The next day, Estella got out of bed and waited outside Lucian’s room. She still wanted to convince him to go camping with them.
When Lucian opened the door and was about to leave the room, he noticed the girl was standing right before him. Needless to say, Lucian knew her motive.
Instead of giving her a chance to speak, he said, “Come. Let’s go and have breakfast. Ms. Jarvis should be arriving shortly.”
The girl shook her head, but before she could say something, Lucian interrupted again. “I need to go to the office now. You must obey Ms. Jarvis, okay? Call me if you need anything.”
Before Estella could open her mouth and speak, he immediately walked past her and went downstairs.
Meanwhile, Catalina was preparing breakfast for them in the dining area.
When she saw him walking to the door, she asked in concern, “Breakfast’s ready, Mr. Farwell. Would you like to eat some before leaving?”
Lucian continued walking. “I have to leave now. Remember to open the door for Ms. Jarvis later. She’ll be picking up Essie.”
Catalina knitted her brows. She wanted him to stay for breakfast, but he had already put on his shoes and seemed in a hurry to leave the house.
She looked at his back and wondered if he was running away from something or someone. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be leaving the house in such a hurry.
While she was still trying to process her thoughts, Estella came downstairs.
Catalina immediately came to her senses. She walked the girl to the dining table and had breakfast with her.
Before they could take more than a couple of bites, the video intercom started ringing.
Catalina remembered what Lucian said earlier and immediately opened the door.
Roxanne and the two boys were standing in front of the entrance.
Catalina greeted her politely, “Good morning, Ms. Jarvis.”
Roxanne nodded in response before taking a sidelong glance at the living hall. It was as if she was looking for someone.
Realization finally dawned on Catalina. She looked at Roxanne and uttered, “Mr. Farwell left early this morning. He told me you’ll be fetching Ms. Estella.”
Upon hearing that, Roxanne heaved a silent sigh of relief.
She had been overwhelmed by anxiety when approaching the Farwell residence, as she did not know how to face Lucian.
She was unsure if the man would join the trip as she did not ask about it yesterday, but she knew she might end up running away had he decided to go. Thank God he’s not coming with us.
Estella ran to the door upon hearing Roxanne’s voice. “Good morning, Ms. Jarvis.”
Roxanne leaned down and stroked her head. “Do you have everything prepared, Essie?”
The girl nodded at first but shook her head a few seconds later.
Her reaction confused Roxanne.
“I didn’t prepare them. Daddy did,” Estella explained in an adorable voice.
Lucian had prepared the camping gear for Estella and told her to go through the items, but she had not paid much attention to them.
Roxanne, too, did not seem to worry because she had everything packed. Nothing would go wrong even if the little girl missed bringing a thing or two.
“Have you taken your breakfast, Ms. Jarvis? Come join us if you’ve not eaten,” Catalina invited her to the dining table.
Roxanne grinned. “No, thank you. I bought some snacks for breakfast. The kids can eat them during the journey to the campsite.”
She then lowered her head to ask if Estella was happy with the breakfast arrangement.
Estella nodded without thinking twice. “I’ll have breakfast in the car too!”
As a first-time camper, Estella was eager to have the full experience.
Catalina did not say anything after that. She went upstairs, brought down the camping gear Lucian had prepared for Estella, and bade them farewell.
Roxanne could not help but wonder what was in the suitcase when carrying it to the car trunk.
Somehow, she felt the camping gear Lucian prepared for Estella was particularly heavy. Is it me, or is the suitcase overloaded?
Roxanne helped the children into the car and drove slowly out of the manor. At the same time, a skinny man leaped down the big tree in front of the manor’s entrance with a camera in his hand.
After watching Roxanne’s car drive away, he casually entered his car in a corner and started the engine while unlocking his phone.
Half an hour later, Aubree, who had just awakened, habitually retrieved her phone and saw the text on her screen. It was from the private detective she sent to spy on Roxanne.
That got rid of her sleepiness instantly. She quickly sat up and opened the text. A few overhead-shot pictures came into view.
In the pictures, Roxanne could be seen carrying a tiny suitcase out of the mansion with three children following behind her.
The suitcase was pink, which obviously meant it was Estella’s. However, it was hard to guess what was inside.
In the next picture, Roxanne and the children could be seen arriving beside the car. She had opened the trunk to reveal its contents.
Noting that, Aubree zoomed in on the pictures, unwilling to miss out on a single detail.
It was after some time that she spotted something that looked like a tent. As she scanned the other items, she realized the trunk was packed with camping equipment.
Frowning, Aubree texted for clarification: What are they doing?
The private detective replied while driving: I think I heard something about camping.
A grim look spread across Aubree’s face when she read his reply.
Looks like the bacterium incident didn’t teach her a lesson. She still dares to be so close to Roxanne!
The more she stared at the smiling faces in the picture, the darker her expression became.
She texted: Follow them. Tell me their location once you know where they are.
The private detective quickly agreed to her orders.
Aubree’s gaze was unusually cold as she studied the pictures over and over again.
Lucian was nowhere to be seen, but that did not mean he would not be hanging out with them.
Perhaps he was going there separately.
Aubree had no doubt that Lucian valued Estella and had feelings for Roxanne.
The thought of the quintet enjoying themselves at the campsite filled her with crazed fury.
B*tch! The mother and daughter are both b*tches! If not for them, I would’ve been Lucian’s wife long ago. This is unacceptable. I must teach these two a lesson!
As that thought crossed her mind, she subconsciously tightened her grip around her phone so hard that her hand trembled.
Moments later, Aubree forcefully recomposed herself. Glancing at her phone, which was covered in sweat, she dialed a number, her face expressionless.
After giving her instructions to the other person, she hung up and exited the room.
Upon seeing Aubree descending the stairs, Gina, who was downstairs, called out to Aubree to have breakfast. However, the former seemed to be oblivious to Gina’s voice as she walked straight out of the mansion.
An uneasy feeling crept into Gina’s heart as she watched her daughter leave.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.