The Abandoned Wife (Lucian) novel Chapter 124

Chapter 124 Who Could Have Done This
Roxanne went to make dinner after instructing her two kids to look after Estella.
She had noted down all the important points that Lucian mentioned earlier, and she also made sure to prepare the food according to Estella’s preferences.
When dinner was ready, Roxanne had Archie and Benny bring Estella downstairs.
Like princes and princesses in fairy tales, the two boys each held one of Estella’s hands as they went down the stairs at her pace.
Seeing the three of them like that filled Roxanne’s heart with warmth, but the thought of Estella’s current condition brought a sympathetic frown to her face.
Archie and Benny then let Estella sit next to Roxanne at the dinner table while they sat beside her.
Roxanne patted them on their heads before taking her seat and feeding Estella.
Perhaps because the food was prepared according to her preferences, Estella was able to finish everything without any issues.
After dinner, Roxanne had Archie and Benny return to their bedroom before bringing Estella into hers for a bath.
Estella showed no response whatsoever when Roxanne helped undress her.
As the pants came off, Roxanne was greeted by horrifying bruises and welts all over Estella’s buttocks.
“It must’ve been really painful, huh?” Roxanne asked while caressing the little girl’s cheeks, feeling sorry for her.
Estella simply stared blankly at her in response.
“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure to be gentle, and we’ll give Daddy a call once we’re done with your bath,” Roxanne continued with a heavy heart after a brief moment of silence.
After giving Estella a quick bath and a change of clothes, Roxanne had her wait on the bed while she gave Lucian a call.
The call got through within seconds. “What’s wrong? Did Essie cause you any trouble?”
“Was Essie’s autism really triggered by Archie and Benny being expelled?” Roxanne asked solemnly.
Lucian frowned. “What do you mean by that?”
Roxanne felt her heart ache when she realized he was probably oblivious to what happened, but the thought of him being an irresponsible parent upset her as well.
“Come have a look yourself!” she said in displeasure and hung up immediately after.
The look on Lucian’s face turned gloomy after hearing that, and he quickly rushed over to Roxanne’s house.
“Mr. Farwell, I’m sure you know where Essie got these wounds from, right?” Roxanne asked while pulling Estella’s pants down to show him the bruises.
Judging by how Lucian’s expression grew vicious instantly, Roxanne could confirm that this was news to him as well.
“What’s the meaning of this? Are you seriously unaware of your daughter’s injuries?” she asked while furrowing her brows.
Lucian shook his head. “I wouldn’t even lay a finger on her, let alone abuse her like this. I’ve been really busy with work lately, so I had Catalina look after Essie. It’s unlikely for her to do such a thing, though…”
Although Roxanne agreed with him on that statement, she had him summon Catalina anyway. “In that case, you should try asking her about this. She might know something you don’t.”
Lucian nodded and had Cayden drive her over immediately.
“Do you know anything about these wounds?”
Catalina had a pained look on her face when she saw the bruises on Estella’s body. “What happened to her? She was just fine yesterday! Who could’ve done such a cruel thing to Ms. Estella?”
The look in Lucian’s eyes grew increasingly cold. “That means this incident happened today…”