Chapter 230

Chapter 230

Ella glanced at Joshua.

Noticing he didn't look too happy, she added some food to Aurora's plate, trying to change the subject.

"Aurora, eat more. Your dad made all of this himself."

Not only was Aurora's physical development slower than that of other kids her age, but her appetite was getting worse too.

Since Ella didn't directly answer her earlier question, Aurora didn't push it. She just ate a few bites and put down her fork. "Mom, Dad, I'm full. I want to go play."

Seeing she'd eaten so little, Ella insisted, "No, you ate too little. Eat a bit more, okay?"

"But I really can't eat anymore." Aurora frowned, looking troubled.

Since she really couldn't eat more, Ella couldn't force her.

"Alright," she gave in and let Aurora leave the table to play.

Then she turned to Joshua. "Any progress on Samuel's end?"

She was referring to the special medicine.

Three years had flown by. If the drug development ultimately failed, Ella was considering whether to go see Michael again.

"Let's give him a bit more time," Joshua said. "This kind of thing can't be developed in just a day or two."

He knew that if Samuel had any good news, he'd notify him right away. Since there was no news, it meant there hadn't been a breakthrough yet. There was no need to keep asking.

"Mom, is the medicine Aurora needs really with Uncle Michael?"

Dorian was still at the table. He'd understood his parents' conversation and couldn't help asking.

Before, he'd been ready to go find Michael for Ella's sake. If Aurora's condition didn't improve and he couldn't find another way, he would seriously consider going to Michael to get the medicine.

"Dorian, what medicine are you talking about? Don't overthink things." Ella was worried about Dorian and immediately denied it.

But in fact, Dorian understood everything.

Seeing that Ella didn't want to talk about it, he didn't press further and just lowered his head to continue eating.

After dinner, he took the initiative to clear the dishes and take them to the kitchen to wash.

Joshua couldn't help praising him for being so thoughtful and hardworking.

Ella got up to go find Aurora.

She searched Aurora's room and checked the front and back of the house, but didn't see any sign of Aurora.

Panic gripped her, and she immediately ran back to the dining room to tell Joshua and Dorian. "Joshua, Dorian, Aurora's missing."

By now, it was completely dark outside.

And this was their first day in this unfamiliar place.

Joshua worried that Aurora had really gotten lost and immediately took off his apron and rushed out.

In fact, Aurora had gone on her own to find the two people who'd been following them.

When she saw them, she spoke directly, "Let me stay with my mom and dad for a few more days. In a few days, I'll go with you. I promise I won't cry or make a fuss. I'll also leave my parents a letter, so they probably won't call the police."

The two men in black looked at each other, clearly not expecting Aurora to be so bold as to come find them on her own, and to know their identities.

This left them unsure how to respond.

Just then, Joshua and Ella's anxious calls came from not far away. "Aurora! Aurora, where are you? Come out, okay? You don't know this place, stop hiding!"

Aurora worried that Joshua and Ella would find this spot soon, so she said to the two men in black again, "If I don't want to go, you can't take me. My dad is really good at this stuff. He'll catch you right away."

"You should leave now. Give me a few days. After I spend some good time with them, I'll come find you and go with you."

The two men in black agreed to her proposal.

Aurora knew exactly what she was doing. The master's orders were not to hurt the child, but there was no rule about bringing her back within a specific timeframe. Waiting a few more days was no problem.

After reaching an agreement, the men in black left first.

Aurora heard the worry in Joshua and Ella's voices and immediately put on a smile and ran toward them. "Dad! Mom! I'm here, I'm okay!"

When Ella and Joshua saw Aurora running back from the darkness, they pulled her into their arms and couldn't help scolding her harshly.

"What were you thinking! You don't know this place at all. Why did you run so far by yourself?"

"If you dare run off like this again, I'm really going to spank you!"

Aurora took Ella's hand and apologized in a wheedling tone. "I'm sorry, Mom. I won't do it again. Don't be angry—being angry is bad for the baby."

Joshua also spoke up, "Aurora's fine, that's what matters. Just remind her so she knows not to do this again."

Only then did Ella stop and led Aurora back to the house by the hand.

The three of them had just entered when they found they had visitors.

A mother and daughter.

Ella recognized them. The older one, she used to call Aunt Bella when she was little. The younger one was her age, named Zara Hernandez, Bella's daughter. Though not as heavy as Bella, she was quite plump, with dark skin, and looked very sturdy.

Ella clearly remembered that when they were kids, Zara always led the bullying against her, calling her a wild child with no parents. Every time she came back from Michael's castle, the nice things she had would be taken by Zara.

