That evening, Deanna went to the kindergarten to pick up the little ones.
On the way back, Chloe noticed that the route was different and couldn't help but ask, "Mommy, are we going to Uncle's house?"
"No, we're not. Your uncle is almost recovered, so it's time for us to go back home."
Deanna smiled lightly, revealing no emotion.
Chloe was a bit disappointed. "So soon?"
Hearing the little girl's reluctant tone, Deanna chuckled. "Didn't you say you wouldn't talk to Uncle Lance for three days? Why are you reluctant now?"
"I was just saying..." Chloe mumbled softly.
Gregory and Deanna couldn't help but laugh.
At that moment, the little girl remembered something. "Mommy, we haven't said goodbye to Uncle yet!"
"Don't worry, I've already said it for you."
'Though it ended on a sour note, you probably won't see him for a while.' Deanna silently added in her mind.
The two little ones didn't think much of it and nodded obediently.
Before long, the three of them returned home only to find Lance sitting on the sofa.
"Uncle, why are you here?" Chloe asked in surprise.
Gregory didn't speak, but his expression was also one of surprise.
"I came to check on you and talk to your mommy about some things," Lance said, his dark eyes looking at Deanna.
Old Ashley saw this and called out to the two little ones, "I will take you to do your homework."
Deanna watched the three of them walk into the room and raised an eyebrow.
Why did Grandma change her attitude?
As she pondered this, a deep male voice reached her ears.
"I've apologized to Grandma. This won't happen again."
As he spoke, Lance had walked up to Deanna.
His deep eyes seemed to draw people in.
Deanna looked at him, lost in thought for a moment. Then she turned her head away and took a step back, putting some distance between them. She responded with a faint "Oh," clearly not in high spirits.
Seeing this, Lance's eyes were full of helplessness.
He knew Deanna held a grudge and it would take a few days for her mood to improve.
Thinking this, he changed the subject and extended his hand. "By the way, I felt unwell at work today. Could you check on me?"
Deanna looked at his outstretched hand and knew Lance was just making conversation.
Still, she dutifully examined him.
"There's nothing wrong; you're just still weak and need rest."
After saying this, Deanna issued a subtle dismissal. "It's getting late. Mr. Mercer should go home and rest early."
Lance looked at the cold woman in front of him with helplessness in his eyes but eventually left.
...
In the following days, Lance visited the Jones family every day.
Deanna did not stop him.
After all, he was the children's father; it was only natural for him to visit them.
However, aside from Chloe, Gregory remained distant toward Lance.
Lance understood why and took an opportunity to apologize sincerely to Gregory.
"I was wrong. I shouldn't have lied to you. From now on, I promise I won't hide anything from you."
As soon as he said this, he suddenly froze.
The reason was simple: even now, he was hiding something from Gregory.
Thinking about this made Lance feel guilty when he looked at Gregory.
But now wasn't the time to reveal that secret.
He decided to play it by ear
Thus, Gregory and Lance's relationship mended somewhat, but Deanna continued to keep her distance from him.
This left Lance feeling helpless but without any solution.
A week passed quickly, and there was finally progress in Xavier's investigation.
He came into the office with a respectful expression and reported, "Mr. Mercer, our people have tracked down those who posed as staff at Beyond Club that night."
"Are they from the Valencia family?" Lance asked coldly.
Xavier's expression turned strange at this question. He shook his head. "No, they're connected to someone from the Cody family."
"Bella?" Lance frowned as his expression darkened immediately.
Xavier continued his report. "Yes. Our people used big data analysis to trace that person's information and found that they left the country immediately after the incident. Moreover, there was a million-dollar transfer into their account. The sender was an assistant under Bella's command. We also discovered that this impostor has numerous ties with Bella; they were middle school classmates."
Lance's face turned grim upon hearing this news.
At that moment, Xavier reported another matter.
"Mr. Mercer, there's something else. Our people found out that Bella recently sent someone to monitor Master Gregory and Miss Chloe. I suspect she plans to target them since she failed with Dr. Deanna."
"How dare she!" Lance roared furiously before gritting his teeth. "Go report this to the police and have Bella arrested!"
However, Xavier hesitated and explained: "Mr. Mercer, Bella has been very secretive about these actions. We don't have direct evidence pointing to her as the mastermind."
Hearing this made Lance's anger almost palpable as he stood silent for a moment before speaking viciously: "If there's no evidence, then create some! Use her own methods against her!"
Xavier paused briefly but then understood and nodded before leaving to carry out his orders.