Chapter 587 The Smell
Cadence stopped laughing and got all serious, "Mr. Brown, I just sent Christopher back, and you already forgot about me? Anyway, let's cut to the chase. I injected something into Christopher. If you wanna know what it is, bring him to this address and meet me."
She rattled off an address.
Her big plan was about to kick off. Otherwise, why bother snatching Christopher and then sending him back?
Oscar jotted it down and shot back, "Don't mess with me. You know who I am. I could squash you like a bug."
"Mr. Brown, chill out. If I could send Christopher back, I knew how you'd react. I'm not scared. Worst case, tit for tat," Cadence said calmly.
'Cadence's life is nothing compared to Christopher's,' Oscar thought. He'd been tailing this person quietly, not wanting to freak Pearl out.
"Fine, I'll come to this address." Oscar hung up and stood in the hallway for a bit, trying to cool his jets.
Messing with Christopher? Cadence must have a death wish.
Pearl came back with breakfast and caught Oscar's last words, instantly guessing it was about Christopher.
She saw Oscar trying to keep his cool and decided to head back to the ward first.
Oscar followed soon after, grinning as he walked up to Christopher and gave his cheek a playful pinch. "Daddy's gotta step out for a bit. Be good and listen to the doc, okay?"
"Okay." Christopher nodded like a good kid.
Oscar told RavenWing and Pearl there was some company drama Harold couldn't handle.
RavenWing knew he was swamped and told him not to sweat it.
Pearl grabbed his hand and whispered, "How about I come with you?"
"No need. You should stay here with Christopher and RavenWing." Oscar didn't know what Cadence was up to and didn't want Pearl in harm's way.
This was his mess to clean up.
As he left, Pearl used the breakfast run excuse to tail him. She ordered takeout for Christopher and RavenWing and quietly followed Oscar to a familiar neighborhood.
Pearl immediately thought of the last time Christopher was taken from here and figured Cadence had set up a meet.
The place was super quiet, and Cadence's address was Building 21. Oscar followed the security guard's directions to the house at the end.
Just as he was about to go in, he saw a familiar figure dart by the flower bed. He frowned and walked over.
"Honey." Oscar was surprised, then chuckled when he realized.
After all these years, Pearl could read him like a book and knew when he was fibbing.
Oscar explained, "I didn't mean to hide it from you. I was just worried about what Cadence might be planning, so..."
Pearl nodded. "I get it, no need to explain. But I'm not letting you face this alone."
She took his hand, saying, "Let's tackle this together. Whatever tricks she's got, we can handle it."
Oscar pinched her nose and smiled. For safety, he texted Harold their location.
They stood on either side of the door, and Oscar rang the bell.
"Who is it?" A strange woman's voice came from inside, and they both frowned.
Besides Cadence, there were others.
Thinking this, they got more cautious.
The door opened, and a hefty woman stood there.
She looked at Oscar and asked, "Who are you?"
"Is Cadence home?" Oscar asked, peeking inside.
The woman snapped, "What are you looking at? It's just me and my husband here. No one named Cadence."
Cadence had given a fake address. What was she scared of? Was she scared Oscar would call the cops?
Pearl stepped out from behind the door and flashed a smile at the woman. "Sorry, we're looking for a friend named Cadence. Do you know her?"
The woman thought for a sec, then slapped her thigh. "Cadence, right? Yeah, I know her. She's upstairs. Bought the whole floor, I heard. Rich but kinda tragic; her kid died."
The woman shut the door, leaving them hanging.
Cadence's kid died, and she bought the whole floor but told them it was unit 501. What was she playing at? Was it really to keep them from calling the cops?
Pearl and Oscar exchanged looks, both thinking the same thing.
Little did they know, Cadence was watching everything.
At that moment, Cadence was sipping red wine, listening to kids' songs, and gazing lovingly at a crystal casket in front of her. Inside was a boy, looking about four years old, sleeping peacefully.
"Baby, soon you'll have a friend. Don't worry, Mommy's got good taste. He's super cute; you'll like him," Cadence said softly.
The surveillance at the door showed two people. It was Pearl and Oscar.
Cadence stared at the screen, confirming over and over that Christopher wasn't with them, and she lost it.
"How dare you trick me! If my son can't have a friend, your son won't get saved either," she screamed, and the two outside heard the noise and started banging on the door.
"Cadence, we know you're in there. Open up."
"If you don't open the door, we'll call for help," they shouted.
Inside, Cadence's laughter echoed. She suddenly changed her mind.
Since they didn't bring the boy, let them come in themselves.
The door opened automatically, and she said, "Come in, Mr. Brown, Mrs. Brown. What an honor."
The entrance was creepy, with stuff glowing dark red on both sides, looking super weird.
The walls were covered in strange symbols. They walked to the middle of the living room and saw Cadence chilling on the sofa.
"What do you want?" Pearl snapped.
Cadence turned on the lights, the bright light drowning out the creepy red glow from the entrance.
"Mr. Brown, Mrs. Brown, have a seat and some wine. I'm too lazy to make coffee." Cadence didn't give them a choice, pouring two glasses of wine and setting them in front of them.
They just wanted to get out of there, so Oscar asked, "You called us here, and now we're here. What do you want?"
"Mr. Brown, you have a short memory. I said to bring Christopher. But it's cool, I get your worries, I don't blame you," Cadence shot a smug look at Pearl and smirked. "Mrs. Brown, I didn't expect this. I once said you were making money off your kid, but turns out you have a rich hubby."
"Let's cut to the chase." Pearl didn't want to drag it out, worried the longer it took, the worse it would be for Christopher.
Cadence downed her glass of wine and smiled. "I can save Christopher, but he has to stay with me."
"You!" Pearl stood up, ready to slap her.
"Mrs. Brown, chill. I'm not done." Cadence, in control, raised her hand for Pearl to sit down and continued, "Here's the deal, the hospital can't save him, only I can. If you don't agree, fine. In two days, Christopher will relapse. By then, even if you beg me, I won't be able to help."
Pearl faintly smelled something medicinal, something familiar but she couldn't place it.
"Aren't you worried? Or do you not love Christopher?" Seeing their lack of response, Cadence got anxious.
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