- Kathleen had followed Samuel back to the Macari residence.
- Diana had been urging her to come over when she had the time to do so.
- However, Kathleen had not been able to visit for a while as she had been too busy recently.
- She could not help but wonder if Diana would blame her.
- Samuel and Kathleen entered the residence and headed straight for the living room.
- Diana was already standing when they reached the living room. “It’s been so long since I last saw you, Katie.”
- Kathleen felt slightly embarrassed as she said, “I’m sorry, Old Mrs. Macari, I’ve been too busy lately.”
- “I don’t blame you. Samuel had told me all about it,” Diana reassured as she tugged on Kathleen’s hand for the latter to sit with her. “It’s all this b*stard’s fault.”
- Kathleen flushed after hearing the older woman’s words.
- Meanwhile, Samuel had taken off his coat and handed it to the housekeeper. Turning to Kathleen, he said, “Take off your coat.”
- “Okay,” Kathleen said, taking off her coat as well.
- With Kathleen’s coat in his hand, Samuel repeated the same actions and handed it to the housekeeper.
- Diana, on the other hand, was silently looking at the scene before her, a contented smile on her lips.
- “Aren’t Mr. and Mrs. Macari around?” Kathleen asked.
- “Well, it’s the end of the year now. There are many gatherings that they have to attend,” Diana explained. “Especially since Samuel is rather poor in health. Those social gatherings that require him to drink alcohol would eventually have to be attended by Calvin instead.”
- Kathleen nodded.
- I see.
- “Let’s have dinner first. We’ll talk while we have our meal,” Diana suggested. She knew that Kathleen should be starving by then as Kathleen often looked like she was seconds away from fainting when she was hungry.
- Samuel, too, was about to remind them to have their meal.
- However, Diana had already noticed and was a step ahead of him.
- After that, the three of them headed to the dining area.
- Set on the table were all of Kathleen’s favorite dishes.
- Instantly, Diana motioned for Kathleen to sit next to her.
- Samuel had planned to take a seat next to Kathleen. However, he was stopped by Diana before he could even take action. With a flat tone, she ordered, “You’re sitting next to me.”
- Samuel was rendered speechless.
- He was sure that Diana was doing it on purpose and was getting back at him for letting her take the blame.
- Nevertheless, Samuel could only abide by her words.
- Diana, in the meantime, had placed some roasted chicken on Kathleen’s plate. “I’m already aware of the Yoeger family situation. Yasmine had even called me because of it. I honestly did not anticipate such mayhem within the Yoegers. Most importantly, I was surprised that Frances didn’t notice anything. If she had, she wouldn’t have been poisoned in the first place.”
- With a tinge of hesitance in her voice, Kathleen asked, “Old Mrs. Macari, how does Old Mrs. Yoeger treat Zachary and Vanessa?”
- “Well, there isn’t much to say,” Diana began. “I’m sure you’re well aware of the complicated relationships in the Yoeger family. Despite Frances’ disdain for Hector, she still takes great care of the two children. They are, after all, the children of her sister. That’s why she adores them and treats them as if they were her own.”
- “What about Zachary and Vanessa?” Kathleen asked again.
- “I don’t really know them that well. But I’ve heard Frances talk about them a lot. They seem to be nice and rather filial,” Diana stated before heaving a sigh. “For that reason, Frances had all of her guards down.”
- Kathleen nodded.
- “Grandma, do you know the relationship between Old Mrs. Yoeger and Old Mr. Yoeger?” Samuel asked.
- Diana merely glanced at him after hearing his question.
- Awkwardly, Kathleen added, “I’d like to know about their relationship too, Old Mrs. Macari.”
- With that, Diana’s expression bloomed into something warm as she carried on with her explanation. “I feel that Hector had taken a liking toward Frances in the end. Actually, I knew Teresa too. She was in a marriage of convenience with Hector. I wouldn’t say that they were in a loving relationship, but it was still an okay relationship. However, everyone knew that Hector favored Frances over Teresa.”
- Kathleen frowned upon hearing that.
