Deanna instinctively looked at Logan.
Logan was also shocked by his father's words. After a moment of stunned silence, he understood the meaning behind them, and his face turned dark.
No wonder he had always felt something was off.
So this was the reason.
"That brat! How could he hide something so important from us? Doesn't he know we would be worried?"
"Perhaps the situation didn't allow him to explain, and this is just my guess," Old Mercer said, turning to look at Deanna, whose face also showed discomfort. Knowing she might misunderstand, he added, "Anna, don't overthink it. As I said, this is just my speculation. If Lance is hiding something like this, it means the situation is very dangerous, and he doesn't want you to worry."
Deanna understood what Old Mercer meant but still felt uneasy.
She nodded to Old Mercer, saying, "I understand. If it's really as you say, I'll ask Lance for an explanation and won't get angry without reason."
"It's good that you think that way."
Old Mercer smiled and nodded, then waved her off to continue her work.
Deanna was eager to leave and verify if what Old Mercer said was true. She nodded and turned to go.
Back at the project department, she wanted to call Xavier to question him but was interrupted by an employee, forcing her to postpone it.
She was busy for most of the day and it was almost time to get off work.
Deanna stretched and remembered what she hadn't done yet. She quickly picked up her phone and called Xavier.
"Missus, why are you calling so early?" Xavier's voice was groggy, indicating he had been sleeping.
Deanna realized she had disturbed his rest but decided not to waste the call and got straight to the point.
"Xavier, tell me honestly, do you know where Lance is?"
As soon as she said this, Deanna noticed Xavier's breathing become erratic for a moment, making her eyes narrow.
She didn't rush him, waiting for Xavier to answer.
After a few seconds of silence, Xavier calmed down and asked, "Missus, why would you ask that?"
"That's not the point. Just tell me if you know anything about Lance Mercer."
This time, Deanna used Lance's full name.
Xavier could tell she was angry and hesitated on how to respond.
His hesitation tilted Deanna's already doubtful mind further towards certainty.
She chuckled lightly, her tone unreadable. "So you do know where Lance is."
"Missus..."
"Enough. You don't need to explain. Tell Lance that if I don't hear from him by tomorrow morning, he shouldn't bother coming back to find me!"
Deanna cut him off before he could explain further and hung up the phone, her chest filled with anger.
She was furious that Lance had excluded her from his plans.
She couldn't help but wonder if Eula knew more than she did!
The more she thought about it, the darker her expression became.
Xavier wasn't feeling much better on his end.
He thought about what his missus had said before hanging up and knew things were serious.
He hurriedly went to find Mr. Mercer, not caring if he disturbed him.
The dimly lit room seemed gloomy.
After listening to Xavier, Lance's eyes showed a mix of helplessness and affection. "I understand. You can go rest now."
He waved Xavier away.
Xavier wanted to say something but seeing that Mr. Mercer had made a decision, he nodded and left.
After Xavier left, Lance took out his phone from the bedside drawer and turned it on.
Almost immediately, he received numerous messages.
Ignoring them all, he found Deanna's number and was about to call her when he reconsidered.
With the company facing continuous issues, he could guess who was behind them even though he wasn't there.
This also meant there were insiders in the Mercer Group with significant positions.
Considering the time, Deanna was likely still at the company. Calling her now wouldn't be safe.
With this in mind, Lance frowned but quickly came up with an idea. He sent her a text message instead.
On the other side, Deanna didn't expect to receive a message from Lance after her call.
She briefly suspected Xavier might have faked it, but after reading the message, she knew it was genuinely from Lance.
The content of the message made her expression serious.
She hadn't expected Lance to have already identified the person who framed her and anticipated their next move, choosing to play along with their plan.