It was late at night. The children were already asleep. Roxanne, however, was having an episode of stomachache. She was hurting so much that she could not even straighten her back.
As Lucian gave the woman a massage, he nagged at her at the same time, hoping she would cut herself some slack at work. “This side effect must stem from my poor confinement period years ago. Now, it’s back to haunt me,” whined Roxanne..
Lucian was racked with guilt at those words. The tumult of his emotions got the better of him as he started to blame himself. With the warmth and moderate pressure coming from the man’s palm, Roxanne could already feel her pain slowly subsiding.
“It’s not that serious, actually. It only hurts on the first day. I bet I’ll be fine tomorrow morning!” she comforted Lucian. The duo eventually brought up the car accident.
“According to the investigation carried out by the traffic police at each junction, including the surveillance footage provided by Linda and Madilyn, there wasn’t any opening for anyone to even get close to your car. Is it because the brakes have really worn out?”
After Lucian summarized all available leads at that point, he gazed at Roxanne expectantly. Maybe she’ll recall some tiny details that I may have overlooked.
“Then again, the car’s still brand new. It’s absurd for the brakes to fail so soon. The deduction made by the traffic police couldn’t be wrong.” Lucian was quick to perish the thought he just had a minute ago. It was then that something popped into Roxanne’s head.
“I think I might have stopped the car somewhere yesterday night to help an old lady. cross the road. But I only spent about six or seven minutes doing that, I guess?” No matter how she racked her brain, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
That was the only lull she could think of so far. Immediately, Lucian’s eyes lit up. “Really? Which junction did you stop at? Can you remember?”
Without deliberation, Roxanne detailed the location of the said junction. Lucian, in turn, rang Cayden up and asked the latter to have the traffic police begin another round of investigation at once.
Half an hour later, all of Lucian’s hope went down the drain. The last thing he expected to hear was that the surveillance cameras at that very junction had been faulty the night before. For a moment there, he could not help but feel all the more heavy-hearted.
It seemed that it was those six to seven minutes that had granted an opportunity for the perpetrator to tamper with the brakes. That person was even well aware that the surveillance cameras were out of order. What a meticulous strategy!
“Could it be Shawn?” Lucian’s visage gradually turned as cold as the winter. It’s about time I meet that man from the north!
In the meantime, Sonya was recuperating from the accident at the Farwell residence. She had just taken the medicine prescribed by the doctor from the hospital and was about to turn in early that night when a car drove into the courtyard. It was Elektra. She rushed into the house, seemingly worried about Sonya.
“Mrs. Farwell! I was just back home, and my parents told me that you were in a car crash. How are you feeling? Is everything all right?” Her anxious gaze was shining with sincerity. She approached Sonya and scrutinized the old lady from head to toe.
“I’m fine, really. It’s so late already, Elektra. Why did you come all the way here? You could’ve just called me.” Sonya beamed.
“I’m glad that you’re okay! I was freaked out. What exactly happened?” Elektra simply had to ask the obvious. Putting up a front must be her forte.
After recounting the whole incident to Elektra, Sonya unwittingly added, “Luckily, it was me who had gotten into that accident. Had it been Roxanne instead, she would’ve been severely injured, considering how fast she would usually drive.”
The second Elektra heard that remark, her mien changed subtly. Even her eyes became frosty. Nevertheless, she managed to conceal her grim expression in no time. She must’ve decided to turn over a new leaf, huh? Thank goodness I wasn’t swayed by her!
Elektra secretly gnashed her teeth. On the surface, however, she had to muster a smile so bright. “It was such a coincidence, wasn’t it, Mrs. Farwell? You even managed to save Ms. Jarvis the trouble. Lady Luck must smile on her!”
Eh? Why must she talk like that? Something’s off with this girl.
Even so, Sonya chose to dismiss her doubt as she continued wearing an amicable countenance. “Thank you for your concern, Elektra. It’s getting late. I want to rest early. You should also go home and tell your mom and dad that I’m fine.”
