Chapter 471 Patterns in the Shards
The cold wind on the other side of the wall tensed Lawrence's body.
He sighed as he stepped into the elevator, feeling as though he had no other choice.
Back in the room, Winnie leaned against the door, hand covering her eyes as her rage threatened to spill out.
They had been discussing Oscar's matter, and just one call from Ishara could make him abandon his staunch demeanor to rush back to her side.
How could that woman be so alluring to him?
Concerns for Oscar were abruptly neglected in his hasty departure.
Winnie's eyes drooped, her gaze unfocused as she glanced over her phone, noticing a new alert.
She clicked on the status update and there it was, a post from Ishara just a minute ago: "Where he is doesn't matter; he returns to me every evening—Mr. L is the one who soothes me to sleep. Love you."
Winnie snorted coldly. The message was clearly intended to taunt her.
Yet her eyes were still burning with tears, the harsh reality repeatedly proving that Ishara trumped her own son's importance.
That was the bitter truth!
"Winnie, your nagging feelings tonight, they are just reminders of your own foolishness. Don't let him play you again..." She tossed her phone aside, took a deep breath to compose herself, and walked to the nursery intending to comfort Sidney.
The little guy was curled up in his blanket, sitting on the bed, his cheeks cold as ice, yet otherwise, he seemed alright.
"Mama always said, don't let him affect your mood. Daddy's Daddy, and you're you," Winnie said tenderly, stroking his head.
"Enough about that jerk. He's gone, mama. Now, I can tell you about the weird stuff I saw at the Blanchets'," he said.
"What weird stuff?" Sidney successfully avoided talking about Lawrence R.
"Ishara! I meant to confront her head-on today but she was off to work. So I snooped around a bit, almost snuck into her bedroom, but was caught by that witch, Mrs. Blanchet... Ishara's into some creepy stuff. Her bedroom had all sorts of strange bottles and... even a book on hypnosis!"
"Hypnosis?" Winnie frowned, a pang of concern growing within her. Bottles could suggest she wasn't feeling well.
But hypnosis? Was Ishara delving into that? Melanie had mentioned Ishara was up to something secretive. Could it be related to hypnosis?
She made a mental note to talk it over with Melanie...
"It was a book labeled 'Hypnosis,' but I got kicked out before I could read it. Then, I checked out the backyard cottages and found one at the far end, that was all boarded up."
"I remember that one," Winnie recalled. The Blanchet family had an old cottage they said was used for storage.
Tucked away in the far end of the yard, neglected for years, "What about the cottage made you curious?"
"As I got closer to that cottage, my heart started racing, and I felt something similar to the connection I have with Oscar. But I was dragged away before I could explore further. The outside was overgrown with ivy, and there were flowers too..."
Sidney paused at the mention of flowers.
"Mama! That photo on Lawrence R's phone earlier, did you save it?"
"No, I didn't. Why?"
Sidney squinted his eyes, unsure as he tried to recall the embroidery on the fabric, as well as the flowers planted within the walled garden of the Blanchet family's estate...
"The pattern on the fabric, I think I’ve seen it outside the Blanchet estate," he mused.
"Are you sure?" Winnie held her breath, also feeling that the embroidery on the fabric was different from ordinary flowers.
"I don't know," Sidney admitted, a bit confused. "Maybe I didn't see it clearly. Here's the plan: you look up that flower, find out where it originates, and whether it's common and so on. Meanwhile, I'll find an opportunity to sneak back to the Blanchet estate and compare the flowers there to the picture!"
Winnie felt suspicious and was also worried that it might be a figment of her three-year-old son's imagination.
But what if it wasn't? What if this distinctive flower, embroidered on the fabric was genuinely the same as those planted at the Blanchet estate? What if Oscar's disappearance was somehow connected to the Blanchets? And what if they also planned to eliminate her father? that leaves...
Her heart began to race uncontrollably, especially after Sidney mentioned that Ishara had given him a strange look. A bold hypothesis formed in her mind!
Yet, there was currently no evidence pointing in that direction.
Winnie clenched her fist. "Sidney, ask your dad for the photo tomorrow."
"Okay!" A glimmer of hope made Sidney content as he lay down. "Mommy, let's get some sleep. Hopefully, Oscar is somewhere safe too, able to eat and rest. We will find him, I just know it!"
Winnie's eyes slightly reddened as she kissed his forehead. "You're amazing, Sidney. Oscar would be proud to know how hard you're fighting for him."
"Mommy, are you asleep?"
After the light was turned off, Sidney's muffled voice carried through the darkness.
"What is it?"
"Nothing, I just wanted to say something about that jerk dad...
I mean, do you think... could he be blackmailed by his mistress? Like, strictly under her thumb?"
Winnie froze, her gaze in the darkness turned cold and bitter. Her son was still reluctant to paint Lawrence R. as a villainous man that he seemed to be.
"Because I think dad's visits to his mistress don’t seem to make him happy. I did some reading online, and everyone says a real jerk has no guilt, they'd be all happy meeting their lover. But Lawrence R. doesn't seem happy at all.
In fact, he hasn’t smiled much lately... except when he’s with you and Kathy.
Earlier, when he watched us having dinner, there was the faintest smile. Even though he tries to hide it, I still saw it.
And then, I get the feeling that, in as much as he’s a jerk, dad sometimes cares about you in silence. He just doesn’t want you to know."
Winnie listened as her son parroted a stream of brainwashing rhetoric, pausing for a moment with a frozen smirk. The boy was still too naive.
How could a duplicitous and fickle man like that not be seen through by her?
He just wants to maintain his image in front of his son.
He said it himself that Ishara is naïve and soft, something he no longer found in her, and that's why his affections wandered...
Winnie's heart stung abruptly as she spoke with a cool edge, "Such a strong man like him—how could Ishara have anything on him?”
“Stop making excuses for him. Do you believe everything online? Go to sleep!"
Winnie refused to discuss it further.
Sidney, feeling powerless, pursed his lips. Sigh, Mom is really hurting, all because of that Ishara—she must be up to something!
He was determined to show his dad that this woman was no good news.
-
The next day.
Winnie went to work at Sterling Towers, where a sales competition directive had been issued from the executives.
Winnie’s team faced off against Ishara’s, with two days to deliver a flawless jewelry marketing proposal for the company executives to judge and bestow for sales.
Additionally, the winning team would receive a 4% stake in the Blanchet family holdings.
Time was of the essence.
But for Winnie, it was enough; all she needed was Melanie's help.
They started preparations bright and early that morning.
At lunchtime, Winnie stepped out for a meal and saw Lawrence R's office door shut.
Wasn't he supposed to be inspecting Sterling Towers these days? Not at work today?
Winnie cast a dismissive glance, unbothered by his absence.
Returning from lunch, she found a new, imposing figure in her office.
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