Chapter 212


    All of a sudden, Xavier''s end went silent.


    As Avery took out the utensils from the cupboard, she could not help but ask, “Is something wrong, Mr.


    Dartsley? Can you hear me speaking?”


    A minute or twoter, there was still no response from Xavier''s end.


    By then, her colleagues who were living upstairs had long woken up. The ce was filled with people


    walking around. Christopher was even watering the nts while ranting aloud, “ording to the


    weather forecast, the temperature is expected to drop by next Wednesday. We''ll have to take these few


    pots of nts indoors. Does anyone want to adopt one or two nt babies? If not, I''ll be taking all of


    them.”


    The ce was filled with so muchmotion that Avery could not tell if there were any movements


    coming from Xavier''s end.


    By the third minute of silence, Avery decided to hang up the call. She assumed that Xavier had


    received a sudden task or that the signal was weak.


    Right at that moment, however, Xavier''s voice rang out from the phone again. His voice sounded a lot


    clearer than before.


    “Sorry, Ms. Rumpley. The signal was very poor all of a sudden,” Xavier exined.


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    “It''s okay. I guessed so too. I was just about to hang up.” Avery passed the tes to another female


    colleague as she spoke.


    The colleague took the tes to the table.


    “What did you say just now, Ms. Rumpley? I couldn''t hear you clearly.” Xavier purposefully made Avery


    repeat thest line she said.


    Avery was truly worried that the two children would have to face their father''s wrath. Without thinking


    too much about it, she repeated herself. “I said, I''m just worried that he''ll unload his temper tantrums to


    the kids.”


    Xavier had always been perplexed as to why Avery cared so deeply for Cayden''s children.


    Nevertheless, he knew that it was between Cayden and Avery only. As an assistant, he could only


    follow what Cayden asked him to do. “Ms. Rumpley, to bepletely honest with you, I have no idea


    whether Mr. Moore had lost his temper at the children when we arrived in Ackleton. However, I did hear


    that...” Xavier''s voice trailed off.


    “What is it?” Avery felt as though her heart was hanging on a tight string.


    Xavier continued, “When Mr. Moore arrived herest night, he received a call to go to a dinner party.


    The two children were left in the condominium alone without anyone to look after them... They didn''t


    even have dinner. Zach got so hungry that he brought Rory downstairs to look for food with the little


    cash they have. The management of the residential area saw them but did not stop them. However,


    we''ve not heard from them ever since they left the condominiumst night...”


    “What?” Avery''s voice began to tremble. The children have not returned ever since they left to buy


    food?


    Cayden continued to exin, “Even I just got the news this morning. Mr. Moore had a bit too much to


    drinkst night and had fallen asleep in a hotel. He has not woken up yet and no one dared to wake


    him up.”


    As he was talking, Xavier heard a panicked voice on the other end of the line.


    Panic-stricken, Avery rushed back to Ackleton without a second thought. She just informed Christopher


    that she was leaving as he was in charge of the team without even taking the time to exin, “Sorry.


    There''s an emergency at home. I need to go back.”


    Christopher nodded without another word.


    Who would stop someone from going home in times of emergency?


    On the way back to Ackleton, Avery could not sit still for a minute. She kept dialing Cayden''s number


    again and again frantically.


    s, his phone had been switched off.


    Meanwhile, on the other end of the city, the leaves outside the mansion had turned gold with a tint of


    red on their edges. It was a beautiful sight to behold.


    From afar, three luxurious cars approached the mansion. The first andst cars were exactly the same,


    but the one in the middle had some slight variation. The one seated in the car was none other than the


    state secretary, William Lambert. He had just returned from a meeting in Beshya.


    ire got a phone call from him, then she and Nicole went downstairs to wee William home.


    Nicole took a step forward and helped William carry his briefcase. “The weather''s getting chilly, Dad. Is


    it cold in Beshya? Please take care of yourself whenever you''re away from home.”


    William merely nodded in response before changing the topic. “Have you two eaten breakfast?”


    “We know that you''reing back, so we waited for you.” As ire spoke, she removed her husband''s


    jacket and handed it to the housekeeper behind her.


    The housekeeper then took the jacket and hanged it on the rack.


    Meanwhile, another housekeeper started filling their bowls with warm oatmeal.


