Chapter 3

It was so quiet inside the lobby that you could hear a pin drop.

All the executives stopped in their tracks and turned to face me, astonished.

Eunice had halted as well.

She turned around and set her eyes upon Eve, whom I held in my arms.

For the first time, I noticed a sheer bewilderment in her eyes. It was a complete departure from her usual cool and unemotive self.

Before anyone could react to what was happening, she turned around and marched toward me in fewer than a handful of wide strides. Then, she collected Eve from my arms in one swift, practiced gesture.

Based on her practised ease, one could easily tell it was something she was accustomed to.

With one hand firmly supporting Eve from below and the other palming her back, she managed to position Eve perfectly and let the child nestle against her shoulder.

All the colour drained from Bruno’s face.

Even the comments in the livestream paused for a moment before another barrage followed.

[Huh???]

[Is it just me or… Ms. Latour looked a little too adept at handling the kid?]

[Wasn’t it Mr. Carter who said that she hated children?]

As soon as Eunice took Eve, the child immediately wrapped her arms around Eunice's neck before nuzzling herself into the crook of her mother’s neck while mumbling dearly, “Mommy…”

Her voice was sweet, tender, and sounded as if she was in between waking and sleeping.

Eunice’s body visibly stiffened.

When she looked at the child whose features resembled hers so closely, her brows were locked in a frown.

It looked like she was trying to recall something, but was only drawing blanks.

Bruno was the first to snap out of his trance. When he rushed over, he put on his most Hollywood-worthy performance.

“Sir!” He shouted sternly while jabbing a finger at me, “How could you teach your child to lie?”

The comment sections sprang to life at the same time.

[I knew it! He’s a scammer!]

[Mr. Carter says that he has already paid this guy!]

[Ms. Latour, put the kid down! Don’t let yourself get tricked by him!]

[What a wretched man! I can’t believe he trained a toddler for his scam!]

Eunice did not respond and held onto Eve.

Eve was lying soundly against her shoulder and was curiously inspecting the lapel of her suit as if trying to make sense of her new surroundings.

Then, Eunice looked away from Bruno before fixing a look on me.

Her beautiful eyes held my gaze for a long time, and the longer she did, the deeper her frown became.

“Have we…” Her cool voice was tinged with uncertainty when she spoke, “...met somewhere before?”

My first thought was to try to take Eve back from her.

However, Eve insisted on clutching onto Eunice and refused to let go. Her expression had turned into a pout, and she looked to be on the verge of tears.

Upon noticing this, Eunice instinctively patted her back. It was a gesture so natural that it seemed as if she had done it a thousand times in the past.

She tenderly soothed Eve, “There, there, don’t cry.”

Just like that, Eve dropped the pout before nuzzling into Eunice’s neck again.

Then, I slowly turned toward Bruno, whose expression was dark like the night before, asking, “On what grounds can you claim that this child does not belong to Eunice?”

He seemed caught off guard by the sudden question, not expecting such a bold confrontation.

However, it did not take long before he assumed his usual haughty demeanor, as if he had seen through my ploys.

With that, he announced loudly for everyone to hear, “On what grounds, you ask? On the grounds that Ms. Latour has been working for an entire month and never said anything about having a child! She has gone on record saying that she hates children, so how could you explain her suddenly having a young daughter?”

Then, he turned to the group of employees and executives gathered around to rally their support.

“I want you all to think about it for a second. If this was truly her daughter, why would she leave them hanging for an entire month to a point where they had to show up in such a poor state to find her?”

Then, he gave me a once-over to regard my outfit, whose colors had faded from the amount of washing.

He noted with clear contempt in his voice, “Sir, if you want money, you should just say it outright. Why bother spinning such an outrageous lie? To go as far as to teach a child to do something like this… Have you thought about what you are doing to an innocent child?”

The employees began to exchange hushed whispers among themselves and look at me with suspicion.

The executives were exchanging glances as well and seemed to be actively evaluating the situation.

Meanwhile, Eunice tightened her grip around Eve and observed the child’s gestures.

Eve was playfully toying with the brooch on Eunice’s jacket, completely unaware that she was at the center of a storm.

At last, Bruno reached for his phone and threatened to call the police, “Sir, if you’re going to keep up this farce, I’m going to report you to the police for fraud and harassment! Ms. Latour is very busy with work. She doesn’t have time for someone like you!”

At the same time, he signaled the bodyguards with a cursory look.

Soon, two menacing security guards were approaching me.

The commenters in the livestream had turned rabid.

[Call the police! Call them right now!]

[This greedy bastard belongs behind bars!]

[Boot him out of here already!]

I looked at the guards closing in on me, then turned to Eve, who was still clinging to Eunice and was clearly refusing to let go.

“I never taught her to lie.”

My voice remained calm as I spoke with a cadence slower than usual. “The first time she called out for Mommy, she said it to a picture of Eunice we had hung at home.”

With that, I reached for a tablet inside my bag, whose colors had faded completely from overwashing.