Chapter515 A Comprehensive Plan
Patricia, knowing the urgency, instructed Ariel to lay Mr. Langley on the ground gently and began to administer first aid. Fortunately, Mr. and Mrs. Langley were strong, and before long, they began to come around, stirring groggily.
Immediately, Patricia had Ariel fetch them some warm water.
"Grandpa, Grandma, drink some water. Are you feeling okay?"
Mr. Langley, after decades of battling in the business world, had a much stronger psychological constitution. He sat up, drank a cup of warm water, and felt considerably better. Mrs. Langley, on the other hand, was not faring as well.
The shock of Martin's death had hit her hard, and although awake, she was still overwhelmed by the loss.
"How could Martin be gone? He was just fine. How could this happen? Why?" The older woman wept bitterly, her tears flowing freely.
Patricia's heart was already heavy, and now, moved by Mrs. Langley's display of sorrow, she began to cry along with her. "It's all my fault..."
Through her tears, Patricia recounted the events at hand. Had she not crossed paths with Hunter, none of what followed would have occurred. If Martin had never met her, he would still be alive, leading a life of harmonious matrimony with a well-suited woman.
After hearing Patricia's account, Mrs. Langley embraced her warmly. "Dear child, this isn't your fault. No one could have known such a tragedy would happen! Stop blaming yourself... It was his duty to protect his wife and find his child. Martin did what he should have done. We just never thought an accident like this would occur."
Patricia leaned into Mrs. Langley's embrace, and even though she heard those words, she couldn’t forgive herself for her past foolishness.
Mr. Langley remained silent, rising slowly to his feet. He turned to Ariel. "May I see my grandson?"
Ariel nodded and hurried back to the nursery to lift the sleeping little one from his crib. The twins had always napped in cradles in the living room during the day. But lately, Patricia had been emotionally fragile; Ariel and Jade worried her mood swings would affect the infants, so they moved them to the nursery.
Mr. Langley reached out to take the baby, but noticing his hands trembling, he withdrew, fearing he might drop the child. Instead, he looked down at the baby cradled in Ariel's arms, sleeping soundly.
The twins, Maria and Waston Langley, were mini-versions of Martin, nearly identical to him. Yet, the little ones didn’t solely resemble Martin; they seemed to blend Martin and Patricia – taking the best features from each parent. It was apparent they'd grow up to be good-looking, charming people.
Mr. Langley’s eyes welled up as he gently touched little Waston's cheek. He seemed to not tire of watching Waston, his gaze locked on the baby. This was his great-grandson, a child that had already faced so many hardships and had only recently been brought back home.
The child's father had lost his life in the process of finding him. How could they not shower him with twice the love?
After a long stint of tears, Mrs. Langley had calmed down and sat on the couch, holding Waston on her lap. She looked at Patricia with tenderness. "Patricia, dear, Martin's gone, and it’s just you and the five kids now. We worry. Why don't you move back to the family estate? Let me and the old man take care of all of you."
Patricia knew they cared, but she shook her head. "I don't want to leave this place. It holds all the little moments of life with Martin and has his presence's essence. Staying here is how I can still feel him by my side."
Mrs. Langley was about to continue when her husband interjected, "Let her be. I’ll transfer the house manager from the Ellenstein Villa District and send a couple more servants over."
Patricia firmly declined. " Our house is already quite small, and there's no need for that many people! With Jade and Ariel by my side, I'll be fine. Charles and the other two kids are grown up enough to understand things independently; they don't need me to worry about them. Three adults to take care of two kids is more than enough."
Since Martin's departure, the three little ones appeared to have matured overnight. Charles was only older than Randy and Fannie by a handful of minutes, yet he cared for them like a big brother.
She felt a mix of pride and heartache but also an indescribable bitterness.
Ariel stepped out and said, "Please don't worry. I promise I'll take good care of Patricia."
Seeing that Patricia's mind was made up, Mr. and Mrs. Langley didn't press further. They stayed until nightfall before they finally left for home.
Martha had been waiting in the living room the whole time. Ian and Samuel also came back and sat with her on the couch.
Samuel looked upset, having received the news.
Seeing them enter, Martha rushed over. "What happened? Is it true?"
Mr. Langley's anger flared when he saw her poorly masked delight. "What's the matter? You happy that Martin is gone?"
His words confirmed the gut-wrenching news of Martin's passing. Martha tried to contain herself, but the joy was overwhelming, and a smile involuntarily crept onto her lips.
Mr. Langley was so furious he wanted to slap the smile off her face, but Samuel intervened. "What exactly happened? How can someone just be gone like that?"
Mr. Langley felt his anger mounting at the sight of Samuel. "Do you even care about him? I thought all you cared about was that mother and son!"
He had noticed his grandson sitting on the couch as soon as he walked in. But he just couldn't bring himself to like the boy. Useless and full of himself, if only he had half of Martin's talent, he wouldn't be wasting his days in gambling dens.
Samuel's face turned even sourer after the barrage of criticisms. "Dad, what are you saying? Is it my fault I didn't care about him? Wasn't it him who always kept his distance from me?"
Mr. Langley was unsparing in his words. "Then you should consider why he wasn't close to you.”
He took Mrs. Langley by the hand and ascended the staircase.
Samuel followed hastily behind. “Dad, you haven't told me! How could someone just disappear like that?”
The living room on the first floor was suddenly left with only Martha and her son Ian.
Ian looked at Martha with pleased surprise. “Mom, is Martin really dead?”
Martha narrowed her eyes, smugly proclaiming, “Yes! The Langley Group will soon be ours! I've got a plan all set, and I will help you regain the company.”
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