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All of a sudden, Xavier's end went silent.
As Avery took out the utensils from the cupboard, she could not help but ask, “Is something wrong, Mr.
Dartsley? Can you hear me speaking?”
A minute or two later, there was still no response from Xavier's end.
By then, her colleagues who were living upstairs had long woken up. The place was filled with people
walking around. Christopher was even watering the plants while ranting aloud, “According to the
weather forecast, the temperature is expected to drop by next Wednesday. We'll have to take these few
pots of plants indoors. Does anyone want to adopt one or two plant babies? If not, I'll be taking all of
them.”
The place was filled with so much commotion that Avery could not tell if there were any movements
coming from Xavier's end.
By the third minute of silence, Avery decided to hang up the call. She assumed that Xavier had
received a sudden task or that the signal was weak.
Right at that moment, however, Xavier's voice rang out from the phone again. His voice sounded a lot
clearer than before.
“Sorry, Ms. Rumpley. The signal was very poor all of a sudden,” Xavier explained.
“It's okay. I guessed so too. I was just about to hang up.” Avery passed the plates to another female
colleague as she spoke.
The colleague took the plates to the table.
“What did you say just now, Ms. Rumpley? I couldn't hear you clearly.” Xavier purposefully made Avery
repeat the last line she said.
Avery was truly worried that the two children would have to face their father's wrath. Without thinking
too much about it, she repeated herself. “I said, I'm just worried that he'll unload his temper tantrums to
the kids.”
Xavier had always been perplexed as to why Avery cared so deeply for Cayden's children.
Nevertheless, he knew that it was between Cayden and Avery only. As an assistant, he could only
follow what Cayden asked him to do. “Ms. Rumpley, to be completely honest with you, I have no idea
whether Mr. Moore had lost his temper at the children when we arrived in Ackleton. However, I did hear
that...” Xavier's voice trailed off.
“What is it?” Avery felt as though her heart was hanging on a tight string.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtXavier continued, “When Mr. Moore arrived here last night, he received a call to go to a dinner party.
The two children were left in the condominium alone without anyone to look after them... They didn't
even have dinner. Zach got so hungry that he brought Rory downstairs to look for food with the little
cash they have. The management of the residential area saw them but did not stop them. However,
we've not heard from them ever since they left the condominium last night...”
“What?” Avery's voice began to tremble. The children have not returned ever since they left to buy
food?
Cayden continued to explain, “Even I just got the news this morning. Mr. Moore had a bit too much to
drink last night and had fallen asleep in a hotel. He has not woken up yet and no one dared to wake
him up.”
As he was talking, Xavier heard a panicked voice on the other end of the line.
Panic-stricken, Avery rushed back to Ackleton without a second thought. She just informed Christopher
that she was leaving as he was in charge of the team without even taking the time to explain, “Sorry.
There's an emergency at home. I need to go back.”
Christopher nodded without another word.
Who would stop someone from going home in times of emergency?
On the way back to Ackleton, Avery could not sit still for a minute. She kept dialing Cayden's number
again and again frantically.
Alas, his phone had been switched off.
Meanwhile, on the other end of the city, the leaves outside the mansion had turned gold with a tint of
red on their edges. It was a beautiful sight to behold.
From afar, three luxurious cars approached the mansion. The first and last cars were exactly the same,
but the one in the middle had some slight variation. The one seated in the car was none other than the
state secretary, William Lambert. He had just returned from a meeting in Beshya.
Claire got a phone call from him, then she and Nicole went downstairs to welcome William home.
Nicole took a step forward and helped William carry his briefcase. “The weather's getting chilly, Dad. Is
it cold in Beshya? Please take care of yourself whenever you're away from home.”
William merely nodded in response before changing the topic. “Have you two eaten breakfast?”
“We know that you're coming back, so we waited for you.” As Claire spoke, she removed her husband's
jacket and handed it to the housekeeper behind her.
The housekeeper then took the jacket and hanged it on the rack.
Meanwhile, another housekeeper started filling their bowls with warm oatmeal.
Whenever William was home, there would have to be a copy of the newspaper on the breakfast table.