She really couldn't understand why people like this would come here.

Seeing them return, Bella immediately pulled Zara up and walked toward Ella with a smile.

"Ella, you finally came home! You don't know—you've been gone for over ten years. We've missed you so much."

Zara's eyes were glued to Joshua, practically drooling.

She completely ignored Ella and smiled directly at Joshua, "Hi, I'm Zara Hernandez. Nice to meet you."

Zara had grown up in this village. After one divorce, she'd stayed single, making a living doing farm work every day. This was the first time she'd seen a man from the city—so fair and tall, handsome like a movie star. Her eyes went straight.

Joshua considered himself unprejudiced toward anyone, but when Zara reached out to shake his hand, he still instinctively felt repulsed. He just nodded politely in response.

Ella explained to Joshua, "This is Bella, who lives at the village entrance, and this is her daughter."

Then Ella asked them, "Bella, it's so late. Is there something you need?"

Everyone had already greeted each other and exchanged pleasantries during the day. Coming again now, there must be some purpose. She noticed Zara's gaze stuck to Joshua, her eyes about to pop out.

Bella immediately pulled Aurora over and said to Ella, ingratiatingly, "Ella, this is Zara. You two were best friends when you were little. She stays home all day now with nothing to do. I see you found such a good husband—he must have lots of friends just as good as him, right? Could you introduce her to one?"

"Divorced is fine," Zara added bluntly, directly telling Joshua her requirements. "Main thing is he has to have money. Someone like you would be perfect."

Joshua could clearly feel her undisguised, aggressive gaze.

He felt very uncomfortable, took Aurora's hand, and walked over to Dorian's side, sat down with a cold expression, too lazy to deal with them anymore.

Hearing this mother and daughter's request, Ella smiled and answered, "I'm sorry, Bella. I don't know anyone who's single."

"How is that possible?" Zara glanced at Ella with disdain. "Didn't three men come with you? Besides your husband, there are two others."

"Ella, you can't forget about us just because you're living the good life now."

Ella's expression darkened. "The two outside are our drivers, and they're both married."

Hearing this, Zara's face immediately changed, and she said with disgust, "Drivers? I don't want drivers. Just find me someone like your husband."

Ella refused again, "I'm very sorry, I can't help with that."

"I think you just don't want me to marry a good man and live the same kind of life as you." Zara wouldn't give up and walked toward Joshua with a smile. "Sir, do you have any single friends? How about introducing me to one?"

Joshua had already seen that Ella really disliked this mother and daughter, so he dropped the politeness too.

"I don't have any. Sorry, we need to rest now. Please leave."

Hearing this, Bella got upset. "Why are you kicking us out? We're all from the same village. You can't look down on us just because you made it big in the city!"

She pointed at Ella and said to Joshua, "You don't know—when Ella was little, she was way worse than Zara!"

"When she was just a few years old, she was taken to the castle on the mountain and would stay for days."

"Zara saw it with her own eyes—when she was in her teens, she was already sleeping in the same bed with the man in the castle! A woman like her..."

"You old hag, don't you dare talk about my mom like that!" Aurora couldn't take it anymore. She put her hands on her hips and glared at them angrily. "She's ugly and fat, black as the bottom of a pot. She's not worth a single hair on my mom's head!"

"How could she deserve to marry a man as good as my dad? Get out now, and don't ever come to our house again!"

Dorian was furious too and got up to grab a broom to chase them out. "Don't you know what you are? And you want to compare yourself to my mom? My mom was just kidnapped here when she was little. How dare you even mention yourselves in the same breath as her?"

"Leave now! Or I'm going to get physical!"

Bella and Zara hadn't expected Aurora and Dorian to suddenly blow up. They couldn't very well fight with children, so they forced smiles and said to Ella, "Ella, I was just joking with you."

"We really missed you, that's why we came to see you. Even if you can't introduce Zara to someone, finding her a decent job would work too."

"Get out!" Dorian didn't care what they said and just pushed them out with the broom.

Seeing that neither Ella nor her husband stopped the children, Bella and Zara had no choice but to leave resentfully.

But Joshua had caught the key information in Bella's words.

He looked at Ella. "The person they were talking about—is it Michael?"

He'd investigated Michael's background before, and now he remembered he had some impression of this area. There did seem to be a castle on the mountaintop, a Johnson family property built specially for Michael's rest and recovery.

So when Ella was little, she often went to that castle and stayed with Michael?

At this thought, Joshua's heart felt sour again.