Vincent Hawthorne hadn’t come home until late at night.
Tanya Sinclair didn’t mind, she didn’t care what he was doing.
Instead, Joy was holding her phone and made several calls to Vincent Hawthorne, as if she had some urgent matter to discuss with him.
Tanya Sinclair knocked on the door of the children’s bedroom.
"Caden, Joy, mommy’s coming in." The door wasn’t tightly closed; she pushed it open, only to see Joy alertly hiding her phone behind her back, a guilty look flashing in those bright eyes.
"What are you doing here?" Joy’s tone wasn’t welcoming.
She had just been sending voice messages to her dad, explaining about going to Marinus Park tomorrow with Cindy for fun. She didn’t want this wicked woman to know. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novel★fire.net
And for some reason, even though she knew deep down this bad woman couldn’t see, she inexplicably thought of the mango cupcakes she’d thrown into the trash the moment she saw her...
Tanya Sinclair of course noticed the phone hidden behind Joy’s back. It wasn’t a lie to say she felt loss, but she knew she couldn’t rush it.
"Joy, it’s getting late, it’s time for bath and sleep."
She had asked Aunt Lewis, who told her Caden had been independent since childhood and started bathing by himself since the beginning of this year.
But Joy was delicate and willful; she didn’t like bathing, always wanted bubble baths with various toys prepared beforehand, and had someone tell her stories to coax her into bathing.
She only behaved better when Cindy was around.
As expected, Tanya Sinclair was rejected as soon as she spoke.
Joy: "I don’t want to bathe."
Tanya Sinclair took a step back, gently and patiently said: "How about mommy helps you wipe your body? You’ve been at school all day, you must’ve sweated. You might be a bit stinky."
"I don’t..." Joy opened her mouth to refuse, but then remembered she had to go to Marinus Park with Cindy the next morning.
If Cindy smelled something unpleasant on her, that wouldn’t be good.
Thinking of this, Joy reluctantly agreed.
"Then have Aunt Lewis help me bathe."
Tanya Sinclair gently said: "Aunt Lewis had something to do and went home early. Mommy will help you bathe."
Actually, starting next week, Aunt Lewis would no longer be around the house.
Tonight, Tanya Sinclair purposely didn’t have Aunt Lewis make dinner, saying she wanted food from The Premier Pavilion, sending her off to buy it, and Aunt Lewis agreed without hesitation.
When leaving, she took advantage of Tanya Sinclair’s blindness and smugly left with a bulging bag.
Tanya Sinclair waited for her to leave, opened the fridge, and sure enough, the air-shipped Australian lobster from yesterday had been replaced with thumb-sized crayfish.
And the corner surveillance had caught everything.
Plus, the information from the private investigator Daisy Bell hired just came in, enough for her to kick Aunt Lewis out...
Joy certainly didn’t know this, she felt suspicious hearing Tanya Sinclair’s words.
"How can you help me bathe when you can’t see?" While speaking, she purposely reached to poke Tanya Sinclair’s sunglasses, only to have them caught precisely.
"You... you can see?"
Caden had just washed and emerged from the bathroom, and was surprised to see this scene.
Tanya Sinclair was prepared with a well-thought response, she smiled and explained: "Mommy’s good friend introduced her to a great eye doctor, my vision has partially recovered, but I’m still sensitive to light, so I need sunglasses."
Pretending to be blind had almost run its course; she had to ’get better’ officially when returning to work next week.
Joy hesitated and didn’t know whether to agree to let Tanya Sinclair bathe her...
Tanya Sinclair coaxed gently.
"Joy, mommy is great at storytelling. You can hear any story you want."
"...Really?" Joy was intrigued, thinking if she didn’t bathe, Cindy might disfavor her tomorrow.
After weighing it for a few seconds, she reluctantly nodded in agreement.
"Alright, just this once today."
Tanya Sinclair smiled and went to the bathroom to prepare the bathwater for Joy; Joy went to the wardrobe to find some pajamas and walked towards the bathroom. But suddenly she thought of something and turned around, running to Caden.
