Chapter 461
“Yeah. Tara must have sent her away from the city. What are we going to do now, Sylvia?” Sherry asked.
“Wait. We wait for her to show up,” Sylvia said as she narrowed her eyes.
Two weeks went by.
It was a Saturday and Tara arrived at the Carters’ residence early in the morning.
Odell was not home but Isabel and Liam were.
Like always, Tara went to the living room as soon as she arrived, but Aunt Tonya stopped her at the entrance.
She smiled and said to Aunt Tonya, “Aunt Tonya, I’m here to see Isabel and Liam, and also Grandmother.
Please move aside.”
Aunt Tonya bellowed, “Tara, you are not welcome here. Get out of this house immediately! ”
Tara had a glance into the living room and wanted to go in.
Although Aunt Tonya stopped her again, she forced herself through and even tried to push Aunt Tonya away.
Feeling irritated, Aunt Tonya pushed back. She barely used any strength as she just wanted to stop Tara from going in.
To her surprise, Tara faltered and fell down to the ground.
Tara’s eyes got teary as she wore a wronged look. She cried, “Aunt Tonya, I don’t mean anything. I’m just here to see Isabel and Liam. They lost their mother at such a young age, and it’s important that they receive the love and care from a mother figure.”
Aunt Tonya frowned. She pointed at Tara and continued, “Shut your mouth!”
Isabel and Liam were in the living room, and until now, Aunt Tonya had not told them about what had happened to Sylvia. She could not let the two of them hear what Tara said.
Tara cried louder and even raised her voice, “Aunt Tonya, I know there’s some misunderstanding between us, and I admit there was some conflict between Sylvia and me in the past, but Sylvia is dead. I just want to care for the kids. If the two of them can grow up healthy, Sylvia will be happy.”
“You…” Aunt Tonya choked on her anger.
Tara seemingly wanted to continue causing a scene that wore her patience thin. She approached Tara and wanted to drag the woman away, but at this point, she noticed the two little ones standing by the door behind her.
Isabel and Liam were looking at them with widened eyes.
Aunt Tonya was shocked.
Isabel’s eyes became teary, and even Liam furrowed his brows.
“Aunt Tonya, is it true? Is Mommy dead?”
Aunt Tonya got nervous. She could not bear seeing the two little ones cry, but Sylvia was indeed gone and the
lie could not continue forever.
The two of them took Aunt Tonya’s silence as an affirmative answer.
Isabel pouted and broke down in tears while Liam furrowed his brows tightly and wore a sorrowful look.
Aunt Tonya did not have the time or mood to care about Tara anymore. She immediately went to the two little
ones and hugged them tightly.
As Isabel cried a river, Liam hugged his sister and consoled her quietly.
Aunt Tonya was at a loss of action, so all she could do was sigh helplessly.
Tara then got up on her feet.
The tears and snot on Isabel’s features put a grin on her face. She went closer to them and feigned a worried
expression. “Isabel, Liam, I know your Mommy is not here anymore, but I’ll take care of you two for her.”
Chapter 462
Isabel cried even louder, and Liam shot a frosty gaze at her.
Tara’s gaze shifted when she saw the boy’s eyes, but she quickly regained her composure because they were
just a pair of four-year- olds who had just lost their mother.
Suddenly, Aunt Tonya got up and slapped her on the face.
The force of the slap sent Tara faltering backward.
Tara covered her face in pain. While she cursed Aunt Tonya deep in her heart, she continued to feign a teary
look and said, “Aunt Tonya, I meant what I said!”
Aunt Tonya pointed at her and scolded, “Get out of this house immediately, or I’ll slap you again! ”
Tara then left with a recalcitrant expression.
Aunt Tonya grunted and turned around to the brother and sister. Liam was rather calm, but Isabel cried
ceaselessly.
Both Aunt Tonya and Sebastian tried everything they could think of and still could not stop the girl from crying, so Sebastian was forced to call Odell.
After the call with Odell, Violet heard the crying and came out of Madam Carter’s room. When she saw the little girl crying a river, she asked, “Sebastian, Aunt Tonya, what’s wrong with Isabel?”
Aunt Tonya grumbled, “It’s that Tara. She came earlier and pretended to care about them. Se even said she wanted to take care of them now that Sylvia is gone. I told her to leave and she started to cause a scene, so they overheard the conversation.”
Violet understood what happened.
Tara came causing a scene because she wanted Isabel and Liam to know that their mother was gone. She must be trying to persuade them to accept Sylvia’s death so that they could accept her and Odell being together.
‘Scheming against two four-year-olds? What a horrible woman! ’ Violet thought.
She then went over to Isabel and Liam and said, “That’s not true. Don’t listen to her. Your Mommy is temporarily away and she can’t make it back now. She’s not dead.”
Isabel paused her crying. She continued sobbing and choking as she asked, “Really?”
Liam also stared at Violet.
“Of course! ” Violet answered firmly.
Liam simply stared at her while Isabel turned to Aunt Tonya and Sebastian. She wanted to hear from them that her mommy was still alive.
