After finally seeing her father off, Bella's anger was impossible to suppress.
"Deanna, damn you!"
In her view, Deanna must have said something to Lance, making him so relentless.
Of course, what angered her the most was that after all this time, Lance and Deanna were still together!
Could it be that even Lance's parents couldn't stop them from being together?
Thinking along these lines, she couldn't help but call her mother.
"Mom, is your plan working or not? Why are Lance and Deanna still together and even have the energy to trouble me!"
"What happened?" Kelly heard the anger in her daughter's voice and quickly asked with concern.
Bella recounted how Lance had sent someone to the company to demand money.
Unsurprisingly, Kelly's face didn't look any better after hearing this.
Lance's actions were clearly a slap in the face to the Cody family.
Thinking about this, Kelly said in a serious tone, "I understand. I'll visit Samantha shortly."
With that, she hung up the phone and asked the butler to prepare the car.
However, Bella was still uneasy and called her assistant to investigate Samantha's recent schedule.
Later that day, Kelly arrived at the Mercer family mansion.
As soon as she entered, she noticed changes in the old mansion.
The original Mercer family mansion featured Samantha's prized garden right at the entrance. Every flower and plant was personally tended by her and consisted of rare species.
Now, the garden had been turned into a lawn with a small family playground filled with children's toys.
Seeing this, Kelly had a bad feeling.
This feeling was confirmed after she spoke with Samantha.
"It's been a while since I last visited. I see your place has changed quite a bit. Where are your flowers?" Kelly asked casually.
Samantha smiled. "I moved them to the back."
"Why the sudden move?" Kelly pressed on, pretending to joke. "I see you've turned the garden into a family playground. Is there something going on at home?"
She really wanted to ask if Samantha was planning to become a step-grandmother now that Lance wanted to be someone else's stepfather.
Samantha understood her meaning but didn't intend to tell the truth. No matter how good their relationship was, this was a private matter for the Mercer family. Besides, she didn't want Bella to know about it.
"There's nothing going on, just some early preparations," Samantha answered vaguely.
Kelly didn't believe her and probed further. "Even if it's early preparations, isn't this a bit too early? And your flowers-you were so reluctant to let anyone touch them before, but now you've moved them all and won't tell me the truth."
Kelly's persistent questioning made Samantha's smile fade. To her, Kelly was crossing a line.
"This is my home. I can arrange it however I like. Why does there need to be a reason?"
"I was just joking," Kelly said with an awkward smile, realizing Samantha's displeasure.
Samantha looked at her, fully aware of Kelly's intentions for visiting. She decided to be direct. "I know why you're here. If Bella wants to marry Lance, she'll have to figure a way out herself. I can't interfere."
Kelly's smile froze at these words. She understood that Samantha was warning her.
To avoid further displeasing Samantha, she suppressed her frustration and changed the subject to gossip within their social circle.
Samantha's expression softened as she joined in the conversation.
However, the harmonious atmosphere had already been disrupted.
Before long, Kelly excused herself and left.
Samantha didn't try to stop her and asked the butler to see her out.
Meanwhile, Deanna had spent half the day working in the herb garden. She managed to gather all the mature herbs before nightfall.
Seeing Deanna's tired face, Lance felt a pang of sympathy. He took the tools from her hands and said gently, "Dinner is ready. Go wash your hands and you can eat."
"Thank you, Mr. Mercer," Deanna nodded without hesitation.
She then took Old Ashley for a quick wash before returning to the dining room.
The two little ones felt sorry for Deanna and Great-grandma for working all afternoon and kept piling food onto their plates.
The atmosphere in the dining room was warm and harmonious.
After dinner, Lance wanted Deanna to stay and rest for the night and return in the morning. But Deanna refused.
Although their relationship had changed somewhat recently, Samantha's visit today made her realize something important.
Her current relationship with Lance was still that of doctor and patient. Before they establish a love relationship, it was best to maintain a safe distance.
As her grandmother had said, she couldn't let history repeat itself.