âThen, what are you planning to do?â Xavier asked through the phone.âWe have to keep looking into it!â
Winnie said firmly. âNot only should we honor the truth, but we must also be brave enough to accept it.âXavier said, âThen, Iâll go back and face everything with you. I know this is not easy for you, but things will be so much easier to deal with if you leave it to me.ââThatâs okay,â Winnie rejected Xavier outright. âWilhelm and your matter is equally important, and I hope you can prepare for this bid properly. As for this matter, Iâll handle this on my own. After all, we still have Josiah for support if I hit a snag somewhere, donât we? Unless you donât trust me and are afraid that Iâll try to cover up for her, then I canât say anything to that.ââThatâs not what I mean.â Xavier chuckled. âAre you using reverse psychology on me? You donât need to, really. Iâll agree to any of your requests if itâs reasonable. Heck, even if you are covering up for her, I can just call off the investigation. You know, all I want is for you to be happy.ââOkay.â Winnieâs throat tightened, and her eyes were a little misty. âThank you, Xavier.ââYou donât have to thank me, Darling. No wife will keep saying thank you to her husband.âWinnie smiled.
âOkay, I understand, Hubby.ââSay it again.âHowever, Winnie was not up for it. âSorry, Xavier. Iâm not in the mood. Maybe next time, all right?ââAll right. Whatever makes you happy. Wait for my return, and promise me, no matter what happens, be it a big or a small incident, you have to tell me. I canât be by your side for the moment, but my heart is always with you.ââOkay, I promise.âJust as Winnie stopped speaking, she heard Wilhelmâs voice in the background.I think Wilhelmâs looking for Xavier.âOh, you should get back to work. Weâll talk next time when youâre free,â Winnie said before hanging up. She did not want to delay Xavier and Wilhelmâs matters any longer.After she put away her phone, she stood up and looked outside the floor-to-ceiling window, her mind wandering. Then, she photocopied a copy of the documents before putting the original ones back into Josiahâs bag.No sooner had she zipped up the bag than Josiah returned.Lifting the paper bag in his hand, Josiah said, âIâve bought you a chicken salad. Howâs this? Itâs light enough for you, right?ââYes, this is good.â Winnie pushed the briefcase to Josiah. âYou can have this back.âJosiah smiled and jested, âSeems like youâre really not interested in my bag.âWinnie glanced at him before saying, âThank you for trying to lighten the mood by spouting nonsense, but Iâm really not up for it today. Sorry.ââOkay.â Josiah walked toward Winnie, sat in front of her, and took the salad from the bag before placing it next to her hand.In the meantime, she took the forks out of the bag and gave one to Josiah.âDo you want to know why I was able to listen in to your conversation with the private investigator?â Winnie asked.âYes.â Josiah lifted his head and glanced at Winnie with a smile. âHonestly, itâs easy talking with you because you know what I want to know without me saying it.âWinnie ignored him and unlocked her phone.Next, she tapped on the picture gallery and showed him a photo.Josiah had never seen this person before, so he asked, âWhoâs this?â Winnie explained, âSomeone who had been tailing you. Actually, I saw you in the elevator earlier on, but I figured you might be busy, so I didnât go over and greet you. However, I realized something was wrong when I saw someone following you. Naturally, I followed you two, too, and discovered he was eavesdropping on your conversation with the private investigator. When I confronted him, he kept denying he was eavesdropping. Heâs cunning, all right. Since I couldnât get any information out of him, I could only let him go. Fortunately, I took a photo of him. With this photo, I think itâll be easy to find out who he is.ââGood!â Josiah nodded. âThe photo is clear enough. Send it to me and Iâll have someone look into it, butâ¦ââBut what?âJosiah frowned and said, âAlthough I have never seen this person before, there arenât many people who would stalk me at this period of time.ââWho do you think sent him?âAfter pondering for some time, Josiah said, âIf Iâm not mistaken, it should be Stuart. He probably knew I was going to meet the private investigator. Moreover, I remember Xavier telling me that Stuart was aware we were investigating Jacintaâs case. If he really were your grannyâs biological son, then he would definitely be interested to know what we were doing. Nevertheless, your appearance had alerted him.
So, letâs say he is Stuart and Jacintaâs biological son, then his next step would most probably be informing Jacinta about this. When you return home later, try to sneak a look at your grannyâs phone.
You should look at her call logs or message records for clues.âWinnie nodded. âOkay, I will. Letâs eat.âJosiah knew this was the cue that Winnie did not want to talk anymore, so he ate his food quietly.After a silent dinner, the two returned to the residential area.As Winnie reached home, Jacinta was already lying on the couch, sleeping with the television on.The old woman would always wait for Winnie in the living room as long as she knew that Winnie would be spending the night at home.No matter what Winnie said, Jacinta would stubbornly stay up and wait for her.The elderly womanâs concern for Winnie warmed her heart like the amber-colored light at home.However, that day, as Winnie stared at Jacinta, who was sleeping soundly on the couch, she felt her heart wrench.Is someone so warm and gentle as my granny really the one who committed arson and helped Zyon escape his crimes?Winnie looked at Jacintaâs phone on the couch and reached out to take it.However, as soon as she bent over, Jacinta woke up.The older woman sensed a personâs presence and immediately opened her eyes.âWinnie? When did you return?âWinnie slowly retracted her hand and smiled faintly at Jacinta. âJust now. I saw you sleeping soundly and was about to cover you with a blanket. Granny, how many times do I have to tell you that you donât need to wait for me? If youâre tired, you can go and rest in your room.âJacinta sat up. âI know, but Iâll get worried if you donât come home safely. Also, Iâm not that tired when I was watching television and waiting for you. I donât know when I fell asleep. Well, enough about me. Have you had dinner? Do you want me to make you something to eat?ââNah, Iâm okay.â Winnie shook her head. âI already had my dinner in the office.ââThen, what about supper?â Jacinta stood up and was about to go to the kitchen.Smiling kindly, she added, âActually, I didnât know what to have for dinner just now, but I suddenly thought of mashed potatoes, which was your favorite dish you were younger. So, I went to the supermarket to get some potatoes. Iâve made extra, so you can have some of them when you get home.âWinnie was at a loss for words as she felt guilt wash over her.Thatâs right. We didnât get to have anything nice when I was young. In the past, just a bowl of mashed potatoes was considered a luxury. Gravy would make it better, and the mere thought of it would make me drool all day long. Granny remembers every single thing that I like.