However, Aunt Tonya and Sebastian did not know that Sylvia was actually alive, and since they did not want to lie to the little girl, they simply averted her gaze.
Isabel realized that her mother had been gone for a few months, and if she was still alive, she would have come back. Violet must be lying to stop her from crying!
She continued to sob and said in a small voice, “Violet is lying…”
Violet was silenced. She really wanted to tell the girl that her mother was alive, but due to the promise she had made with Sylvia, she was forced to swallow the truth for now.
Tara did not actually leave after being slapped. She stayed outside and waited beside the gate.
Now that the two kids had learned that their mother was dead, they ought to throw a tantrum.
Sebastian would have to call Odell to tell him about the situation, and he would definitely come back. Tara was
actually waiting for Odell.
She wanted him to see the mark from the slap she got from Aunt Tonya and make him think that she had not
divulged Sylvia’s death to the kids on purpose.
Soon, Odell’s car turned in from the junction and screeched to a stop in front of the house.
Tara went up to the car immediately.
The man’s towering figure came out of the car and she went up to him with teary eyes.
“Odell, I’m sorry. It’s my fault. I didn’t know Aunt Tonya hated me so much. I shouldn’t have come here to
check on Isabel and Liam at this hour.”
Odell saw the reddish cheek on her face and asked in a gravelly voice, “What happened to your face?”
Chapter 463
“It’s Aunt Tonya…” Tara observed the reaction on his face and continued, “But I believe she doesn’t mean it. I
didn’t know Isabel and Liam were in the living room, and I explained that I was there to see them. It slipped my
mind and I accidentally mentioned Sylvia’s death, so the kids heard it, then she slapped me.”
Odell frowned. “Go home first.”
He was worried about the kids and had no time to comfort Tara.
Tara immediately said, “Okay. Go check on Isabel and Liam. They need you right now.”
While Odell hummed a reply and went into the house, Tara sighed a breath of relief and wore a grin. Now that
the two little monsters knew their mother was gone, they would stop asking for her.
All Tara needed to do was visit frequently and show them care and love. They might then start to accept her
and rely on her as a mother figure.
Until then, she could be with Odell again without any more hindrance.
Odell strode into the living room.
Isabel was still crying loudly while Liam was hugging her. Both Sebastian and Aunt Tonya were helpless when it came to comforting the girl.
The two of them stepped aside when Odell came in. He then carried the two of them back to their room.
Isabel was crying her lungs out and did not even care about who carried her. She buried her face in Odell’s neck, and her tears and snot wet his collar.
Liam was relatively calm. He turned to his father and asked, “ Daddy, is Mommy really dead?”
He widened his big eyes in silence and observed his father’s reaction.
Odell was taken aback by how calm Liam was.
However, the boy was quiet and never expressed his emotions easily.
With that aside, Odell decided to be frank with the two of them. “ Mommy fell into the lake and we still can’t find her now.”
Liam thought for a moment and asked, “Then, is there a chance that mommy is still alive?”
Odell went silent for a moment before he hummed a reply. It was possible that she was still alive, but the odds were slim.
Liam then turned to Isabel and said, “Sis, Daddy still hasn’t found mommy. Mommy might be alive.”
Isabel paused her crying and looked at her brother with reddish eyes. “Really?”
“Really. Mommy will come back soon.”
“What if Mommy never comes back?”
Liam wiped her tears and snot away and said, “Then, we’ll continue to wait.”
The determination in his eyes calmed Isabel down. She sniffled and said, “Yeah, we’ll wait for Mommy to come
back! ”
Odell pursed his lips at Isabel’s brightened mood and the strange hope that they grasped onto. For the first
time in months, he finally wore a smile on his frosty face.
Later, Isabel and Liam finally went to sleep. Odell sighed a breath of relief and left the room.
The room returned to silence, but the little girl’s tears continued to trickle down her cheeks.
Fortunately, Liam was there to hug her to sleep.
A while later, he noticed a moving figure outside the door, so he quietly had a glance at the doorway.
Outside the door, Violet leaned against the wall and took pictures of inside the room with her phone.
Chapter 464
After getting a picture of the brother and sister sleeping soundly, Violet sent the picture to Sylvia.
“Madam, don’t worry. Isabel isn’t crying anymore.”
“Thank you, Violet.”
Violet chatted with Sylvia for a while before sneaking away.
Little did she know, the boy was watching her with his big eyes from inside the room.
Inside a secret room in Lush Heaven, the windows were shut tight. Sylvia was sitting by the window, studying
the picture she had gotten from Violet.
The picture showed Isabel curled up in her brother’s arms. Her face was flush, and there seemed to be tears
lingering at the tip of her eyelashes.
Liam was the same age as her, but he looked after her like an adult would.
The picture choked Sylvia up and made her emotional, but thinking that Tara was the one who caused all this
stopped her from tearing up.
It was not the time to be emotional. She had to find a way to locate Melanie!
Back at the Carters’, Isabel and Liam went to Madam Carter’s room after dinner.
Isabel lay down beside Madam Carter and rambled away as usual, and she bad-mouthed about Tara exclusively today.
