Chapter 552

“Have you had dinner yet?” Allison asked, leaning against the kitchen counter with a casual air.

“Huh?” Emma blinked, taken aback by the sudden question. Truth be told, she hadn’t had the chance to grab a bite all evening. Her tasks kept her hands full.

Allison chuckled. “I haven’t either. I whipped up some spaghetti. Let’s eat together.”

“Sounds good.”

Meanwhile, at the Flanagan household, inside the study…

Margo knocked and entered. There was concern etched on her face. “I can’t find Robbie anywhere. I’ve sent people out, but they’ve come back with nothing. It is said he owes Darian a lot of money, so he has been hiding himself somewhere. No one knows where he’s holed up.”

Leah’s expression soured as she glanced over at Penelope, cursing inwardly at why she gave birth such a foolish daughter. It hadn’t been more than a few days since the last debacle. However, Penelope, driven by jealousy, had let slip the photo scandal to frame Allison.

Leah rubbed her temples, wondering how she ended up with a daughter who did nothing but hold her back.

After the last mess Penelope stirred up, Leah had been forced to plead with Allison. She even agreed to a certain condition in order to make Allison go on Twitter and declare they were friends. She made such an effort to quell the rising storm.

Penelope, oblivious to her own faults, piped up, “Mom, why are you looking for Robbie?”

“Why am I looking for Robbie? Because of you!!” Leah clutched at her chest, feeling a heart attack looming. “Penelope, can’t you just give it a rest for once and focus on Lucian instead of trying to humiliate Allison? Whatever Allison is like, it’s none of your business! I don’t understand what you could gain from leaking dirt on Allison at such a critical time. All it does is to get a few internet trolls to badmouth her, which doesn’t benefit you in the slightest!”

“But it does benefit me! Seeing her get dragged makes me feel better. You have no idea how rough it’s been for me with the online exposure lately!” Penelope retorted, feeling that her mom was getting more and more timid. “Mom, why are you so afraid of Allison? She’s the one in hot water now, too busy to worry about us.”

Leah shook her head in disappointment and turned to Margo. “Keep looking. Do whatever it takes to find Robbie.”

Margo nodded. “I’ve already doubled down on the search. We’ve tracked him as far as Darian, who claims he hasn’t found Robbie either and has no clue where he might’ve gone. You know when they borrow money with steep interest, they can vanish without a trace. Reaching Robbie’s circle has been nearly impossible, as none of his friends could be contacted.”

Penelope still didn’t grasp the severity. “Mom, why do we need Robbie?”

“You’re truly hopeless!” Leah exclaimed. “Right now, Allison is caught in a scandal over those lewd photos. If she can prove she’s not the woman in them, who do you think the finger will point at next?

The man’s profile in those photos is Robbie’s. If Allison finds Robbie, what will you do then?”

Penelope’s face turned ashen. She hadn’t thought it through.

When Nathalie brought up the matter, Penelope’s only thought was to get back at Allison. She didn’t consider the repercussions. Now panic set in.

“Mom, what do we do?” she pleaded.

Leah sighed deeply. Allison had leverage over her. If Allison released the video of Leah begging her to issue a statement to help Penelope, it wasn’t just her dignity on the line. Penelope would be crushed under even greater public scrutiny. Their only hope was to find Robbie and plan their next move.

Penelope, pale and frantic, took out her phone and dialed Robbie’s number, but there was no answer.

Her face was white as a ghost. She stammered, “Mom, what do we do if Allison finds Robbie? I’m done for!”

“Now you’re afraid?” Leah’s voice was sharp with irritation. “I’ve told you time and again to be sensible and not to provoke Allison. We just got your bad press to die down!”