Chapter 191 Guarding You

Chapter 191 Guarding You

Ethan was still sleeping, and Catherine didn't go to the office. She had planned to stay home for the next few days.

She pulled a chair to the bedroom doorway, phone resting on her lap, checking on the sleeping Ethan inside every few minutes.

Ethan had woken up startled around 3 AM. Catherine was so worried when she saw this that she quickly went over to comfort him.

"It's okay, I'm here. You can tell me if something's wrong."

Whether it was her voice or sheer exhaustion, Ethan had drifted back to sleep without even realizing it.

At 7 AM, Nora's car pulled up at the Russell Villa. She came in with breakfast, followed by a sleepy-looking Liam.

"Catherine, breakfast." Nora set the bag down on the dining table. After one look at the dark circles under Catherine’s eyes, she didn’t bother commenting, she simply pushed the bread toward her.

In this situation, who could sleep? Everyone was carrying something heavy in their hearts.

Catherine took the bread and bit into it. “Aren’t you going to your studio?”

"Not today."

"You have three client drafts to work on."

"I don't care." Nora poured a glass of milk and plopped down on the sofa. "My job today is to protect you guys. No one can talk me out of it."

Catherine looked at her but said nothing more, just quietly ate the bread in her hand.

Liam grabbed a can of coke from the fridge. "Don't look at me. She dragged me here. But since I’m already here, it’d be weird to leave.”

Nora shot him a glare. "You drove the car, you bought the breakfast. How can you say I dragged you here?"

Liam didn’t bother arguing. His ears had already turned slightly red. He lowered his head and pretended to scroll through his phone, there was no dignity in explaining this sort of thing.

Catherine wasn't in the mood to deal with their situation. She put down the bread, her voice a bit hoarse.

"I want Ethan to skip kindergarten for a few days, just stay home. It's safer."

Nora nodded immediately. "Right, home is safe. I'll watch him."

She didn’t have anything urgent at her company anyway, so keeping an eye on things made her feel more at ease.

When Ethan woke up, he seemed in good spirits. He sat on the living room carpet building with blocks, but would stop frequently to turn and check if Catherine was still there.

Once he confirmed she was, he'd lower his head and continue building.

Nora crouched beside him, handing him blocks and trying to get him to talk. Sometimes she'd deliberately stack blocks wrong, and Ethan would reach out, his little face showing a conflicted expression at times.

Liam sat in a corner making phone calls, keeping his voice very low. You could catch a few words that sounded somewhat off.

In the afternoon, Ethan suddenly spoke up, his face showing some hesitation.

"Mom, can I go to kindergarten tomorrow?"

Catherine's hand paused. "Why do you want to go?"

She really didn't want to agree, but looking at that little face, all her words got stuck in her throat.

"The teacher said tomorrow we'll learn painting. I want to paint a picture for Mom." Ethan hugged his blocks, his voice small. "And I want to play with the other kids."

Catherine didn't answer right away, She just smoothed his hair gently.

"Let me think about it, okay?"

Ethan nodded and didn't ask again, lowering his head back to his blocks.

Nora leaned over, lowering her voice. "What are you planning to do?"

Catherine shook her head and said nothing.

That evening, after Ethan fell asleep, Catherine stared out the window. When Alexander came in, she was lost in thought.

"Thinking about Ethan going to school?"

"Yeah." Catherine didn't turn around. "He said today he wants to go to kindergarten, but all those people have been released. I'm worried."

Alexander walked over and sat across from her, his voice low.

"I've arranged everything at the kindergarten. All the matters have been handled, and anyone entering or leaving must be registered."

He paused, then continued, "I've also arranged four people to follow him all day. Two will be at the kindergarten gate, two in cars nearby."

Catherine turned to look at him, a trace of doubt in her eyes. She couldn't help asking.

"What's the deal with those people's bail? Can we find out who posted it?"

“We’re looking into it." Alexander didn't elaborate. "Just rest assured, they won't dare make another move right now. After so many of them got caught last time, K Group has to weigh whether it's worth it."

Catherine was silent for a moment, but felt there was some truth to that.

"Then let him go. Keeping him locked up at home isn't a solution. He's already sensitive by nature, keeping him cooped up will only make things worse."

"Mm." Alexander responded, pressing her head to his shoulder without saying anything else.

Early the next morning, Nora showed up right on time at the Russell Mansion. Her face carried a smile.

When Catherine opened the door, she saw Nora had changed into sportswear, hair in a ponytail, with a crossbody bag on her shoulder that looked stuffed full.

"What's all this..."

"I'm taking Ethan to school, and I'll pick him up in the afternoon." Nora patted her bag. "I brought a whole set of equipment. Taking him is no problem, don't worry."

Catherine looked at her, her lips moving. Some words were stuck in her throat, not knowing how to say them.

Nora waved her hand. "Don't be polite with me. Ethan and I already talked about it yesterday. He agreed to let me take him. You go to work, there's a pile of things waiting for you at the company."

Ethan ran downstairs with his Pikachu backpack, ran up to Nora, and looked up at her.

"Auntie Nora, let's go."

Nora crouched down and adjusted his backpack straps. "Alright, let's go."

Catherine stood at the door, watching Nora take Ethan's hand and get in the car, a feeling she couldn't quite describe in her heart.

Not far behind the car, two inconspicuous black vans were parked.

Once they drove off, Catherine lingered at the doorway for a few seconds before checking her phone. A message from Nora had come in.

[I'll send you the location when we get there. Stop worrying.]

At 4:30 PM, her phone buzzed with Nora’s live location, right at the kindergarten gate.

Then came a photo. Ethan stood at the school gate, holding up a drawing with three people drawn crookedly, with "Mom" written below.

Catherine stared at that photo for a long time, then locked her phone and placed it face-down on the desk.

She took a deep breath and picked up the stack of documents waiting for her. Later that afternoon, another message came through.

[Home safe. Ethan's eating cookies. All normal. Liam's guarding the door, chatting with the security. You can relax.]

Catherine leaned back in her chair. The tightness in her chest that had lingered for two days finally eased.As long as Ethan got home safely, that was what mattered.

She opened her computer and started handling the work emails that had piled up over the past few days.