Violet listened to the little girl’s complaints and giggled.
Then, Liam suddenly said, “Violet, can you lend me your phone? I want to play a game.”
“Okay.” Violet gave him her phone without a second thought.
Liam sat opposite her and turned the phone horizontal to make it look like he was playing games.
In fact, he was checking on the chat history Violet had with the secret contact.
He widened his eyes and read through all the contents of the chat.
After he went through all the messages, his hands trembled a little. He was certain that this secret contact was his mother.
His mother had told Violet to check on their emotions for the day, and if she noticed anything out of the blue, she was to inform her right away.
Besides that, he even saw in their previous chat history that his mother had told Violet to look for her in Lush Heaven.
‘So, Mommy is in Lush Heaven?’
Violet then suddenly said, “Liam, hold the phone further away.
Your eyes will be strained if you’re too close.”
Liam subtly closed the chat window and continued playing his game.
At night, the brother and sister slept beside Madam Carter.
Odell came in and carried them back to the room where Sylvia used to stay. They had been sleeping in this room for some time now, and it felt just like they had done so many nights ago.
He took their jackets and shoes off before tucking them under the sheets.
The moment Odell went out, Liam opened his eyes. He shook his sister’s arm to wake her.
Isabel opened herblurry eyes and asked, “What is it?”
Liam said in a small voice, “Sis, I know where Mommy is.”
Isabel widened her eyes in surprise. “Really?”
Liam protruded his lips and said, “Cross my heart.”
“Then, let’s go find Mommy! ” Isabel got so excited that she tried to climb out of bed.
Liam pulled her back and whispered, “Don’t be reckless. Mommy is in a secret place, so we cannot expose
her. We must first come up with a secret plan, and we mustn’t let other people know, not even Aunt Tonya.”
He could tell from Violet’s chat history that his mother did not want anyone to locate her at the moment, so
they had to act in secret.
Isabel hummed a reply, pleased that she could finally see her mother.
The two of them hid under the sheets and devised a plan to reunite with their mother.
Chapter 465
Odell was in the other room and had no idea that his children were plotting to locate their mother.
He stood in front of the balcony with the windows opened. The night breeze blew against his towering figure.
He was leaning against the wall with a cigarette in his mouth while toying with a wooden tortoise in his hand.
The wooden tortoise’s edges had been filed down by the repeated caresses, but the words carved on its
stomach was still visible.
As he stared at the little tortoise with a deep gaze, his mind uncontrollably played the scenes of that woman.
Her arrogance, the injustice to her, and the blank expression that she wore…everything was being replayed in
his mind. From the moment he confirmed his feelings for her to the moment she jumped into the lake, every
expression on her face flashed in his mind.
He still failed to understand why would the woman, being the shameless person who cared a lot about the
kids, would have jumped into the lake.
If he could start over, he would not have broken her leg anymore. As long as she acknowledged her mistake
and promised to live a peaceful life with him, he could forget about her affair with Edmund and even his
grandmother’s incident.
All of a sudden, a strong gust blew.
It blew the cloud of smoke away and cleared his vision together with his thoughts.
It had been four months, four whole months since she had fallen into the lake.
If she were alive, she would have come back for the kids, but she was nowhere to be found. There was not even a trace that she was alive.
‘Is she really dead?’
After that, he tossed the cigarette butt on the ground and uncorked the whiskey on the table. He swigged straight from the bottle instead of pouring it into a glass.
The next day, Isabel and Liam got up as usual, but no matter what Aunt Tonya and Sebastian said, they refused to eat. They simply grabbed a few bites and that was it.
Aunt Tonya even tried to coax them with their favorite snacks, but it was useless. Not only Liam, but even the gluttonous Isabel also refused to look at the snacks.
In the afternoon, Sebastian told the kitchen to prepare their favorite food and they still refused to eat.
Aunt Tonya asked, “Isabel, Liam, are you two feeling alright?”
Isabel pouted. “Here. This hurts.”
She pointed at her chest.
Aunt Tonya helplessly turned to Sebastian, requesting help.
Sebastian then pulled his phone out and called Odell.
Then, Liam suddenly said, “We want to go out.”
Sebastian held the call and said, “You want to go out and play?”
Aunt Tonya was intrigued too.
Isabel then said, “We want to go to Aunt Sherry’s place.”
“Who’s Aunt Sherry?” Sebastian asked.
Aunt Tonya said, “Sherry is Sylvia’s best friend.”
“Then, let’s contact her immediately,” Sebastian said.
“Okay, I’ll give her a call.”
Aunt Tonya just happened to have Sherry’s contact, so she made the call. Meanwhile, Isabel and Liam stood
side by side and stared at Aunt Tonya with an intrigued gaze.
Half an hour later, Sherry drove a fancy pink car to the house.
“Isabel, Liam, my babies! I’m here! ” Sherry strode into the living room.
Liam and Isabel exchanged a quick glance before they ran towards Sherry.
Liam politely greeted, “Aunt Sherry.”
Isabel said, “Aunt Sherry, you look so beautiful today! ”