Nursery.
Veronica pressed herself against the glass wall of the nursery. Her eyes filled with excitement as she watched the two tiny bundles of joy sleeping peacefully in their incubators.
âGrandma, look at them! Theyâre so tiny and adorable! The girl looks like my brother, and the boy is the spitting image of Ellinor!â
Marissaâs gaze was filled with affection and a touch of sadness as she looked at her greatâ
grandchildren. But her brow was furrowed, hinting at the worry and complexity beneath.
Unlike the simpleâminded Veronica, the elderly woman had more on her mind.
After a moment, Marissa turned to Ida, who had accompanied them. Her voice was grave as she asked, âYoung lady, I understand youâre a longâtime friend of Ellinor. Iâm aware of the situation, but Iâd like to confirm it with you. Are you certain it was Theo who took one of the children from the delivery room when Ellinor gave birth?â
Ida nodded solemnly. âYes, we all saw it with our own eyes.â
Marissaâs brow furrowed. âBut our people have checked. Theo did book a return flight on the day of Ellinorâs delivery, but he didnât board the plane. Thereâs no record of him entering the country.
How can a man who has not boarded a plane or entered the country appear in Ellinorâs delivery room?â
Ida, while adjusting her goldârimmed glasses, took Marissaâs question as a defense for her grandson.
Her tone was cold as she replied, âMarissa, we have no reason to lie to you. Mr. Blanchetâs niece, Belinda, was also present. She saw Mr. Blanchet. If you donât believe Belinda, you can examine the hospitalâs surveillance footage. See if it was your immaculately dressed grandson who entered the delivery room and took the firstâborn child!â
Marissa sighed. âDonât misunderstand me. Iâm not doubting you. But the information we have doesnât show any sign of Theo boarding or entering the country, which is very strange. I just wanted to know if you might have mistaken someone else for him. If it really was Theo, that would be extremely odd.â
Ida realized that Marissa wasnât being unreasonable and softened her gaze slightly. âWhat about in M State? Have you been able to contact Mr. Blanchet or anyone close to him in the past few days?â
Marissa shook her head helplessly.
Veronica turned around, her face now reflecting her worry. âWe canât reach my brother or Collin right now. Weâre all worried about what might have happened.
And thereâs something else thatâs strange. The plane that my brother booked was delayed by three hours for unknown reasons and then crashed into the sea due to an unidentified failure.
Thankfully, neither my brother nor Collin were on it.â
Upon hearing Veronicaâs account, Idaâs eyes slightly narrowed.
She and Chase had also found that Theo had booked a return flight but hadnât boarded. They, too, had found it strange.
But after learning that Theo hadnât boarded, they hadnât paid attention to what happened to the plane.
So, it had crashed?
âCould it beâ¦? Someone must have created the illusion of Mr. Blanchet being in a plane crash but didnât manage to manipulate Theoâs boarding information in time, and you found out.â