Chapter 316 Think Twice, Act Once
It wasn't long before Stuart reached where Fiona was sitting.
His face still bore injuries, and the marks from the ropes on his arm were clearly visible.
That's what happened," Stuart explained, "Fiona, I couldn't stop Darwin from going upstairs.
Fiona was examining a bite mark on her lip with a small mirror.
Darwin was a real piece of work to have left such a mark.
" He knew it all. There was nothing you could have done," Fiona said as she set the mirror down. "Go treat your wounds, and let's keep tonight's incident from Janna."
"Understood." Stuart felt even worse because Fiona didn't scold him. Hesitating, he asked, "Chelsea, if Darwin knows, could he possibly..."
Fiona's eyes dropped, "I won't let anyone take my children from me."
" I'll kill him!" erupted Stuart, his anger boiling over. Stuart understood that Darwin must have threatened to take Fiona's children away.
How could this be possible?
Children can't grow up without a mother!
Back then, he had been bullied because he had no mother, eventually treated like an object to be sold. On the brink of death, it was the elderly lady who had saved him, nurturing him as if he were her own. Without her, he'd be nothing now.
To him, the woman who had saved him was like a mother.
Chelsea was his dear niece.
He couldn't bear the thought of Charles and Chicago being torn away from Chelsea!
" If even top-tier assassins couldn't take him down, what makes you think you can? Think about it," Fiona said, weary. "Go on, treat your wounds. Chicago will worry if he sees you like this."
At her words, Stuart's nose began to tingle with emotion.
"Got it..." He turned to leave.
Fiona put down the mirror, looking over a sketch of Chicago, pondering how things had spiraled out of control so quickly.
Why do troubles always seem to come all at once?
Just then...
Just then, the door to the hospital ward creaked open, and Chicago peeked through.
Piecing together the reactions from her brother upon seeing Darwin, and her mom's immediate response, Chicago was pretty sure she had stirred up trouble.
Although she had no clue exactly what kind of trouble it was.
But she guessed it was probably a huge problem, like when the legendary Monkey King caused an upheaval in the heavens.
Fiona turned to her.
She gave a soft smile and reached out her hand.
Instantly, Chicago recalled how Darwin had done the same, sitting there, reaching out to her.
Timidly, she shuffled out.
“What's wrong, sweetie?”
Fiona pulled her into an embrace, asking gently.
In her heart, she knew very well that whatever the issue was, it certainly wasn’t Chicago's fault.
“Mommy, I don’t want you to be upset.”
Chicago hugged Fiona's neck tightly, rubbing her cheek against her face, “I promise I won't go see Darwin again.”
Something stabbed at Fiona’s heart.
Holding Chicago close, she softly patted her back, “Sweetie, I never said you couldn’t see him. You’re still allowed to.”
Chicago pouted, staying silent, but she shook her head emphatically.
Fiona continued to gently pat her back, “Mommy isn’t upset. I just had a little argument with Darwin. Grown-ups argue sometimes—it's not children's business.”
“Why did you and Darwin argue? Did he bully you, Mommy?” Chicago let go of Fiona, her question deadly serious.
For anyone else, this moment could have been perfect to paint Darwin as the villain to Chicago.
Fiona knew full well that both Chicago and Charles were very protective of her.
If she told Chicago that Darwin had indeed bullied her, Chicago would instantly start to dislike Darwin.
Smiling, Fiona caressed Chicago’s cheek, “To be fair, Darwin thinks I'm the one who bullied him.”
“Why?” Chicago looked determined to get to the bottom of things.
“Baby, can we talk about this later? Mommy is very tired and doesn't want to talk anymore,” Fiona said tenderly.
Chicago was visibly disappointed but nodded, “If you’re tired, sleep. I'll stay with you.”
“Alright. Mommy's going to take a shower, and tonight we’ll stay with your brother.”
“Yeah!”
In the bathroom.
Warm water enveloped Fiona.
Yet, her mind was filled with Darwin’s resolute proclamation.
Turning off the water, she wrapped herself in a towel and stepped out to grab her phone and called Kenny.
Among those who could easily be manipulated by Darwin, Thalassa was at the top of the list.
"Hey, sis-in-law, what's up? Calling so late, everything okay?" Kenny asked.
Thalassa had been on a business trip to the capital city, and Kenny had tagged along.
Fiona hadn't yet told Thalassa about Charles's situation, fearing she might drop everything and rush back in a panic.
"Kenny, Darwin and I had a falling out over some past issues," Fiona said gravely. "He might do something to Thalassa or her company, and I need your help..."
"I'm on it," Kenny replied quickly without needing her to explain further, then paused for a moment, "Is it because he found out about Charles and the truth about his roots in Chicago?"
Fiona was briefly taken aback, "How did you know...?"
"Isn't it obvious? You had a child out of wedlock, and the kid clearly has some of his features; you can tell without anyone having to say it."
Fiona managed a weary smile, "Yeah, that's the thing."
"Got it." Kenny pondered before adding, "Look, sis-in-law, I'm an outsider, but now that Thalassa and I are married, I'm part of the family, and I just want to say something."
"Go ahead."
"Do you both really need to turn this into a town scandal?" Kenny asked earnestly.
Fiona fell silent.
"I guess you already planned to tell him everything once he was well, right?" Kenny continued.
"That was before... before everything with Lilian changed things..."
" Whatever the case, I hope you'll consider it carefully.. I believe that if it's you, no matter how angry he might be, if you really want to, a little charm goes a long way with him softening up."
Fiona thought about Darwin's demeanor just earlier and couldn't help but scoff at herself.
This time was different.
"I understand," Fiona responded, "and, please, don't tell Thalassa about this."
She was so tired.
Tired of dragging people she cared deeply for into the mess.
"Understood."
Fiona hung up the call and then dialed Dagmar.
After a few rings, Dagmar answered, "Fiona, what's going on?"
"Darwin found out," Fiona said succinctly. "He's completely unhinged right now. You should stay out of this and leave for your own safety."
There was a pause on the other end, followed by a derisive snort from Dagmar, "What? He's planning to pull the same stunt again?" "
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