“What will happen if the Murphys opened the box and realized they had been fooled?” I questioned.
“They had the fake box, which had no openings. Unfortunately, that also means they will continue to hound us, so we are in for more trouble,” Ashton smiled and predicted.
“At the end of the day, the Murphys are after money. They are already very wealthy. Why the obsession with money?” I sighed.
Before we knew it, we had arrived at the Stovall residence. The compound was brightly lit. The housekeeper and a few staff were waiting for us. The housekeeper greeted us, handed our car key to the valet, and led us into the house.
The table was already set, but only Louis was in.
“Letty, you have arrived! Come, dinner is ready. Let’s eat.” Louis came up to warmly welcome us.
After greeting Louis, I looked around and realized John was not around. “John is not back yet?”
“He is on his way. We shan’t wait for him. Let’s get started.” Louis showed us to our seats and instructed the maids to serve dinner.
Just as we got seated, we heard a car driving in. “This rascal sure has a good sense of timing. He will appear right on the dot when dinner is served,” Louis derided.
“Oh my, you are early. I did not expect you to come this early. I thought the two of you will only stroll in around 8 p.m.,” John said as he walked in.
I turned to look and scowled when I caught sight of his companion.
“Rascal, get out!” Louis hollered.
“Uncle Louis, don’t be so mean. I was busy, yet still took time off to come back when you asked me to. How can you chase me out before I could even warm the seat?” He then turned to Yvonne, who was standing next to him and urged, “Yvonne, present the gift you bought specially for Uncle Louis. That should please him.”
Yvonne duly walked over to Louis with a big smile and a gift box in hand. “Uncle Louis, Johnny said you enjoy tea. I hope you will like this premium. Do try it when you are free.”
She presented the tea with both hands and had a perfect smile on her face. She looked every inch a well-mannered, elegant scion.
All the time she spent hanging around the socialites was not wasted after all. She had learned a lot from those ladies. If I had not seen the ugly side of her when we met in the bar years ago, I would have thought she was an heiress of a wealthy family.
Time had worked miracles, transforming her into a lady.
Louis did not take the gift from her hands. His dark gaze was on John. “What are you thinking?” he bellowed.
John shrugged and nonchalantly said, “Yvonne is presenting you with a gift. Out of courtesy, you should at least take it from her hand. If you want to nag at me, do wait till everyone leaves after dinner. If you flare now, you will spoil the day for all of us.”
He then took the gift from Yvonne, placed it next to Louis, and led her to sit at the table. “What is everyone waiting for? Let’s eat!” He acted as if nothing had happened.
I glanced at the indifferent John, stood up, and poured Louis a glass of water. “Uncle Louis, have some water.”
Louis took the water from my hand. He was visibly furious, staring sternly at John. He looked like he was ready to thrash John anytime. John couldn’t care less and was eating his dinner, unconcerned.
Louis was angry as it was supposed to be a family dinner, so Yvonne’s presence was not welcomed. John clearly understood that, but he still brought her along.
It was not a good time to find out why he did that, so I kept quiet.
Another car drove in shortly. I was surprised as I did not expect more guests.
Hannah walked in with her nanny and her son. Louis’ face broke into a smile when he heard Quilo’s voice. He hurried out to carry him.
“In the future, let me send the driver to pick you. It is a struggle for you, with baby in tow.” Louis started chatting with Hannah.
Hannah’s gentle voice could be heard saying, “It is just a short distance from here. I called to inform you I’ll be late, and not to wait for us, yet you…”
She abruptly stopped in the middle of her sentence. The sight of Yvonne and John caught her by surprise.
She recovered quickly and turned to us, her smile still intact on her face. “My apologies for being late, Scarlett and Mr. Fuller. We left home late and got caught in a traffic jam.”
I smilingly shook my head to assure her it was okay. We chatted briefly before sitting down to dinner. Quilo was left in the nanny’s care in the next room.
What was supposed to be a cozy family dinner turned into an awkward one. Only John continued eating, unaffected.
