After finishing her meal, Deanna went upstairs for a nap.
In the afternoon, she was asleep when Xavier returned.
Xavier also brought back the investigation results.
"Mr. Mercer, I found some clues. It seems Garrett used illegal means to transfer Dr. Deanna's mother's shares back then."
Standing in the middle of the study, he reported his findings. "Legally, this was a crime, but since there's no evidence and too much time has passed..."
Although he didn't finish his sentence, Lance understood.
Lance immediately frowned, his eyes flashing coldly.
No wonder Deanna was reluctant to talk about it.
Without evidence, reclaiming the shares would be very difficult.
However, now that Lance knew about it, he didn't intend to stand by idly.
He furrowed his brow in thought for a moment and then instructed, "Find a way to gather evidence, especially from those who were involved back then. No matter who they are, no one can take what belongs to Deanna!"
"I understand," Xavier nodded, accepting the order, though he couldn't help but marvel internally.
Since Mr. Mercer found out Gregory and Chloe were his children, he had been increasingly attentive to Dr. Deanna. Xavier wondered when Mr. Mercer would finally win her over.
Lost in thought, he turned and left the study to start his work.
Shortly after he left, Deanna woke up.
After a quick wash, she went to the herb garden to continue cultivating rare medicinal plants.
She was busy for most of the day.
It wasn't until evening when Lance came to call her to pick up the kids that she stopped.
"Time flies so fast; it feels like half a day just passed," Deanna remarked.
Lance looked at her and said softly, "You were too focused. Let's go; if we're any later, the kids will get anxious."
With that, they left the villa one after the other and got into the car.
When they arrived at the kindergarten, Chloe and Gregory were overjoyed to see them together.
"Mommy, Daddy," Chloe shouted as she ran over.
Gregory followed closely behind.
Deanna was momentarily stunned by Chloe's shout, her eyes full of helplessness.
When Chloe got closer, Deanna gently tapped her on the head and scolded, "Didn't we agree you could only call him that once? No more calling him that randomly."
"But this is school; everyone knows Uncle is our daddy," Chloe said, pouting and holding her head in her hands.
Gregory chimed in, "Yeah, if we call him Uncle, other kids will laugh at us."
Hearing this made Deanna feel uneasy, but she still thought it was inappropriate.
Before she could say anything, Lance stepped in to defend the kids.
"It's fine if they call me that at school."
Actually, Lance would have loved for the kids to call him daddy all the time.
Seeing that Lance didn't mind, Deanna decided not to press the issue further.
The four of them then left together in the car like a family.
Unbeknownst to them, their every move was being photographed.
...
At the Mercer family mansion, Samantha sat on the sofa with a grim expression, holding a stack of photos featuring Deanna and Lance.
Among them were pictures of Lance picking up and dropping off the kids and spending time with them.
The butler reported from the side, "Additionally, Dr. Deanna stayed overnight at Mr. Mercer's place last night. This morning, he sent the kids to school and spent the day with Dr. Deanna at the hilltop estate instead of going to the company."
Upon hearing this, Samantha's face darkened further. She had never seen a doctor get so close to their patient.
What infuriated her more was that neither of them would admit it!
The more Samantha thought about it, the angrier she became. The photos in her hand felt like an eyesore.
Look at these pictures; they almost look like a family. If this continues, is her excellent son going to become a stepfather?
"No way! I absolutely cannot allow this to happen!"
Samantha slammed the photos onto the table with a stern face.
She had to find a way to separate them.
But she recalled how her previous attempts to persuade her son to stay away from Dr. Deanna had been brushed off by him.
This time, she needed to use some tactics to prevent this from happening and leave no room for excuses from her son.
With this in mind, Samantha had an idea.
She took out her phone and called her personal assistant, instructing, "Invite Dr. Vaughan from Yeukross to treat my son. Make sure he arrives by tomorrow."
Dr. Vaughan was a renowned herbalist doctor in the country, highly respected and known for his acupuncture skills.
Since her son's health depended on acupuncture, Dr. Vaughan should be able to help as well.
"Yes," the assistant nodded and hung up the phone.