For a while the man busied himself once more with his writing, not intending to resume the conversation.
After a final flourish of his pen, he placed it down and glanced through his masterpiece in admiration before pouring himself a cup of tea. “How is it going over at Oceanic Estate and Red Pavilion? Is the plan successful?”
“Yes, it is.” The man who was kneeling on one knee outside the hut gazed up optimistically.
“Jasmine is not released yet. I’ve heard that Devin had volunteered as a member of the International Anti-Terrorist Group. Red Pavilion had dismissed their housemaid as well. That should be the first time he is rebelling against Jonathan.”
“Mmm, not bad.” The man inside the hut appeared satisfied with the outcome.
Devin was deemed by many to be a capable member of the Jadeson family. Since Jonathan’s retirement, no one in the Jadeson family had managed to live up to Devin’s potential.
Even Charles who was capable enough did not have the charisma and brains of Devin.
That was why it was an imperative part of their plan to draw him away from his family. Devin’s absence would undoubtedly crumble the Jadesons’ power by at least half. The next stage of subduing the madman and Jonathan would be much easier.
He took a sip of tea before picking up his pen again.
It is worth it to exchange three useless lives for the demise of the Jadesons.
When Sasha returned to the Oceanic Estate, Jonathan had already gone out again.
The Jadeson residence did not seem as peaceful as it had been in the past. It was as if the tension after Devin’s actions was palpable in the air, shared even by the servants.
Sasha did not let on any clue that she was aware of what was going on. Instead, she headed straight for the garden to her children.
“Mommy, are you back?”
The triplets who were enjoying themselves in the garden ran over and surrounded their mother joyfully.
Sasha smiled and knelt before them. “What are you bunch doing? Look at you, all sweaty and sticky!”
To her surprise, she discovered that they were sweaty. In fact, her daughter’s pigtails were drenched.
“We’re flying kites today, Mommy,” Vivian replied happily. “Daddy took us out to fly kites.”
“Is that so?” Sasha exclaimed as she gazed affectionately at Vivian.
Matteo hugged his mother. “Of course it’s true, Mommy. Daddy played chess with me and Ian today, too. We felt bored that you weren’t here earlier, so we went to look for him instead. He’d actually agreed to spend time with us.”
Ian said nothing, though his usually reserved expression betrayed a hint of happiness.
Sasha felt her nose twinge. She reached out to pull all three into her arms.
It is a difficult change, yet it happened.
Though Sebastian had accepted them as his own children, he had lost all memories of fatherhood with them. As a result, Sebastian interacted with them as though he was learning how to be a father for the first time.
Up until recently, the children have been devastated to have been treated with such coldness by their father.
It’s much better now that he is willing to spend time with them.
Sasha held them as tears of gratitude ran down her face, unaware that at that moment Jonathan had returned to the mansion. He led a group of people behind him as they crossed the hallway.
“Mr. Jadeson, Dr. West is…”
On their way through the garden, Tony paused to stare at Sasha embracing the three children.
Jonathan did not notice as his mind was still buzzing with his interaction with Devin.
When Jonathan sought him out earlier, he was expecting the former to start another violent quarrel with him.
Unexpectedly, Devin admitted to his mistakes the moment he saw Jonathan and guaranteed that he would remain at the Jadeson residence.
It is a transformation filled with suspicious motives, to say the least.
Jonathan started and turned to Tony. “What did you just say?”
“Look over there.” Tony pointed at Sasha and her three children sharing a warm embrace.
It was only then that Jonathan finally noticed them.
The sight did nothing to relax his furrowed brows. In fact, his gaze became darker.
“Why are the two children so intimate with her? I am their great-grandfather and they don’t even hug me like that. How does an outsider like her do it?”
His outburst conveyed his displeasure plainly.
Tony too felt mystified. He had seen the two children being close to her and seemed to appear very happy every time they saw her.
Looking at Sasha’s smile in her children’s embrace, he couldn’t help but feel jealous.
“Mr. Jadeson, do you think that there’s something strange going on with that doctor?”
“What is strange about her?”
“Haven’t you noticed? She seems extra attentive to the boys. In regards to the poisoning incident, she did put in the groundwork, but how could she have known that Kira would take them out and cause them harm?”
Jonathan became rooted to the spot, a new suspicion forming in his mind.
He gazed over at Sasha with a dangerous glint in his eye.
“Find out about her movements over the past couple of days,” he ordered. “Confirm her identity. When Grayson sent her over the first time, he had vouched for her. We should have conducted a background check on her. Send someone to find out everything there is to know about her.”
