Chapter 3

I spent the entire night wide awake.

The next day, I contacted a friend who worked in home security systems. While Stephen was at the farmers' market buying groceries, I had hidden cameras installed throughout the house.

After taking care of everything, I packed my bags and put on a helpless expression. I told Stephen, "Stephen, there's been a problem with the project, so I have to go back to Lyndor tomorrow."

"Anthony just got out of the hospital, and you're leaving already?" he asked.

I looked down with a feigned look of guilt. "I don't have a choice. This project is crucial to the company over the next three years. I'll have to leave Anthony in your care again."

Stephen sighed. "Leave it to me. Anthony is my grandson. I wouldn't possibly mistreat him."

That noon, he drove me to the airport.

As I changed my shoes in the entryway, Anthony stood beside me with his head down, his little hand tightly clutching the hem of my shirt.

I got on my knees and hugged him, whispering in his ear, "I'm not leaving you behind. I'll be back soon."

Only then did he look up at me. For the first time in a long while, there was a hint of emotion in his previously empty eyes.

Once I was inside the airport, I took a photo in the departure lounge and posted it on social media with the caption, "Taking off again."

But I didn't board the plane. Instead, I slipped out through a side entrance of the airport and moved into an apartment owned by a friend.

I had already arranged everything with the overseas project team, having my assistant clock in and out as usual in my name.

At 2:00 pm, I opened the security camera app on my phone and saw Stephen standing in the living room, making a phone call. "He's gone. He really left. I watched him go through security myself. You can bring your things over now."

Half an hour later, the villa's front gate opened. A man walked in, holding the hand of a girl around seven or eight years old.

I recognized the man. He was none other than Caleb Zeller, the marketing manager at Sienna's company.

Over the past few years, he had often appeared in photos from the company's team-building events. Whenever Sienna mentioned him, she would only say that he was good at his job. He was divorced and raising his child alone, so she felt she deserved a little extra help.

And yet, Caleb took a pair of slippers from the shoe cabinet, as if he had done it countless times before. Meanwhile, the girl ran straight into the living room and tossed her schoolbag onto the sofa. "Grandpa, I'm hungry!"

"Kylie, I got you some lobster and your favorite cake," Stephen said with a broad smile.

Then, Anthony walked out of his room, hearing the commotion.

As soon as he approached the living room, the smile on Stephen's face vanished. "Who let you out of your room?"

Anthony stopped in his tracks, standing there awkwardly and fearfully.

My heart clenched. My own son was standing in his own home like an unwanted guest.

"Why are you just standing there? Don't you have any common sense? Hurry up and take Kylie's schoolbag inside!"

The girl, Kylie, kicked her schoolbag over to Anthony. "Hurry up, you loser!"

Anthony bent down to pick it up. However, Kylie shoved him. Anthony's slammed into the corner of the wall, and his face went pale with pain.

Stephen was right there, but he did nothing to stop it. He even grabbed Anthony by the ear and chided, "You can't even hold onto a schoolbag! What good are you? Just looking at your pathetic face pisses me off. No food for you today. Get back to the storage room and stay there!"

Anthony seemed to have grown accustomed to this treatment. Without saying a word, he made his way upstairs.

Caleb was eating a box of fruit. Seeing this, he leaned back on the sofa and scoffed, "Stephen, didn't we agree to send him to boarding school? It's annoying having him around the house all day."

Stephen poured him a drink. "What's the rush? Sienna said that once Malachi secures that overseas project and gets the next round of funding, we'll find a way to make him sign over his shares. For now, we still need to keep the boy around."

Caleb complained, "I just hate how unfair this is. I married into the Shenton family, and even Kylie is a Shenton, but we still have to keep our relationship hidden."

"Don't worry. Once Sienna gains control of the company, she'll divorce Malachi," Stephen quickly placated him. "By then, this villa and every penny Malachi has made will be yours and Sienna's."