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Esmeralda POV

We exchanged pleasantries with Julian. And immediately after we told him about the problem.

Well, Adrien did. I just watched them converse. After this, Julian began checking our security systems. To see if it had been bugged.

I had taken the children up for their nap time. Noah and Nora had fallen asleep the moment their body hit their bed.

Kiela's room was separate from their room. So I had to walk her to her room.

Then I tucked her in.

“Thank you.” She said in a calm voice. Her eyes avoided mine. I was getting worried by how reserved she had been. I'm too reserved.

As though she was afraid of expressing herself. She was this way in front of me most of the time. And it did hurt me that I made her uncomfortable.

“If you need anything, you can come to me, okay?”

She nodded. Still not looking at me.

I leaned in to kiss her on the forehead. But I felt her stiff immediately. So I stopped it.

Not wanting to make her uncomfortable. She opened her eyes when she felt that I had stopped.

Guilt transcended immediately in her eyes.

“I’m sorry. Please don’t be mad at me.” She pleaded.

Why was she apologizing in the first place? She did nothing wrong.

“Don’t apologize, honey. You did nothing wrong. Why are you apologizing?”

She grew mute. Her eyes stared blankly at nothing in particular. I could see the tears glossing in her eyes.

It made my heart ache.

“What is it? Do I make you uncomfortable?”

She nodded her head in disagreement.

“Should I get your dad?”

“No.” She said in an abrasive tone.

“Do you wish me to leave? Do you wish me to get something for you?”

“I just want my mommy. I want my house, my nanna.” She confessed. Her voice was very low. It was a miracle that I even heard her.

My heart seized the more. She was missing her formal lifestyle. And probably found it hard to adjust to this life.

“I’m sorry, dear. I know you wanted things to stay the same way. But sometimes in life, things get out of our hands.”

“Did you send my momma away? Why isn’t she with dad anymore? And why didn’t she come to visit me?”

It seemed my words didn’t exactly get to her. Adrien had told me that she had been refined and adjusting. But somehow, I feel it’s cause I wasn’t around.

And cause she thought Diane would be the one to come back here. Not me.

“I didn’t send your momma. Your momma loves you. But she can’t see you right now. And your momma and dada decided to separate from one another.”

“Why? They love each other! Why did you separate them?” Her voice was filled with hurt. Her face set in a frown.

“I didn’t- just get some sleep. Your dada would come to explain it all to you.” She didn’t respond to me.

I knew anything I said would only fall out of reasoning to her. She believes that I ruined her perfect life. And only Adrien would be able to make her see the reasoning.

“Have a nice nap,” I told her before getting up and heading back downstairs.

I made a mental note to remind Adrien about Kiela.

Getting downstairs, I noticed Adrien and Julian were discussing something. And by the look on both faces. I could tell it was pretty serious.

“The kids have been tucked in for their nap time. Though I had a little problem with Kiela.” I said over my mind link with Adrien.

He turned to me. Indicating that he had heard me over the mind link.

I didn’t know it would work. But it turns out it did.

Worry is set on Adrien's face in the form of worry lines.

“What problem?” Adrien asked over the mind link.

“We will discuss it later,” I said, ending the mind-link conversation.

I arrived at where they were both standing.

“How is the search going?” I asked Julian.

“Well, there is nothing upturn in your security system. Everything is in place.”

“How then did the person who texted me? Knew of everything that I did?”

“That’s the mystery.” Adrien chipped in with A frustrated tone.

“But that isn’t the only way someone can view your life activities.”

This caused a confused expression on both Adrien's and my faces.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Another way of viewing your life is through your phones.”

“Our phones?”

“Yeah. Your phone has an inbuilt camera and audio. All they need to do is hack it. And they can access everything on your phone. And around your phone.”

“Can you check if it’s bugged then?” Adrien asked.

“Yeah. However, it would take some time. But yeah.”

“Alright. You can use my office space. For your thing.” I offered.

“I wish I could. But I need more than the phones to check if it’s bugged.”

