CHAPTER 799

Smoking?

He just got the punishment, and it was still hurting. How would he smoke?

Cedrick sighed and gave Gwendolyn a reassuring look.

Once Cedrick had left, the two kids wrapped their arms around Gwendolyn so tightly and refused to let go.

“Mommy! Mommy! How did Daddy find you?” Zendaya looked at Gwendolyn with her big eyes as she blinked them and asked.

Benedict said, “Daddy said Mommy was busy with something at the Harris residence. But that day, I overheard the conversation between Daddy and Uncle Nico, and I knew Mommy was missing.”

As Zendaya heard her brother recounting the incident, it reminded her of something important.

Oh yes, I need to complain about Daddy!

“Mommy, do you know that Daddy was so arrogant recently? He didn’t come to see Zendy for days! In addition, Benny and I saw Daddy smoking and drinking in the office! Daddy did not behave. Mommy, you should beat him!” Zendaya said.

Gwendolyn chuckled and gently pinched her little cheeks. “If your daddy were to hear you tattling, you’d probably get a beating first.”

Zendaya’s face changed, and she snuggled back into Gwendolyn’s embrace. “Zendy is not afraid! Mommy will protect Zendy! Daddy can’t beat me. He’s the one who should be punished first!”

Gwendolyn stifled a laugh.

After Gwendolyn’s arrival, the ward was filled with laughter. The two kids’ sad mood was lifted, and everyone became cheerful.

Cedrick walked out of the lab and went to meet Megan.

Megan was staying in a high-end hotel under the Jenson Group.

There were police officers and bodyguards stationed downstairs, as well as the entrance to the room. The hotel turned down the other guests for the night and accommodated only Megan. It was at its maximum security and even an ant could not sneak in.

Cedrick did not rush upstairs. Instead, he sat on a couch in the hotel lobby and listened to Swain’s report.

He went through numerous photos of items on a tablet. Those photos were taken inside the shack by Swain. Well over a hundred photos, and left no detail unnoticed.

Among those photos, the most crucial were the ones revealing gold bars under the tiles inside the shack.

“Boss, I’ve done the investigation. The gold bars have the HCY Bank logo on them. It’s a foreign joint venture bank, and the person in charge is from Astoria but is currently not in the country. The bag of gold bars found at Megan’s home is of the highest quality available in the market, and they are worth about two million. Besides the bag of gold bars you mentioned, there are ten more hidden under the floor tiles of her bed. These ten gold bars have different batch numbers and come from another bank. They seem to have been stored for quite some time, as they looked seasoned,” Swain reported.

Cedrick looked stern, with his brows slightly furrowed. As he slid his fingertips across the tablet, he went through every single one of the photos.

Long before saving Gwendolyn, such a poverty-stricken family with this little shack already owned ten large gold bars. This is unusual.

“Did you find any information about her husband and son?”

Swain nodded. “Yes. There are a few old family portraits in the bedroom drawer. It seems like they were taken with her husband and son. If you keep scrolling down, you should be able to see the photos.”

Cedrick continued to slide through the photos meticulously.

Swain continued. “The family portraits at Megan’s place are not wrapped with plastic nor framed. They have yellowed edges, and a large part of her son’s face has faded. According to the investigation, Megan’s son passed away many years ago. Since then, she and her husband had a lot of quarrels which has affected their relationship. Eventually, her husband moved out to the city to make a living. There have been no updates from him since afterward.”

So, Megan’s previous claims about her son and husband working in the city and only returning once a year for Christmas were all lies. Her son had passed away long ago, and she had been separated from her husband due to a troubled relationship for many years. She had been living alone on the mountain all by herself.

Cedrick slid to a portrait on the tablet showing Megan with her family.

The portrait was aged and faded around its edges. It seemed like it had been stored away and not taken out for a long time.

In the photo, young Megan stood side by side with her husband. She had a smile on her face and held her son in her arms. Her husband, however, had a straight face with hardly any emotion shown.

Her son was at the top right corner of the portrait, and his face was completely blurred. Only a faint glimpse of his smiling mouth was visible.

Judging by his height, he appeared to be around seven or eight years old.

Cedrick tapped his fingertip on the tablet, zooming in on the picture and carefully examining it.

“Is it possible to find out when Megan’s son passed away and the cause of his death?” Cedrick asked.

Swain shook his head and said, “Since they lived in the mountains, her son was never registered in official records.”

Without official records, it is impossible to find any information about his death.

As Cedrick’s brows furrowed deeper, he had a stronger suspicion that something was amiss. “Did you find her son’s grave up in the mountains?” he asked.

Swain shook his head once again. “Graveyards in rural areas usually don’t have names. Therefore, we won’t be able to find it. I’m afraid the only way to know is to ask Megan herself.”

Cedrick fell silent and continued to browse through the photos.

A few minutes later, the police officer who guarded the hotel room came downstairs. “Mr. Jenson, Megan didn’t want to stay any longer. She insisted on leaving, saying she wanted to go back home…”

At first, they could calm her down; but as time passed, the old lady became more agitated and was losing it. The police officers feared that she might cause a scene, so they had no choice but to report to Cedrick.

Cedrick expressed dissatisfaction by narrowing his eyes. He turned off the tablet and handed it to Swain. Then, he stood up and headed toward the hotel elevator.

The officer immediately escorted him to the room.

As soon as they reached the hallway, they could hear Megan’s high-pitched voice shouting with a heavy dialectal accent.

Although they could not understand, her irritated tone and foul language were obvious.

Megan had been stuck in there for the whole afternoon, which led her to the verge of a breakdown. Her gentle demeanor earlier could not be maintained any longer because all she wanted was to leave the hotel.

Cedrick walked to Megan with one hand in his pocket nonchalantly.

When Megan saw him, she instantly quieted down, then exasperatedly turned around and walked back into the room. She then went to sit down by the bed.

Cedrick flashed a look at the two officers, then closed the door behind him after entering the room.

He went into the room alone.

He brought a soft chair from near the window and placed it in front of Megan before slowly sitting down.

Without being aware, he reached into his pocket, searching for a cigarette pack, but it was empty.

He retracted his hand and ran his fingers over the surface of his wristwatch in a cold demeanor, and then he spoke in a detached tone that was void of any emotions. “Didn’t I tell you I would take the chance to host you and treat you to a nice meal? Why are you leaving after just half a day?”

Megan clasped her hands tightly around the hem of her clothes and sighed helplessly. “Mr. Jenson, I appreciate your hospitality, but I’ve been a village woman my whole life. I’ve never stayed in such a fancy, luxurious hotel before, and I’m not used to it. Mr. Jenson, please let me go home.”

Cedrick was slouching in his seat, casually raising his gaze. “Don’t worry, Megan. No matter what was your motive for saving Gwenny, I appreciate it. I won’t harm you.” Copyright by Nôv/elDrama.Org.

Megan averted her eyes unnaturally. “I didn’t have any ulterior motives. I went to pick mushrooms after the rain and came across Gwendolyn who was injured. I like her from the bottom of my heart, and I don’t expect your gratitude. If it happened again, I would still save her.”

Well, that was genuinely heartfelt.

Cedrick believed that she was sincere when she rescued Gwendolyn.

He withdrew his gaze and curled his lips. “You could leave, Megan. However, before you leave, you must answer my questions honestly. I’ll let you go immediately if you tell me the truth.”

Megan felt a subtle unease and swallowed nervously.

She asked, “What… what do you want to know?”