Not giving up

Seeing how restless their mother looked, Archie and Benny asked deliberately, "Who's Lucian, Mommy? Why are we hiding from him?"

Roxanne slowly returned to her senses and stroked their heads, smiling as if everything was fine. "He's no one important. I just have a bit of a personal grudge against him. I want you both to hide if you ever hear his name, okay?"

The two boys nodded. "Okay, Mommy."

After Roxanne looked away, they glanced at each other curiously.

What could've happened between Mommy and Daddy? It all seems like a huge misunderstanding.

As Roxanne continued to ponder over what could be happening on Madilyn's side, the boys spoke again.

"Mommy, we left in such a rush back there. If that guy becomes suspicious, he might check the surveillance cameras and find us easily," Archie reminded.

The woman tensed up instantly. "Oh, God. I totally forgot! What do I do?"

I was so focused on running away that I forgot about the cameras! Lucian might already be here.

I can't stay here. I have to take the kids home right now.

Seeing the way their mother reacted made the boys turn away to conceal their smiles, and they only consoled her after they had suppressed the smiles on their lips.

"Don't worry, Mommy. I'll handle this."

Benny took his laptop and began tapping away on the keyboard.

It only took a while for him to hack into the restaurant's surveillance cameras and wipe out every footage of them.

"I'm done!"

After deleting all the footage, the boy glanced up at his mother with twinkling eyes, eagerly waiting for her to praise him.

Heaving a long sigh of relief, Roxanne pulled the two children into an embrace. "Thank goodness I have you. You've just saved me!"

Aware that she was still nervous, the boys let her hold them a little longer.

"Are we leaving now, Mommy? Or should we wait for Aunt Madilyn to come outside?" asked Archie after Roxanne had let go.

Having calmed down, the woman gazed at the entrance of the empty parking lot. "Let's wait a little longer."

The boys nodded in response.

Back inside the restaurant, failing to force a confession out of Madilyn, Lucian could only quash the hostility that surged within him.

"Pardon my rudeness. Thank you for helping me find my daughter. Well, then, we'll be off now. Enjoy your meal with your friends," he stated coldly.

Then, he turned to the little girl. "Come, Essie."

With a reluctant pout, Estella waved at Madilyn politely before walking toward her father.

Lucian arched his brow slightly but said nothing more, leaving with the little girl and his group of subordinates.

Upon walking out of the building, he tried to carry Estella into the car, but the child avoided him with a huff.

Seeing that, Cayden hurriedly stepped in and did the job.

The car began to move.

Seated at the back, Lucian reached out to his daughter and placed her on his lap.

With nowhere else to run, Estella could only let herself be carried like a doll, although she continued her silent tantrum and refused to look at the man.

"Tell me, Essie, was there another lady apart from the one from just now?" the man asked gently.

The little girl glanced at him and grew more infuriated at the thought of that pretty lady having left her because of him.

Seeing her scowl deepen, Lucian pinched her cheek in amusement. "I'm not even mad at you for running away from home, but you're here getting all mad at me? Don't you know how worried I was? Will you tell me why you ran away?"

Yet, the child shoved his hand away and turned her head to one side again, ignoring him.

Looks like she's really upset.

The man pursed his lips in frustration, feeling at a loss as to what to do. "You don't have to answer me if you don't want to, but promise me that you won't run away from home again."

He then turned to Cayden, who was seated in front. "Get the restaurant's surveillance cameras."

He clearly hasn't given up.

"Yes, Mr. Farwell," Cayden responded helplessly.