He had cultivated the habit of reading the newspaper since he was young just like all the men in the
Lambert household.
Upon noticing the traces of tiredness on William's face, Nicole put down her spoon. “Mom, Dad, you
two go ahead. I'm done eating.”
“Come on. You've barely eaten anything. You better not cut down on your food intake to lose weight,
young lady. You should take care of your body.” Claire had mistaken Nicole's actions for being afraid of
gaining weight.
“I was starving before Dad returned, so I snuck into the kitchen and ate two bagels before this,” Nicole
pouted, embarrassed.
In return, Claire teased her by calling her mischievous.
“Shall I read the newspaper for you, Dad?” Nicole picked up the newspaper. “By the time I finish
reading, you should be done with your meal. You should go rest upstairs after eating.”
A warm feeling rose to Claire's chest as she beamed at her daughter. She was immensely proud that
Nicole had grown to be a filial child.
Nicole began reading the newspaper in full concentration. After all the years of being raised by the
Lamberts, she had gotten a good understanding of the type of news that would interest William.
Whenever she read a passage that interested or concerned William, there would be a major change in
his expression. Before long, Nicole had reached the business section of the newspaper.
Nicole knew that news related to Cayden would be mentioned in that section as she had read the
newspaper earlier that morning.
Upon finding the news article that was related to Cayden, Nicole decided to read the newspaper aloud
to William.
“The development of the town is under progress. On the east side of Ackleton, property prices are
following a trend of significant increase. The developmental plan coupled with the restoration of the
town has proved to be the savior of the economy in Ackleton.”
Nicole had intentionally read that passage last, as she hoped to hear her parents discuss the topic.
A black and white photo was published in the newspaper as well. The photo showed the opening
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmceremony of the development of the town. It successfully captured the serious atmosphere of the
ceremony.
Cayden was dressed smartly in a suit. He stood out among all the elites and bureaucrats. He had the
countenance of a composed and mature businessman.
Nicole was captivated by his appearance in the photo. The longer she stared, the more she became
lost in thought. Stretching out her slender fingers, she caressed the figure of Cayden in the photo
gently.
“What's going on, Nicole?” Claire noticed that Nicole had been staring at the business section for quite
a while. It did not escape her eyes that Nicole had touched Cayden's figure in the blurred photo.
Claire was once a young woman too. It took her no time to guess what was going on in Nicole's mind.
“N-Nothing! I've finished reading. I'm just going to head upstairs first to take a look at the script.” Nicole
guessed that Claire had seen through her. With reddened cheeks, Nicole placed the newspaper down
and dashed upstairs.
When he was young, William was the epitome of dense. He had never understood the thoughts of a
woman. He pursued Claire because he thought she looked pretty and that she had a gentle personality.
Who wouldn't want a wife who was pretty and gentle? William wanted a wife like her, so he told Claire
straight to her face that he wanted her to be his wife.
In his middle age, William was even more clueless about women's thoughts. At the sight of Nicole
scurrying away from the table, he stared at Claire quizzically.
Claire sighed softly. “Your daughter is catching feelings for Allie's son.”
Only then did William understand. He picked up the newspaper and glanced at it before nodding in
satisfaction. “That should be an easy task. I shall personally arrange for them to meet up when I return.
Our daughter sure has a good taste in men.”
In the meantime, Avery had arrived in Ackleton. Then, she went to Xavier to get the keys to the
condominium.
As she hurried to the condominium, Xavier's words kept replaying in her ears. “Truth be told, Boss is
impeccable when it comes to business. There is no flaw you can find in him. However, when it comes
to raising children, he really isn't cut out for it.”
Avery opened the door of the condominium. She wanted to see if there were any clues in the
condominium. Perhaps the two children had left a note saying where they went.
However, when she stepped foot into the condominium, she saw the man who was supposed to be
drunk and knocked out in a hotel lying on the couch. Cayden's brows were knitted together. It looked as
though he was asleep.
In his arms laid Rory, who was drooling in her sleep. Zachary was lying on the other end of the sofa
with his limbs all over the place like an octopus.
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