- After noticing Kathleen’s frown, Diana questioned, “What are you thinking about?”
- “Originally, I was guessing whether my mom was stolen away by one of Old Mr. Yoeger’s men. However, after hearing what you had just said, it doesn’t seem possible anymore,” Kathleen answered truthfully. She would never hold herself back when she was with Diana.
- The latter furrowed her brows at this. “Hmm, you have a point. I am indeed curious about the person who stole your mother away.”
- Samuel’s apathetic voice then came through. “In my opinion, if Old Mr. Yoeger loved Frances that much, he shouldn’t be excluded from the list of those who could have stolen your mother.”
- Perplexed, Kathleen inquired, “What do you mean?”
- Samuel gave a straightforward reply. “I suppose it’s what they call a love that turned into hatred. Old Mr. Yoeger couldn’t accept the fact that the person he loved had given birth to another man’s child.”
- Kathleen was at a loss for words as she had never experienced anything like that.
- With her face firmly frowning, Kathleen questioned, “But isn’t it too cruel for someone to target a child?”
- Diana, too, had her eyebrows locked in a tight frown as she questioned Samuel, “Do you have any proof for your deductions?”
- “Grandma, Kate, I’d like to ask the both of you a question,” Samuel started impassively. “How was the reputation of White Clouds Welfare Center in Jadeborough?”
- “What kind of question is that?” Diana refuted. “The welfare center had an amazing reputation. On top of that, there were often donations made from the rich. Honestly, the children there received great care.”
- Kathleen nodded in agreement before adding, “Aside from that, the director of the welfare center is my grandad’s cousin. They are quite close. My granddad had no children, so the director urged him to adopt my mom. On top of that, my dad was also from the same welfare center and shared the same last name as the director. They are all wonderful people.”
- After hearing Diana and Kathleen’s comments, Samuel fell silent for a few moments. “Have you given it any thought? The person who kidnapped your mother could have simply tossed her away or even killed her if they had a grudge against the Yoegers. Why did they send her to one of Jadeborough’s most prestigious welfare centers?”
- Kathleen was caught off guard by his question.
- “If what I stated previously wasn’t clear enough, I could also phrase it this way,” Samuel said. “Old Mr. Yoeger harbors no ill feelings toward the child. He cannot, however, accept the reality that the woman he loves had given birth to another man’s child and was caring for it right in front of his eyes. As a result, he ordered that your mother be taken away. But instead of harming her, he sent her to a prestigious welfare center.”
- Kathleen pursed her lips.
- “I’ve researched the welfare center’s accounts. Around forty-eight years ago, White Clouds received a ten million donation. That happened to be the second day your mother was sent there,” Samuel explained.
- Kathleen’s expression fell after she heard his words.
- “I could help you do more research on this anonymous account to verify whether it belonged to Old Mr. Yoeger if you still don’t believe in what I had just said,” Samuel offered.
- Kathleen placed her fork down and drank some water before saying, “If this is the case, won’t the entire Yoeger family be utterly sorry toward Old Mrs. Yoeger?”
- Diana sighed. “You’re right. It would be awful if Hector were behind it.”
- “Grandma, do you know whether Old Mrs. Yoeger had committed any relationships before marrying Old Mr. Yoeger?” Samuel asked.
- Diana furrowed her brows as she tried to recall. She soon shook her head. “I’m not really sure. She had never mentioned anything to me regarding relationships, and it was also awkward for me to ask her about it.”
- “I guess we can only wait for Old Mrs. Yoeger to wake up and ask her for some clarifications,” Samuel said impassively.
- Once again, Kathleen pursed her lips.
- She was feeling extremely anguished.
- She could not help but wonder how Frances would react if Hector were indeed the perpetrator of the incident.
- Frances had dedicated her life to the Yoegers. Yet, she was plotted against and even had to part ways with her child.
- Kathleen was concerned that Frances would not be able to handle the shocking information.
- Meanwhile, Diana was shooting the nastiest glare she could muster at Samuel.
- She was inwardly cursing at her grandson for bringing up the topic and causing her beloved Kathleen to lose her appetite.
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