"Brother, tomorrow you can’t tell Cindy I let the bad woman bathe me."
Joy forcibly made him promise with a finger hook and stamp.
Then she swung her little pigtails and went to the bathroom.
Caden looked at Joy’s back and shook his head slightly in resignation; he climbed onto the bed and picked up the book by the bedside to start his bedtime reading.
Tanya Sinclair spent nearly an hour bathing Joy, deliberately telling a long story that captivated Joy, making her forget the time and forget her initial dislike.
Even when lying in bed, she was still reluctant to part.
Tanya Sinclair said unnoticed: "Next time, mommy will tell you a better story, okay?"
Joy was about to agree, but then the little phone by her pillow rang; it was Cindy’s exclusive ringtone.
The phone was face-down, so Tanya Sinclair couldn’t see the caller ID, but seeing Joy immediately grab the phone and nervously cover the screen, she guessed it was Cindy calling.
Tanya Sinclair’s smile froze.
Joy was in a hurry to chase her out.
"I’m going to sleep now, quickly leave!"
Tanya Sinclair’s gaze dimmed and she could only rise.
Before leaving, she saw Caden had already fallen asleep, tightly clutching the book in his hand.
Tanya Sinclair walked over and gently took the book from his hand, setting it aside, and tucked him in.
Gazing at her son’s angelic sleeping face, she smiled softly and whispered: "Goodnight, sweetheart. Mommy loves you."
Waking up, her greatest comfort came from Caden.
Once Tanya Sinclair closed the door, Joy immediately called Cindy back, sweetly explaining: "Hey Cindy, I was bathing just now, so I didn’t hear your call..."
Tanya Sinclair returned to her room, having composed herself.
She didn’t lay down immediately but instead took out her Alzheimer’s research materials to review them.
Even though seven years had passed, what she learned was deeply imprinted in her mind and wouldn’t fade. She quickly organized her upcoming research ideas...
Right then, she keenly heard movement downstairs.
—Vincent Hawthorne was back.
Tanya Sinclair swiftly gathered her materials and lay back on the bed. Soon, Vincent Hawthorne pushed the door open and came in.
"You’re back?" Tanya Sinclair feigned waking up as if disturbed.
Vincent Hawthorne unusually didn’t respond, instead raised a hand to turn on the bedroom light, the sudden brightness stinging Tanya Sinclair’s eyes.
She grabbed her nearby sunglasses and put them on.
Vincent Hawthorne immediately noticed something.
"Your eyesight recovered?"
Tanya Sinclair replied using her prepared excuse, without a change of expression: "Daisy’s doctor friend treated me, and it worked pretty well. My vision has recovered a little, but still blurry, it’ll be fully restored in a few days."
Vincent Hawthorne didn’t doubt it.
Tanya Sinclair’s eyesight recovery was also beneficial for him.
He pulled at his collar, turned to the nearby bar, and poured himself a drink.
Tanya Sinclair had loved Vincent Hawthorne for over a decade; being sensitive to his emotions was ingrained in her bones. She knew his mood was terrible now.
If it were before, she’d be eager to become a comfort to him.
Whenever Vincent Hawthorne frowned, she’d worry and lose sleep, desperate to solve his problems.
But now...she wasn’t interested at all, even felt a bit sleepy.
Vincent Hawthorne set down the glass and spoke heavily.
"Today Dad’s two listed companies’ stocks were maliciously shorted by capital, suffered heavy losses."
This piqued her interest.
Tanya Sinclair pretended to be surprisingly concerned: "How could this happen?"
Who was the kind soul to strike a blow to The Hawthorne Family?
Vincent Hawthorne didn’t answer her.
He leaned against the bar, standing with his back to the light, his usual gentle brows hidden in the dark, revealing a rare coldness.
"Yvonne said a man helped you out today, she saw with her own eyes that you got into that man’s car? Why didn’t you tell me about this?"