In the cozy room, Lance lay on the bed with his shirt off, his back covered with silver needles like a porcupine.
As the last needle was placed, Deanna wiped the sweat from her forehead, sat down on a chair nearby, and took a sip of water from the cup on the table.
She glanced at the man on the bed and casually asked, "By the way, I haven't asked in a while. Any news from Mr. Mercer about the person I asked him to find?"
After speaking, Deanna stared intently at Lance's back.
Perhaps she was too focused, as she immediately noticed the man's body tense up.
For a moment, she gripped the water cup tightly, her fingertips turning white from the pressure.
At that moment, without Lance needing to answer, she already knew the truth.
This man knew everything...
However, Lance was unaware that he had been exposed. He continued to lie, apologetically saying, "Sorry, it's been too long. My men haven't found any useful information yet."
He was lying!
That was Deanna's first reaction, and she couldn't help but feel disappointed.
An hour and a half later, after Deanna finished removing the needles, she coldly said, "It's getting late. Mr. Mercer, you should head back early."
Leaving those words behind, she ignored Lance's shocked expression, turned around, left the room, and went back to her bedroom, closing the door behind her.
Lance watched her disappear and stood there in a daze for a moment before furrowing his brow.
Was she upset?
But he felt that Deanna wasn't that kind of person.
Though he had many doubts in his heart, Lance didn't disturb Deanna.
Before leaving, he instructed the two little ones, "If your mommy shows any unusual behavior, notify me immediately."
"Don't worry, Uncle. We'll let you know right away," Chloe nodded obediently and reluctantly saw him off.
Old Ashley watched him leave and felt something was off. She walked towards Deanna's room.
She knocked on the door and said, "Deanna, can I come in?"
"Come in," Deanna's muffled voice came from inside.
She watched her grandmother walk in and suppressed her turbulent emotions. "Grandma, is there something you need?"
"Nothing much. Just wanted to let you know that Mr. Mercer has left," Old Ashley said while observing Deanna's expression.
Unfortunately, Deanna's face showed no emotion. She nodded lightly, "I know."
The more she acted this way, the stranger it seemed to others.
"Did you have a disagreement with Mr. Mercer again?" Old Ashley couldn't help but ask.
Seeing the concern on her grandmother's face, Deanna forced a smile and explained, "No, it's just that the medicine-making process today didn't go smoothly. I'm a bit upset. Don't worry about it."
"Really?"
Old Ashley looked at her skeptically, clearly not convinced.
But as Deanna held her hand and acted coyly, she couldn't press further. After a few reminders, she left the room.
The room returned to an eerie silence.
...
Early the next morning, Lance arrived at Deanna's apartment.
He was concerned about what happened last night and wanted to see if Deanna had recovered.
To his surprise, he found no one there.
"Mommy went out early. If you're looking for her, why not give her a call?" Gregory tilted his head and looked at Lance.
Lance thought for a moment and took out his phone to call Deanna.
However, the call didn't go through.
The two little ones blinked their eyes and said, "Maybe Mommy is busy?"
Although they didn't know why their mommy didn't answer the phone, they didn't want any misunderstandings or conflicts between their mommy and uncle.
Lance could sense their thoughts and put away his phone, gently ruffling their hair.
"Since your mommy won't be back for a while, I'll take you to kindergarten. I'll come back later to find her."
"Thank you, Uncle," the two little ones thanked him obediently.
Meanwhile, Deanna was at a paternity testing center.
Early in the morning, she had taken hair samples from the two little ones and Lance and left home.
Even though she had suspicions in her mind, she wanted to confirm it herself to be fully convinced.
"When will the report be ready?" she asked the staff with a pale face.
The staff seemed used to dealing with people like her and replied indifferently, "If you expedite it, it can be ready in a day but will cost extra. The normal process takes three days."
"I want it expedited!" Deanna responded without hesitation.
After all, money wasn't an issue for her now.
What mattered to her was seeing the results.
Half an hour later, Deanna walked out of the testing center in a foul mood.
Or rather, ever since she learned the truth yesterday, she hadn't felt good.
She couldn't help but look up at the bright sun overhead as her thoughts drifted away.
The scandal that disgraced her and the death of her mother left an indelible mark in her life.