Chapter 583:
So ungrateful, she mused. But she softened her voice, trying again. âIf anything happens to Colton, Keanu will be devastated. Surely you wouldnât be so heartless, would you?â
She dabbed at imaginary tears, feigning sorrow like a seasoned performer. âAllison, think about it. Keanu is not young anymore. Do you want him to keep worrying himself sick over family matters?â
Allison watched Lindy, barely able to contain the irony that simmered beneath her composure. This was the same Lindy who had always kept up a flawless, poised facade for the world â a woman who now grasped desperately at emotional manipulation, hoping to play Allisonâs sympathy like a puppet.
But Allison had no sympathy left for manipulation. She remembered something, a faint smile touching her lips as she leaned in.
âIs that so? Funny. From what I heard, Keanu is off vacationing overseas. He didnât pay any attention after knowing about the casino incident.â
Lindyâs mouth opened, then closed, her shock barely concealed. She stammered, momentarily robbed of words. Her manipulative script was disrupted!
Keanu didnât care about Colton right now; that much was painfully clear. But Lindy was hardly the type to retreat.
With barely a second thought, she dropped to her knees in front of Allison, unfazed by the curious stares of onlookers gathering around them.
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âAllison, if you donât care about Keanu, can you at least help me? Please, Iâm begging you. Save Colton. Heâs just a kid â everyone makes mistakes, right?â
Around them, tourists on Sunset Hill began noticing, their curiosity morphing into whispers and stares.
Lindy banked on it. Surely, Allison wouldnât refuse her with so many witnesses â public opinion was a powerful weapon. At that moment, Melany chimed in, her own voice soft and almost mournful as she, too, knelt beside her mother-in-law.
âThatâs right, Allison. Since you have time for a date, surely you can listen to your elders?â
Her words floated out, laced with a pitiful sweetness.
âLindyâs health isnât strong; her heart canât take this stress.â On cue, Lindy placed a hand over her chest, her face painted with feigned anguish.
âAllison, we never deprived you of anything, not once, in all the years you spent with usâ¦â
Melany, looking thoroughly stricken, hurried to Lindyâs side, as though attempting to hold her up.
âLindy, are you okay?â she asked, eyes wide with staged concern. The two women knelt there orchestrating the perfect despair. The crowd thickened, necks craning to get a better view, their quiet chatter swelling in volume.
âWhatâs going on here? Those poor ladies, kneeling to that young womanâ¦â
âLook at her â cold as ice. Not a hint of empathy! And doesnât the older woman look sick?â âLetâs go see whatâs happening!â
Kellan, who had been quietly observing from the sidelines, finally lifted his gaze.
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