Luca smiled. Everyone said that Lanie resembled Luke the most.
Whether it was in appearance, personality, or intelligence, he asked this question in such a warm moment. She could not easily deceive him.
However, of course, she could not answer directly either. It was to avoid causing the children worry.
"Don't worry, whatever organization it is, Daddy and I can handle it. No need to worry. This situation is just temporary. We'll get it sorted out real quick. I hate that it's causing you trouble, and you're not able to call me 'Mommy' for the time being. But no matter what you call me, I'm still your mother, okay?" said Luca as she patted Tommy's head.
Lanie nodded. He was smart enough to understand that Luca did not want them to worry. That was why she did not go into details. Thus, he did not press on with further questions.
They were still young, and they could not share the burden of adults, so they could only listen to them.
Lanie believed that his parents would definitely resolve everything.
No bad guy could separate their family.
Tommy lifted his head and looked at Luca. A trace of innocence flashed across his eyes. "Mommy, can we call you 'Mommy' when we're alone?"
"We have to wait until everything is resolved. You're still young. It would be hard to explain if you slip up when others are around," explained Luca.
"Oh, I won't..."
Before Tommy could finish, Lanie, as the elder brother, said to his younger brother, "We have to listen to Ms. Luca. If you make a mistake when others are around, it'll be hard to explain. That'll be too troublesome.
"It's not just us in the house. There's Aunt Neile too. So, you'll have to listen to Ms. Luca."
"Oh, can't we tell Aunt Neile?" asked Tommy. He thought Aunt Neile knew about it too.
"Silly little brother, even though Aunt Neile is not a bad person, we can't trust anyone too much. That's why we can't let Aunt Neile know about this. If one more person finds out, it could bring some trouble for Mommy and Daddy," said Rainie.
Even though Rainie did not say much, she was not ignorant. Hence, she said to Tommy, "You can't tell anyone. Only family can be trusted. No matter how good others are to us, we can't trust them, got it?"
It was something Old Master Mallory had once told them.
The Crawford family's wealth was substantial, often drawing envy from others. Old Master Mallory loved his great-grandchildren. He feared that someone with ill intentions would bribe the family's servants to kidnap them.
Hence, when the kids were old enough to be sensible, he instilled this idea in them, telling them not to trust others and not to go out with the servants.
One would not just write their good or bad intentions on their faces.
Therefore, Lanie and Rainie did not easily trust others.
Back then, due to the fact that their mother had not appeared yet, many people with ulterior motives approached their father. The two children had seen a lot of women who were one way in public and another way in private.
People with ulterior motives would constantly try to please them on the surface while secretly despising them. Some of them even thought about climbing onto their father's bed, hoping that having a child would rapidly lower their status in the family.
Lanie and Rainie had experience dealing with this, and with their great-grandfather's advice, it just made them naturally wary of trusting people.
The only exception was Luca.
Their blood ties made them feel a sense of closeness toward her.
Furthermore, their father had never entrusted them to be taken care of by ordinary employees, but he handed them over to Luca. Therefore, they figured out something at that time. They decided to help their father, who had been a lifelong bachelor, to win his wife back.
Rainie's thoughts drifted off for a moment. When she came back to her senses, she looked at her younger brother, waiting for his response.
"I got it. Mommy, you and dad need to quickly resolve this matter so that no one dares to say we're kids without a mom from now on!" said Tommy with a mischievous smile on his face.
"Is anyone making fun of you guys?" Luca frowned suddenly.
Tommy shook his head. "No." This content belongs to NĂ´/velDra/ma.Org .
Lanie understood that his brother intentionally said something like that. It was to urge the adults to quickly resolve the current situation.
He pointed out, "No one dares to say that about us. Relax. Even if they did, they wouldn't say it to our faces."
Even though they were only kids, as long as the other kids' parents knew they were part of the Crawford family, no one dared to spread rumors about them.
With the parents keeping things in check, the kids would not go around saying stuff like them being parentless.
Luca let out a sigh of relief. She did not want the children to be troubled by such rumors.
Lanie would not lie to her. That was why she believed him.
"Ah, I was just saying." Tommy pouted. "I just want these things to be resolved quickly. Then, our family can always be together!"
"Yes. Give us some time." After discussing with the kids and reaching a consensus, Luca rose to her feet.
"Let's go. Time for dinner."
"Okay." The three kids went downstairs together.
Once they came downstairs, Tommy remembered something and said, "Ms. Luca, I filled up two pages with my handwriting today. I'll show you later!"
"Sure." Luca smiled, held his hand, and walked to the dining room. Aunt Neile had already served the prepared food.
"Is it done?" asked Luke.
Tommy nodded first. "Yes. It's all settled!"
"Then let's eat," replied Luke, picking up the ladle to serve the stew to the children. Although they had always known that Luca's true identity was Bianca, today was different for their family.
Aunt Neile immediately stepped forward. How could Luke do this himself?!
She said, "Mr. Crawford, let me take the ladle. I'll do it."
"It's okay, I'm in a good mood today. Leave it to me." Luke did not let Aunt Neile take over. He personally served a bowl of stew to Luca and the children.
"Thank you, Daddy!" The three kids thanked him. Luca's acknowledgment of her identity made them very happy. They took their spoons and started drinking the soup.
Luke looked at the kids, then turned to look at Luca and said, "We need to go back to Crawford Manor this weekend."
"Okay." Lanie agreed. Going back to Crawford Manor was nothing special for them. Therefore, he agreed to it. However, he remembered his schedule and said, "But Dad, the school has organized a math competition. I need to go back to school in the afternoon."
"Let Uncle Zander take you there," replied Luke. He never bothered with what competitions the kids participated in.
His kids always end up winning the competitions.
When Luca heard Lanie say this, her gaze landed on Tommy. "Tommy, are you also participating in the math competition?"
The city's math competitions all took place during the same time frame, but they were divided by grades, so there might be a day or two of difference.
She remembered Tommy's math teacher had mentioned this during the parent-teacher meeting before.
Luke thought the kids did not need to attend such training, so he talked to the math teacher about it. However, the math teacher expressed the hope that Tommy could participate in the competition, and Luke agreed back then.