The two little ones stared at the message from Godmother, deep in thought.
They felt that Godmother made a lot of sense.
At that moment, another message from Julia arrived.
"By the way, wasn't your mommy going abroad to treat your Uncle Lance? How are they doing now? Are they closer?"
"Mommy and Uncle kissed, but afterward, they acted like nothing happened. Does that count as getting closer?" Gregory asked, puzzled.
Soon, Julia sent several exclamation marks, clearly showing her excitement.
Then, another message came through, "Did they really kiss?"
Just as the two little ones were about to respond, they heard Uncle Lance's voice.
"Gregory, Chloe, what are you doing?"
"Nothing, nothing."
The two little ones guiltily hid their smartwatches behind their backs.
Unbeknownst to them, this only made them look more suspicious.
Lance smiled but didn't expose them.
At that moment, their smartwatches rang again.
It was Julia, impatient from waiting for their reply, calling them directly.
The two little ones saw Godmother's number and didn't dare to hang up or answer.
Lance watched their conflicted expressions and couldn't help but tease, "Aren't you going to answer?"
"Uh, yes," Gregory nodded in response.
Lance looked at him as if saying, "If you're going to answer, then do it."
With no other choice, Gregory answered the call.
As soon as the call connected, Julia's excited voice came through.
"Gregory, did your mommy and Uncle Lance really kiss?"
Since the smartwatch was on speaker mode, Lance heard it too.
The two little ones were mortified and didn't dare look at Lance.
Julia waited for a response but got none. She called out again, "Gregory, Chloe, why aren't you talking? Is the signal bad? Hello?"
"If Miss King is curious about Dr. Deanna and me, she can ask us directly instead of influencing the kids," Lance said calmly. His words plunged the call into silence.
After a moment, Julia's voice came back, pretending to be confused, "Oh, I must have dialed the wrong number."
With that, she hung up abruptly.
Lance looked at the two little ones.
Their eyes darted around, avoiding his gaze.
Just then, Deanna walked in with medicinal cuisine.
She immediately sensed the unusual atmosphere and asked in confusion, "What's going on?"
"Nothing much. Mommy, is that medicinal cuisine for Uncle?" Gregory quickly spoke up.
He then ran to Deanna eagerly and offered his help, "Mommy, let me carry it for you."
"No need, it's too hot," Deanna declined gently and walked towards the bedside table with the medicinal cuisine.
She didn't see Gregory's pleading gesture towards Lance.
Lance chuckled but didn't expose them and started eating the medicinal cuisine Deanna prepared.
The two little ones sighed in relief.
For the next two days, Deanna and the two little ones stayed at the hospital taking care of Lance.
Lance's condition visibly improved.
Meanwhile, over in Cloudmere, things were turbulent.
Explority Group struggled under Mercer Group's pressure, losing billions of dollars in the process.
Chace was desperately seeking help from anyone who would listen but found no one willing to offend Mercer Group.
As a result, Chace seemed to age ten years overnight. He even began planning for the worst-case scenario: liquidating his remaining assets and moving his family abroad.
All of this was under Lance's control.
Like an expert hunter, he toyed with his prey, watching coldly as it made its last desperate struggles.
One day, after Deanna had just finished giving Lance a medicinal bath, Xavier knocked and entered the room.
He looked at Lance hesitantly, clearly mindful of Deanna and the two little ones.
Deanna noticed and tactfully said, "You guys talk; I'll take the kids out for a walk."
As she moved to leave, Lance grabbed her wrist.
"No need. Here with me, you don't need to avoid anything," Lance said before turning to Xavier. "What do you want to say?"
Xavier no longer hesitated and reported his news.
"The leader of that assassin organization wants to negotiate. He offers fifty million dollars and information on the mastermind behind the scenes in exchange for your mercy."
Hearing this made Deanna's heart skip a beat.
An assassin organization?!
She looked at Xavier in shock but remained silent.
Lance pondered for a moment before instructing, "Let him go, but tell him I also want the two people who kidnapped Dr. Deanna!"