“Just mine? Or all phones in the house?” I asked him.

“All phones. You can never know which one is bugged.” He said.

“Can we trust him to take the phones away? What if he is working for this mystery stalker?” I asked Adrien through the mind link.

“I’ll follow him.” He replied in the mind link.

“Alright then, let’s get going.” He told Julian.

Who nodded in agreement. He accepted the whole idea of Adrien following him. This is another indication that he might not be this mystery stalker.

“Can I come with?” I asked.

Adrien was already nodding his head in disagreement.

“Yes. Besides, I’m checking out your phone. So they may be some things I may need to confirm from you.”

“You can confirm it with me. No need to endanger yourself.” Adrien said sternly.

I rolled my eyes.

“Come on, Adrien. I want to be involved in what is going on in my life. Besides, I’ll be with you. So I’ll be fine.”

Adrien looked like he didn’t particularly like the idea. “Alright, you stay close to me.” He said as a matter of fact.

I smiled. “Thanks.”

We moved out of the house. And drove straight to Julian’s.

When we got there, we went straight to Julian's surveillance room.

Where we sat and waited for him to start his work.

He checked my phone first as the text message was sent to me.

After an hour of waiting for him.

He was finally done.

“Did you find anything?”

“Strangely, No. everything is fine.” He said.

“Alright, check with the others,” Adrien told him.

He nodded.

And after five hours of sitting there watching him hack his way through all the phones. Adrien’s, the children, and even the one we gave to Kiela.

He finally calls our attention. Indicating that he was done.

I felt tired from sitting still and watching him through it.

I had been cuddled against Adrien when he called to our attention.

“Did you find anything?” Adrien asked.

“No. But I did see some strange messages on one of the kid's phones.”

Confusion sprawled over Adrien’s face. Mirroring my exact emotion.

“Which of the kids?”

“I dont know. But-“ he gave me an unruly stare.

“You should see for yourself.” He handed the phone to me.

I collected it. The phone belonged to Kiela. And somehow, I felt this wasn’t good.

What possible lousy thing could be in there? And why was it on Kila’s phone?

“This is Kiela’s phone,” Adrien said out loud.

I nodded.

I opened the phone to check what Julian was talking about.

“Check the messages. And the call logs.” He advised.

I did as he said. And I felt my heart seize at seeing the messages before me.

It was a text between Diane and Kiela. And Ray, too.

The messages dated back to the times I had been in a coma.

Till today.

I checked the recent message.

“Momma, please come take me away. I don’t want to stay here.”

I scrolled down.

“You are right. Ms Esmeralda is a bad woman. She was kissing Dada. I hate her. I hate dada. And I hate Noah and Nora the most.”

I swallowed hard.

“Don’t trust her-“That was Diane's message, the ones before Kiela sent her the ones I just read.

I scrolled down to the beginning of the chats. All so it could align well.

It was Kiela who texted.

And she did for a while. Till eventually, Diane answered. The texts looked normal at first.

A mother missing her daughter. However, as I went down, my heart constricted more.

Diane spoilt her mind about Noah, Nora, and even Adrien.

Kiela was confused about living with them at first.

Diane told her that she would come for her. And that she should never forgive her father. And that she should hate Nora and Noah. As they made Adrien hurt her.

The lying bitch!

Kiela defended Nora and Noah at some point.

However, it all changed the day I came back home. Kiela felt confused. And went to her mother. And Diane wasted no time in tainting the poor girl’s mind about me

She called me names. Told Kiela that I caused Adrien to separate from me. That I was the wrong person. And that Kiela should be careful of me.

That would explain why she was uncomfortable around me.

She also made Kiela give her tabs about the house's events. However, at some point, she had stopped responding.

I think that was the time Adrien captured her and Ray.

And that was her last text message.

When I was done reading it, I noticed that Adrien had been reading it with me. And his demeanor had changed to an immensely angered one.

While I held a sad and pitying one, I pitied the girl who was caused to be the child of a woman like Diane.