Even in Darkness She Chose to Rise (Tatiana and Jasper) novel Chapter 359

Chapter 359 The Secret of the Little Ones

Finished

“You definitely like him! I’ve known you for so long, and I’ve never heard you say a single good word about any man. He’s the first!”

Tatiana pursed her lips. “No, you’ve got it wrong. I don’t like men who play around.”

The man clearly had a partner, and an intimate one at that, yet he still had the nerve to flirt with her. She could never like someone so fickle.

Seeing her reaction, Alita’s eyes twinkled as a plan began to form in her mind.

The gala had concluded, and they were originally scheduled to head home, but Jasper suddenly changed his mind and decided to stay a few more days.

Bianca was confused. “Why the change?”

He replied with a straight face, “Hubert and Ann need to participate in an international competition.”

The two little ones looked at each other, both seeing the utter confusion in the other’s eyes.

“Yes, I just signed them up. It’ll be good for their development.”

Well, if Daddy said so, it must be true. The children remained silent.

Though Bianca found it odd, she didn’t object. It worked out well, as she wanted to take the opportunity to look into the Lane family’s local assets. Even if they were only hers in name for now, she wanted to see them.

Jasper actually did sign them up for a competition–a piano duet. They were the youngest contestants by far.

Hubert was baffled. “Why did Daddy suddenly want us to do this?”

Ann looked distracted. “Daddy wants to do something bad behind everyone’s back.”

Hubert understood instantly.

Ann looked at her younger brother and swallowed the words she really wanted to say. She felt… something was wrong with Mommy.

It was a feeling she couldn’t quite describe–just very strange. Yet, every time she was actually with Mommy, the feeling vanished. When she saw Mommy, she was Mommy. When she didn’t see her, she wasn’t.

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Chapter 359 The Secret of the Little Ones

Finished

Ann was trapped in a mental fog she couldn’t clear. Having spent more time with their mother than Hubert had, she was more attuned to the smallest details. But every time a sense of wrongness bubbled

up, a faint, sweet scent would cloud her mind, making her forget the doubt.

“Hubert.”

“Yeah?”

“How did you get that fever last time?”

Hubert thought back carefully and whispered, “It was so, so cold when I was sleeping. Like I was sleeping on an ice cube. Then I got a cold and felt terrible. The doctor came and said I had a fever.”

“Who did you see that night?”

“Mommy brought me hot milk. I drank it.”

Ann’s little face was tense, her gaze incredibly serious. She lowered her voice. “Hubert, listen to me. From now on, try to stay away from Mommy as much as you can.”

Hubert looked even more lost. “Huh? Why?”

“Just listen to me, okay?“.

“But… she’s Mommy…”

“Hubert, remember the book Ace’s Secret Diary? Ace woke up one day and found his dead dog had come back. He was so happy and took care of it, until one day by accident, he saw another dog that looked exactly the same. He couldn’t tell which one was his real dog, and because he was sad, he made the wrong choice.”

Hubert picked up the story. “He chose the fake dog and gave up the real one. In the end, the real dog died in the snow, and the fake dog bit Pierre to death in the middle of the night.”

“Exactly.”

Hubert’s eyes went wide as realization hit him. “So you’re saying… this Mommy is a fake Mommy?”

“Shh!”

Ann covered her brother’s mouth and hissed, “Don’t say that out loud. We can’t let the ‘fake dog‘

hear us.”

Hubert shrunk back. “But that’s Mommy. How can there be a fake Mommy?”

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Chapter 359 The Secret of the Little Ones

“There just is.”

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Finished

Ann had seen more of the world; she knew that with modern technology, such a thing wasn’t impossible.

“Then… should we tell Daddy?”

“No. This is our secret.”

“Are we going to expose her?”

“We can’t. It’s too dangerous. Just pretend you don’t know anything and don’t get too close to her, okay?”

Hubert nodded. The two little ones continued to whisper for a while longer.

Bianca had no idea her mask had been completely stripped away by two children; she was still basking in her own self–satisfaction.

Tatiana was currently scouring the internet for information.

Alita leaned over for a peek and grinned. “I thought you said you didn’t like him. Why are you looking up his identity?”

Without missing a beat, Tatiana closed the tab. “Just looking around.”

“Hmph. Liar!”

Tatiana ignored her and turned her attention to managing Steele Island’s affairs remotely.

Ever since she left, Hanson had been restless. He had gone to great lengths to establish a one- way signal to the island just to keep in touch with her. After suffering several setbacks, Hanson had to admit that in certain areas, her luck was far superior to his.

In Tatiana’s words, Hanson had done too many wicked things, and the heavens were ensuring he stayed unlucky. Consequently, all major decisions on the island were now guided by Tatiana from afar.

She sent over the most efficient shipping routes before closing her laptop. Then, she pulled a small bag of jadeite from her backpack. These were top–tier specimens taken from the island. Any single one of them, if put on the market, would be considered a priceless treasure.

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