Chapter 119 The Complete Plan
As he hesitated, the door was opened from the inside by Aunt Mary, who stepped out with a bag of trash. Seeing the man at the door, she was initially surprised, then deliberately pulled the door shut behind her.
Seeing this, Ophelia stepped forward and held the door open, "Auntie, is Miss Cecily home?"
"She isn't home today. Are you here to see her for something?" Aunt Mary asked.
Ophelia smiled faintly, "Nothing important. Is it just you at home?"
Aunt Mary nodded, "Yes, it is."
Right after she spoke, the quiet house betrayed the sounds of a cartoon playing.
Ophelia's smile broadened. "Isn't it just you? Have you picked up a habit of watching cartoons, Auntie?"
Thalia's face immediately showed panic, and she hurriedly tried to close the door. "No, there's no cartoon. You must have heard wrong."
Watching Mary's frantic reaction, Ophelia felt even more smug. She pushed against the door, "Is that so? Maybe we did hear wrong. When will Miss Cecily return? We'll come in and wait for her."
Having said that, Ophelia couldn't wait to push past Aunt Mary and burst into the room.
Aunt Mary, though her face was flushed with panic, didn't stop her. Instead, she watched as Ophelia marched in, her own hands clenching nervously.
Darian stayed at the doorway, his deep-set eyes narrowing, the emotion within them dark and indecipherable.
The sound of a cartoon playing inside almost confirmed his suspicions.
Emotion surged in Darian's eyes in that moment.
"Who are you?" came Ophelia's incredulous voice from inside.
Darian clenched his fists, hesitating for a brief two seconds before stepping forward.
Upon seeing the little guy sitting on the couch watching cartoons, Darian’s narrow dark eyes squinted, and his usually stoic expression froze on his face.
Rowan, noticing the figure, stood up anxiously, "Daddy? What are you doing here?"
Darian, slightly taken aback, moved his lips as if disbelieving, "Ro...Rowan?"
A turmoil of doubts whirled in Darian’s heart as he stared intently at the little figure.
The face was identical to Rowan's.
Ophelia, in disbelief, pressed, “You’re Rowan?”
"Yeah," Rowan nodded. "Who else would I be?"
Ophelia shook her head firmly.
"That's impossible, Rowan is clearly at the Fitzgerald Family home. How could you be here? You’re not Rowan! Tell me, who are you?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Ophelia herself was startled, suddenly realizing the flaw in her own words.
If he wasn't Rowan, then how could he look exactly like Rowan? Could it be that another child of Cecily's didn't die after all?
If that was true, what was the point of all her past efforts?
Cecily and her children, alive and well!
Ophelia's emotions flared up instantly, and she grasped Rowan’s arm fiercely. "Who exactly are you?"
Rowan brushed off the hand of Auntie Ophelia and ran to Darian's side, "Daddy, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have run off on my own to look for Mommy."
A crease formed between Darian's brows as his gaze landed on the bandage stuck on the back of Rowan's head, then scanned his clothes, finding nothing out of the ordinary.
It seemed that only then did Darian grudgingly believe he was indeed Rowan. He crouched down, furrowed his brow and asked, "You said you felt unwell just to get away from us and take off on your own?"
Rowan blinked, "Daddy, you remembered it wrong, I didn't say I was feeling unwell."
Darian's dark eyes narrowed slightly, "Hmm, I remembered wrong. So you tell me, why did you run off alone?"
Rowan pouted, looking at Darian, "I don't like Auntie. Daddy, since you were dining with Auntie, why can't I get to look for Mommy by myself?"
Hearing this, Darian's skeptical look softened a bit, and a quiet sigh of relief escaped him.
Whether or not the person in front of him was truly Rowan was enough to prove that Ophelia's claim of having seen Cecily with a toddler was false.
All of these things Rowan had discussed with Griffin beforehand. Even their clothes had been swapped. However, it remained unclear just how much of it Darian believed at this moment.
"Daddy, why did you come here to Mommy's?" Rowan countered.
Darian frowned deeper, "It's nothing."
Darian stood up, his gaze turning icy as it settled on Ophelia with the sharpness of a blade, "Where's this two- or three-year-old child you mentioned?"
Ophelia felt a chill run down her spine under Darian's frosty stare.
The scene before her was bewildering, and she began to suspect that she might have been fooled by Elysia's nonsense.
They hadn't found the child that Elysia said twice now, and this time their arrival was unexpected. Cecily was in a predicament and couldn't have prepared in advance.
Therefore, Cecily wasn't hiding any child after all!
Ophelia clenched her fists, feeling like her brain was about to explode with anger.
And it was all because of that idiot, Elysia.
Pushing down the rage inside her, Ophelia forced a smile, "Maybe... perhaps I was mistaken."
At that moment, Darian's mind grew clear.
Ignoring Ophelia, he looked down at Rowan, "Do you plan on coming back with me or would you rather stay here?"
Rowan remembered what Griffin had said, "Daddy, I want to see Mommy."
Right on cue, Aunt Mary came over, "Yes, sir, I was just about to ask you a favor. Could you try to locate Miss Cecily? Her phone is unreachable no matter what, and she said she was going to have lunch at Watson's Family, but she should have been back by now. I'm worried something might have happened to her."
Rowan glanced at Aunt Mary, then turned to Darian. This was all part of their plan.
If Cecily was indeed in trouble and they were unable to find her with their resources, then involving Darian would be a different story.
By letting this concern be known, they hoped to dispel any doubts in their minds while also informing Darian that Cecily was missing, prompting him to search for her—a strategy that served two purposes.
This was the complete plan of Griffin and Rowan.
Darian frowned, "How long has she been gone?"
Aunt Mary glanced at the clock, "About four hours now. Miss Cecily said she'd be back after lunch, but by this time she should have finished eating. I've tried calling but no one answers, and Miss Cecily never does this."
Darian's face was impassive as he picked up his cell phone and dialed.
Larkin's voice came from the other end of the line, "Mr. Fitzgerald?"
"Find Cecily's current location immediately."
Hearing the tone in Darian's voice, Larkin didn't dare to slack off, "Understood."
Darian ended the phone call.
No one noticed the glint in Ophelia' eyes, a cold flash that was perfectly to her liking.
She stepped forward and offered, "Let me give Elysia a call."
Ophelia had already dialed the number and switched on speakerphone.
"Ophelia."
"Elysia, did Miss Cecily head back to the Watson's place today?"
"Yes, why?"
"Is she still at the Watson's now?"
Without any pause, Elysia replied, "She left just after dinner, it's been over an hour now, is something wrong?"
"No, it's just that we're at Miss Cecily's home, and she hasn't come back, not to mention her phone is unanswered. We're a bit worried about her."
"Hmm? But she left a long time ago." Elysia paused as if she remembered something and then said, "Oh, I recall she made a phone call before leaving, mentioning going to room 406 at the Grandeur Hotel or something."
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