Chapter 237 The Troubles of a Child Prodigy
On the surveillance screen.
Darwin bent down to pick up the shattered phone.
He fiddled with it for a moment.
It was clear, the phone was beyond repair.
He called a kid over, exchanged a few words, and the child hurried off, returning shortly with a new phone in hand.
Darwin took the phone, seemingly thanked the kid, and dialed a number. Moments later, a phone in Chicago rang with an unfamiliar number.
Before Janna Rhoads could speak up, Chicago eagerly answered the call, "Uncle!"
"How did Chicago know it was uncle?" came Darwin's gentle voice, tinged with amusement, from the other end.
Chicago realized she had slipped up but quickly covered, "Only uncle would call Chicago!"
"Right," Darwin chuckled softly, "Uncle had a bit of an accident and broke his phone. I didn't scare you, did I?"
"Nope," Chicago shook her head, not mentioning her earlier fears of a kidnapping.
Charles withdrew to his computer, his eyelids drooping, and whispered to Janna Rhoads, "I'm heading back to my room."
But then, he heard Darwin ask, "Is Chicago's brother there too?"
"Yes!" Chicago promptly responded.
Charles paused, not greeting Darwin, and went straight to his study.
Janna Rhoads watched his small figure go, feeling a strange sensation in her heart.
Charles seemed unusually cold toward Darwin. While he wasn't particularly warm to anyone except his biological mother, he was usually polite.
Chicago quickly resumed her conversation with Darwin.
Janna Rhoads stood up and walked toward Charles's study.
Chicago didn't draw in her room when she was on the island. She always drew in front of a floor-to-ceiling window in the living room with a view of the sea, and Charles had purposely chosen a study on the ground floor.
Though he wouldn't say it out loud, everyone knew Charles wanted to be there for his sister whenever she needed him.
Usually, the door to his study was left ajar so he could hear any noises from Chicago. Like earlier, when she cried, he was there immediately.
But now, Charles had closed his door tightly.
Janna Rhoads stood at the door for a while, respecting the privacy of children. Despite her curiosity, she ultimately decided not to enter and returned to Chicago's side.
Inside the study.
Puzzled, Charles sat in his custom computer chair, staring at the enlarged surveillance footage on the screen.
The phone was smashed to pieces; it couldn't have been an accident.
After some thought, he reached out his chubby little hand and rewound the surveillance footage.
Soon, he saw a woman rush at Darwin, snatch the phone without a word, and smash it.
This woman...
Charles furrowed his brow slightly.
Lilian, the vice president of Solomon Investments, formerly a princess of a European royal family, rumored to be Darwin's first love, and a stand-in for his mother when she was with Darwin.
For the past five years, she had been close to Darwin.
Countless rumors had circulated that Lilian was about to marry Darwin.
All this came from TikTok science videos about Darwin and Secretary Woods following the museum's profile incident.
At the last art exhibition, this aunt had stayed close to Darwin too.
Had they fought?
So fiercely?
Could it be they were breaking up?
That's what Charles was thinking.
He paused the video, filtered out the background noise, and amplified the voices.
He then picked up the glass of milk, warmed to just the right temperature, and played the video.
Charles had assumed it would be a typical lovers' quarrel.
But he heard something completely unexpected.
Charles had always thought Darwin was a deadbeat dad, but now he heard him say he never loved Lilian and that he loved his mother more than his own life.
For the past five years, he hadn't been with Lilian; the internet stories weren't true.
Even as a child prodigy, Charles was still a child:
He was left bewildered by the revelation.
If he loved his mother so much, why did he drive her to fake her death and flee?
His godmother and Mrs. Rhoads also despised him.
What exactly had happened?
Charles bit his straw, lost in thought.
He thought for a while, then switched IPs and accessed the internet.
He hadn't expected much, but what he found shocked him again.
Darwin's grandmother had passed away, which Charles knew from reading financial news.
Although Mrs. Solomon wasn't as formidable as his own great-grandmother, she was still a prominent figure in Armie Country.
At the time, Charles had wondered: How could her grandson be so incompetent?
But he never imagined that a few days later, his mother would be there with Darwin, thanking the guests at Mrs. Solomon's memorial service.
Even as a child prodigy, Charles was still a child:
He looked serious.
So, had his mother and Darwin reconciled?
He pondered in his study for a long time.
He thought about asking his uncle, but considering his uncle's age and lack of romantic experience, he figured that would only add another worry to the household.
So, Charles got up and went to find Janna Rhoads.
By this time, Chicago had already hung up the phone.
She was running around the living room, happy as a lark, hugging her doll.
Seeing Charles come out, she immediately ran over, "Brother, uncle said he's sending us a gift! Grandma agreed too!"
Charles was wrestling with mixed emotions.
He spent a moment with Chicago, then approached Janna Rhoads, "Grandma, may I use your phone?"
Janna Rhoads handed it to him without hesitation.
Charles took it and started to tinker with it.
Janna Rhoads began to speak, "Charles, I—"
"Grandma, is this mom? And the man next to her looks so familiar," Charles said, handing the phone back to Janna Rhoads, his beautiful eyes flickering.
Janna Rhoads glanced at the phone subconsciously.
She was about to say something to Charles when she was completely taken aback.
She grabbed the phone, her eyes nearly popping out.
"Where did you get this photo?" she asked Charles.
"The homepage of the First Financial website," Charles replied.
Janna Rhoads was stunned.
Soon, she discovered that not only the First Financial but also major social media platforms around the world were buzzing about the event.
Seeing Janna Rhoads's face grow darker, Charles sat down beside her.
"Grandma, did mom really marry this man?" he asked quietly, careful not to be overheard by Chicago.
If Darwin had married his mother and become her dad, she should be happier than anyone...
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