Chapter 15

Chapter 15

At Sylvia’s residence.

The barbecue ingredients that Sylvia spent hours preparing had to be put back into the icebox. Without

Liam present, Isabel hardly had any appetite. It was only under Sylvia’s insistence that she took several

bites

The child sat on her lap with her eyes drowned in pools of tears as she rambled on and on,” Mommy, do

you think the stinky uncle will give brother a hard time?” Sylvia answered, “He probably won’t.” “But he’s

so scary. I don’t think brother can stand up to him.” Sylvia smiled softly. “He treats your brother the same

way your mommy treats you.” “But Mommy never gets angry at me and also won’t stop me from playing

with brother.“ Sylvia felt a lump in her throat. “That’s because he doesn’t know you’re his daughter yet.”

Isabel gasped. “Does this mean he will let us play together if he knows?” Sylvia fell silent. If Odell

discovered the truth, the chances that he would take Isabel back to the Carters were high.

That way, Isabel would get to play with Liam all the time. However, it would come at the cost of her being

separated from both her children for good. Before Sylvia could elicit a response, Isabel turned to her with

eager eyes. She immediately noted the sorrowful look in her mother’s eyes. She muted her enthusiasm.

“Mommy, who cares about him knowing anyway?” Sylvia smiled. “But if he knows, he might let you be

with your brother.’ “Then, I’ll have to leave Mommy,” Isabel said with a pout, “I don’t want to leave

Mommy.” Sylvia was deeply reassured by the child’s genuine affection, and she felt her nose tingling.

She hugged her daughter tightly and gently told her, “Isabel, Mommy will think of something to bring your

brother here.”

Besides, Liam and Isabel were in the same kindergarten and could still see each other during the day.

So long as Odell did not transfer Liam to another kindergarten, she could find a way.

Early morning at the Bakers’, when the butler knocked on the door, Odell, who had been sitting on the

chair all night, snapped his eyes open. He glanced at the bed. Liam, who had stubbornly stayed up and

glared at him last night, had fallen asleep sometime

in the night. He was peacefully sleeping on his side of the bed. At the head of the bed, the plate of food

they had prepared for him remained completely untouched.

Liam did not so much as nibble at the food. A heavy look surfaced in Odell’s eyes. He got up and opened

the door. He immediately instructed the butler, “Prepare some breakfast for him.” Noticing that Odell was

leaving, the old butler quickly asked, “Master Odell, it’s time for school soon. Won’t you let the young

master out?”.

Odell looked back at Liam.

The boy was still sleeping soundly on the bed. Odell scoffed and declared, “Keep him here. We’ll decide

what to do after he eats.” He refused to believe that he could not drill this lesson into the brat.

……

The day passed in the blink of an eye.

It was evening, and school had ended for Isabel. Sylvia arrived at the gate of the kindergarten on time.

After waiting for a while, she saw Isabel walking out sullenly with a small pink schoolbag slung on her

shoulders. “Isabel,” Sylvia called out to her. “Mommy!” Isabel ran to her immediately when she saw her.

Sylvia embraced her and asked, “Why are you by yourself? Where’s your brother?”

“Brother didn’t come today. I went to ask the teacher, and the teacher said that his family requested

leave for him. He won’t answer my calls either,” Isabel answered dully.

Sylvia frowned.

“Mom, did the stinky uncle lock brother up?” Isabel asked in concern.

The concerned Sylvia knitted her brows together tightly.

Isabel was so upset that Liam could not come to the barbecue last night that she had broken down in

tears. Knowing Liam, he was probably more upset.

Although the boy rarely expressed his emotions, he had more or less inherited Odell’s bad temper. He

must have gotten in trouble with Odell when he went home last night.

Since he was absent today, it must have been a huge fight.

Being a three-year-old, the only weapon he had against Odell was to refuse to eat at the demise of his

physical health. There was no other leverage he had over Odell.

The more Sylvia thought about it, the more worried she became. She said to Isabel, “Don’t worry.

Mommy will take you home first, and then go to see your brother.” With that, she brought Isabel into the

car.

She first took Isabel back home to entrust her to Aunt Tonya, then she drove to the Carters’.

It took almost an hour for her to reach the Carters’. The day was just turning to dusk, and the sky above

was rapidly darkening.

Sylvia parked the car somewhere hidden, then she put on a hat and then felt her way toward the back

exit of the manor.

She was going to climb over the wall to look for Liam.

However, she was completely oblivious to the fact that there was someone else parked underneath the

shade of the trees on the other side, and the passengers in the car noticed her. Tara investigated the

suspicious figure and turned to Odell. “Odell, is it just me, or does this person look a bit like Sylvia?”

Odell was about to get out of the car when she said this. He observed the figure again.

Moments after, he broke into a smile.

Who else could it be?

Sylvia felt her hands touching the backdoor.

It was closed.

After checking that nobody was passing by, she immediately climbed to the top of the wall by launching

herself off a tree next to the wall. Then, she hopped off the wall. She landed firmly on both feet before

she began to advance.

It was around this point that she heard a rapid chorus of footsteps approaching.

In the blink of an eye, she found herself surrounded by a group of large bodyguards.

Shortly after that, a tall figure appeared from behind them.

The handsome, charming prince wore a stoic expression, but a satisfied, cunning grin soon broke

through the surface.

Sylvia took a step back. She smiled and greeted, “Good evening, Master Odell.”

Odell dismissed the greeting with a scoff before ordering the bodyguards, “Bring her to me!”

Just as the bodyguards swarmed forward, Sylvia turned and tried to jump over the wall. However, she

was not quick enough and they managed to grab hold of her legs in time. She was yanked back to the

ground.

Two bodyguards stepped forward and tied her hands and feet down with ropes, so Sylvia was forced to

the ground.

Odell walked up to her and looked down at her with disdain. “What happened? Aren’t you good at

escaping? Care to show me a few tricks?”

“I’m afraid you’ll have to untie the ropes before I can put on a show for you,” Sylvia answered with a grin.

Her smile was both candid and seducing.

Odell gave her a look, then he squatted in front of her, raised his hand, and pinched her face.

His fingertips were warm to the touch, but the pinch did not hurt much.

Sylvia was puzzled by this and asked, “Why are you pinching me?”

Odell quipped, “I wanted to see how thick your skin is.”

Sylvia decided to rile him up. “The way you touch me so softly and gently makes me wonder if you were

trying to take advantage of me because of how pretty I am.” Odell’s expression was wiped away in an

instant, and he suddenly pinched her cheeks harder, making Sylvia wince in pain.