After that, no more unusual incidents happened at the manor.
Sherlyn took care of Louis personally and she stopped hinting or asking Charlotte to spend time with him.
Nevertheless, Sherlyn spent time with the children daily, playing with them and teaching them oil painting as well as making all kinds of cute pastry.
With the exception of Robbie, the other five children quite like her.
Even though Charlotte realized that her warnings had taken effect, she did not let her guard down and she was always reminding Lupine and Morgan to keep on being vigilant over the children’s safety.
Gordon was vigilant in guarding the security of the manor. In fact, he had warded the intruders off a few times. Nevertheless, he felt that those intruders seemed to have inside help.
He had thought that they were arranged by Louis and so he did not make a fuss.
Time passed routinely and steadily. It did not seem too long and one month had passed by. The day that Charlotte and Zachary had agreed upon was just three days away.
As Charlotte watched the day approach, her heart was heavy since there was no news whatsoever from H City.
Ever since the phone call that night, Zachary had not contacted her again nor did he contact Robbie.
In between, there were two calls from Jamie who missed his Mommy but the little child did not mention Daddy.
Jamie cried immediately when he saw Robbie and Ellie in a video call.
Robbie asked anxiously, “Jamie, what’s wrong? Why are you crying?”
“I… I miss you.” Jamie wiped his tears and said in a choking voice, “You two are with Mommy while I am at home alone. It’s so lonely here.”
“How about Daddy? Isn’t Daddy with you?”
Ellie was heartbroken as she took some tissue to wipe away his tears on the screen but they could not be wiped away.
“Daddy is busy. He is not home nowadays…”
Jamie lowered his head sadly, not daring to look at them. He was not good at lying and he did not want to lie but he could not tell them the truth.
Charlotte’s heart ached as she noticed that Jamie was not optimistic like before but had become sad and depressed.
“Don’t cry, Jamie. In a few days’ time, Daddy will bring you here to fetch me. We’ll be together again, then.”
Affectionately, Ellie comforted him and then she started ranting…
“Nowadays, I can never get through to Daddy’s phone. What is he doing? Doesn’t he care about us anymore?”
“Ellie, Daddy must have something going on. We must be considerate,” Robbie did not approve of Ellie complaining about Daddy, so he solemnly explained. “The last time Daddy spoke to us, his voice sounded different. Maybe, he’s not well.”
“Okay, then…” Ellie pouted, not daring to say anything more.
Jamie blurted out, “That’s true. Daddy is sick. You must not blame him.”
“What sickness is he suffering from?” Robbie questioned immediately.
“I, I…” Jamie panicked instantly. His eyes became shifty and his face turned somewhat pale.
“Jamie, tell me quickly.” Robbie was anxious. “What’s the matter with Daddy?”
“I’ve got to go to school now, bye.” Jamie ended the video call in a panic.
With a beep, the signal was cut off, and Robbie picked up the tablet, furious.
“Robbie, what were you guys talking about? Is Daddy really sick? Is it serious?” Ellie asked anxiously.
“It’s all right. There is nothing to worry about.” Charlotte did not want to upset the children, so she quickly changed the subject. “Daddy has told me that he was injured slightly while doing his work. It is nothing serious.”
“Really?” Robbie asked.
“Of course,” Charlotte replied, smilingly. “It happened a few days ago; however, he’s on his way to recovery now. Don’t you guys worry.”
“Why didn’t you ask for us when Daddy called you?” Robbie looked at Charlotte in a puzzled manner.
“It was late and you were all asleep,” Charlotte explained. “The next time he calls, I’ll be sure to get you all together. I guess, he’ll be contacting me again soon.”