    Whenever William was home, there would have to be a copy of the newspaper on the breakfast table.


    He had cultivated the habit of reading the newspaper since he was young just like all the men in the


    Lambert household.


    Upon noticing the traces of tiredness on William''s face, Nicole put down her spoon. “Mom, Dad, you


    two go ahead. I''m done eating.”


    “Come on. You''ve barely eaten anything. You better not cut down on your food intake to lose weight,


    youngdy. You should take care of your body.” ire had mistaken Nicole''s actions for being afraid of


    gaining weight.


    “I was starving before Dad returned, so I snuck into the kitchen and ate two bagels before this,” Nicole


    pouted, embarrassed.


    In return, ire teased her by calling her mischievous.


    “Shall I read the newspaper for you, Dad?” Nicole picked up the newspaper. “By the time I finish


    reading, you should be done with your meal. You should go rest upstairs after eating.”


    A warm feeling rose to ire''s chest as she beamed at her daughter. She was immensely proud that


    Nicole had grown to be a filial child.


    Nicole began reading the newspaper in full concentration. After all the years of being raised by the


    Lamberts, she had gotten a good understanding of the type of news that would interest William.


    Whenever she read a passage that interested or concerned William, there would be a major change in


    his expression. Before long, Nicole had reached the business section of the newspaper.


    Nicole knew that news rted to Cayden would be mentioned in that section as she had read the


    newspaper earlier that morning.


    Upon finding the news article that was rted to Cayden, Nicole decided to read the newspaper aloud


    to William.


    “The development of the town is under progress. On the east side of Ackleton, property prices are


    following a trend of significant increase. The developmental n coupled with the restoration of the


    town has proved to be the savior of the economy in Ackleton.”


    Nicole had intentionally read that passagest, as she hoped to hear her parents discuss the topic.


    A ck and white photo was published in the newspaper as well. The photo showed the opening


    ceremony of the development of the town. It sessfully captured the serious atmosphere of the


    ceremony.


    Cayden was dressed smartly in a suit. He stood out among all the elites and bureaucrats. He had the


    countenance of aposed and mature businessman.


    Nicole was captivated by his appearance in the photo. The longer she stared, the more she became


    lost in thought. Stretching out her slender fingers, she caressed the figure of Cayden in the photo


    gently.


    “What''s going on, Nicole?” ire noticed that Nicole had been staring at the business section for quite


    a while. It did not escape her eyes that Nicole had touched Cayden''s figure in the blurred photo.


    ire was once a young woman too. It took her no time to guess what was going on in Nicole''s mind.


    “N-Nothing! I''ve finished reading. I''m just going to head upstairs first to take a look at the script.” Nicole


    guessed that ire had seen through her. With reddened cheeks, Nicole ced the newspaper down


    and dashed upstairs.


    When he was young, William was the epitome of dense. He had never understood the thoughts of a


    woman. He pursued ire because he thought she looked pretty and that she had a gentle personality.


    Who wouldn''t want a wife who was pretty and gentle? William wanted a wife like her, so he told ire


    straight to her face that he wanted her to be his wife.


    In his middle age, William was even more clueless about women''s thoughts. At the sight of Nicole


    scurrying away from the table, he stared at ire quizzically.


    ire sighed softly. “Your daughter is catching feelings for Allie''s son.”


    Only then did William understand. He picked up the newspaper and nced at it before nodding in


    satisfaction. “That should be an easy task. I shall personally arrange for them to meet up when I return.


    Our daughter sure has a good taste in men.”


    In the meantime, Avery had arrived in Ackleton. Then, she went to Xavier to get the keys to the


    condominium.


    As she hurried to the condominium, Xavier''s words kept reying in her ears. “Truth be told, Boss is


    impable when ites to business. There is no w you can find in him. However, when ites


    to raising children, he really isn''t cut out for it.”


    Avery opened the door of the condominium. She wanted to see if there were any clues in the


    condominium. Perhaps the two children had left a note saying where they went.


    However, when she stepped foot into the condominium, she saw the man who was supposed to be


    drunk and knocked out in a hotel lying on the couch. Cayden''s brows were knitted together. It looked as


    though he was asleep.


    In his armsid Rory, who was drooling in her sleep. Zachary was lying on the other end of the sofa


    with his limbs all over the ce like an octopus.