That afternoon, not long after Celeste returned from the Fleming Group, her phone suddenly rang.
It was Isabelle’s psychiatrist. He explained that Isabelle had experienced a brief moment of clarity, but soon after fell into a breakdown unlike anything he’d had in years.
Celeste’s expression changed instantly. She rushed to the hospital.
“How could this happen? What exactly went wrong?”
“We looked into it carefully, but nothing abnormal was found,” the doctor replied. 1
But if there was no external trigger, how could her mother’s condition suddenly worsen?
Watching the surveillance feed, Celeste saw her mother lying in a medicated sleep. After speaking with. the doctor for a long while, she finally left, weighed down by unease. 2
When the elevator stopped on the next floor, the doors slid open. She looked up–only to lock eyes with
Linda and Patricia. 1
The moment Linda saw her, she shot her a glare and then lifted her chin with a haughty snort and led
Patricia into the elevator.
There were others inside as well, but Linda still made a show of speaking loudly, her eyes sliding toward
Celeste.
“Grandma, Wynn isn’t coming home for dinner again tonight. I heard Jordyn hasn’t seen her for a few days, and she misses her so much she won’t stop fussing. But Wynn and Trev will be dining out again
tonight.” 2
Patricia chuckled. “Is that so?”
Of course, Celeste knew they were saying it on purpose.
Already unsettled over her mother’s sudden breakdown, her first suspicion had been that someone had deliberately provoked her. Yet the doctor insisted that Isabelle had had no outside contact. 2
But still…
Hearing Linda’s pointed words now, Celeste’s gaze hardened. If it really was them who had triggered her
mother- 3
Noticing that look, Linda lifted her chin higher, as if to say, “What are you staring at? Think I’m scared of
you?” 2
The elevator chimed, and the doors opened.
1/3
Chapter 510
***
+15 BONUS
Celeste swept them a cold glance before striding out first.
She still had matters to handle at Yoda Vision, so she headed back to the company.
Earlier, she and Matthias had wanted to arrange a meal with Zachary’s wife, Nadine, but she had something come up at the last minute and had to cancel.
Now that Nadine was free, they arranged to have dinner together that night.
At around 7:00 pm, Celeste left YodaVision and headed to the restaurant they had agreed on.
As she pulled up at the entrance and was about to get out of the car, she caught sight of three familiar figures–two adults and a child.
She didn’t need a second glance to confirm that they were Trevor, Wynn and Jordyn. 2
Jordyn was happily tugging on Wynn’s hand, running forward with excitement.
Wynn, looking helpless but attentive, followed along while gently reminding her to slow down so she wouldn’t trip.
Trevor, meanwhile, strolled behind them at an easy pace. 2
Linda might dislike Celeste, but the words she had deliberately used to provoke Celeste in the afternoon at the hospital were clearly true.
Celeste withdrew her gaze.
By the time she was done parking her car, the three of them had already disappeared from the restaurant
entrance. 1
Celeste turned and went upstairs.
When she arrived, Matthias and Nadine were already there.
Nadine smiled at the sight of Celeste. “Ah, Cece is here.”
Celeste smiled in return. “Mrs. Newman,”
“Good,” Nadine said fondly while reaching out to pat Celeste on the head. 16
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