A self-mocking smile drew across ric''s face at Elisa''s words. Without another word to her, he reached for his phone with the intent to call Gtea, but Elisa promptly snatched it out of his hand.


    "What do you think you''re doing?" he questioned.


    "I''m obviously calling your mom toe get you," he responded matter-of-factly.


    Elisa scoffed at him. "Mom''s not in Arizona today. You''re not going to reach her. Besides, I''m here to deal with something between the two of us, do not involve her."


    ric raised an eyebrow, intrigued by her determination, and slid the phone back into his pocket.


    "Alright, let''s chat. What do you want to talk about?" ric asked, settling into the sofa and looking at her.


    "I just came to ask if you truly love my mom and when you''re nning to marry her."


    A silence fell over ric.


    "You''re in a hurry to get your mom hitched?" ric asked.


    "It''s not like that. I must consider who''s asking. My mom''s got a lot of admirers. She can''t just marry any guy. At the very least, I need to vet them for her," Elisa said.


    Her tone was surprisingly mature, and ric couldn''t help but chuckle as he teased, "Oh? So, there''s quite a lineup for your mom?"


    "Absolutely!" Elisa said with pride. "I mean,e on. It''s obvious. If you''re not blind, how could anyone not see that my mom is stunning?"


    "And she''s superpetent professionally. She entered the U.S. Medical Research Institute ranking first in both the written and oral exams. She was even up for a promotion before she decided toe back. If she hadn''t, she would''ve been the youngest leader at the institute!


    "Is that right? That''s impressive," Elisa boasted.


    "Of course! So, not just any guy is good enough for my mom. You seem okay, you''re quite handsome, in good shape, and you''ve got some money. You just might be good enough for her." Once again, ric was silent.


    ''Did this little girl really know who he was?''


    "You still haven''t answered my question. When do you n to marry my mom?" she repeated.


    ''Their rtionship was a sham to begin with. Marry her? Not in this lifetime.''


    "Are you saying you never intended to marry my mom?" Elisa''s frustration grew seeing ric''s silence. "You''ve been with her, and now you won''t marry her. That''s just ying dirty!"


    ''Did this kid even know what she was using him of?''


    "Ugh, you jerk!" she snapped.


    ''Jerk? No one had ever called me that before,'' he thought.


    "Kid, I''ve heard enough of your talk. Stop causing a scene," ric said firmly, picking her up and stepping out of his office. "Who did youe with? Go on home now!"


    "Don''t you carry me. I can walk myself!" Elisa wriggled out of his arms and hopped down. Afternding, she faced ric and said, "My mom is the best woman in the world. If you don''t marry her, you''re the one losing out. And if you have no ns of marrying her, stay away from her. If you dare to hurt her, I''ll punch you!"


    Elisa turned and walked away, leaving ric feeling helpless. No one had ever dared to threaten him, and yet today, a kid had done just that. It was quite upsetting.


    However, he found her tenacity surprisingly charming.


    Caspian had been hiding outside thepany, in a spot where the surveince cameras couldn''t detect him, waiting for Elisa. Seeing her emerge from the building, he quickly pulled her aside to a safe ce. "How did the talk go?" "Not good. After talking to him, I realized he''s nothing but a jerk!"


    ''What? Calling his father a jerk? How could this be?''


    "From what he said, he never even considered marrying mom. Isn''t that the definition of a jerk?" Elisa eximed, frustrated.


    ''His dad had no intention of marrying Gtea?! Was all their effort in vain?'' No, the n must continue. We can''t just get them together. We must make sure that they develop real feelings for each other!'' Caspian was resolute to push further. The following day, Gtea went to find Aminta Thorn, who worked at the hospital. She was scheduled to see patients that day, so Gtea had no trouble locating her.


    "We''re on lunch break right now. You''ll need to wait until the afternoon for appointments unless it''s an emergency," Aminta called out upon hearing someone enter.


    "Dr. Thorn, do you remember me?" Although Aminta had seen numerous expectant mothers, Gtea hoped she would be memorable. "My name''s Sten. Does that ring a bell?" "Sten?" Aminta replied, "I remember, and quite vividly at that."


    At that time, the mother''s death had been dered, and the records remained the same.


    "Do you remember me? That''s wonderful. I''vee to ask you where my first child is, the one I gave birth to back then. Do you know?" asked Gtea.


    "The child was taken by Mrs. Marigold," the doctor disclosed.


    ''What? Taken by Mrs. Marigold? How could she, out of the goodness of her heart, want the child?'' Gtea thought in disbelief.


    "And then? Do you know where she took the child?" Gtea pressed further.


    "I''m not sure about that. I just remember Mrs. Marigold seemed reluctant to take the child at first, then something changed, and she left with the baby," the doctor recalled, shrugging slightly.


    ''Changed? What could have happened?'' Gtea wondered, "Do you happen to know where Mrs. Marigold is now?"


    Gtea, although Mrs. Marigold was her mother-inw, knew virtually nothing about her or her family''s background. Mrs. Marigold was tight-lipped, and Mia even suspected that the name ''Mrs. Marigold could be an alias. "How would I know that?" Aminta replied, her eyebrows raised in confusion.


    "Is there anything else you can tell me?" Gtea prodded hopefully.


    "Miss Gtea, I''m just a doctor. How could I possibly know such things?" Aminta said with a hint of weariness.


    "I''m sorry to bother you today, Aminta. Thank you so much for telling me what you know," Gtea apologized and nodded her gratitude.


    Despite everything, the visit was not in vain-she at least learned that her child was taken by Mrs. Marigold.


    Stepping out of the hospital, Gtea sought out a professional sketch artist and described Mrs. Marigold''s appearance to him. He obliged and drew a portrait for her.


    Staring at the sketch on her desk, Gtea Hartley felt satisfied. The resemnce to Mrs. Marigold was uncanny as if the woman herself was trapped within the pencil lines. It was about time to track down Mrs. Marigold, but the real question was where to start her search.