him. Whose servant could that be then?
Her gaze sharpened, turning coldly toward Eleanor. If Eleanor had been plotting something against Sidney during his visit to the Blanchet household... that servant might very well belong to the Blanchets, seizing the chance amid the chaos.
And why had Rou suddenly come to the Blanchet residence?
Observing Eleanor with increasing suspicion, Winnie already had her theories. Kneeling before Rou, she asked, "Little princess, do you not like Sidney?"
"Of course, I don't like him!"
"If you don't like him, why did you follow him to the Blanchet place to play today?" Winnie asked with a smile edged with subtle probing.
Eleanor's face paled as she hurried over. "Winnie, the kids have nearly drowned. We need to get a doctor to look at them, ASAP."
Winnie glanced at her with a knowing smile. "Auntie, and you didn't think to inform Kathy about Miss Rou coming to the Blanchets'?"
"Miss Rou arrived just this afternoon. Before I got the chance to tell anyone, the accident happened," Eleanor deflected, playing it coy.
But Winnie was relentless. She turned to little Miss Rou, "Princess, who tipped you off that Sidney would be at the Blanchets' today?"
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