Growing Suspicion

Just as I was about to drift into sleep, a troubling thought jolted me awake. If she's been watching me and reports everything to Sean, wouldn't they try to sedate me again if he gets suspicious? The more I thought about it, the more uneasy I became. Especially now that I had brought Gage back—if I were sedated again, what would happen to the children?

As these thoughts plagued me, I suddenly heard a faint noise. I held my breath and listened closely.

No doubt about it, it was Anna again.

Once the sound faded, I quickly got up, retrieved the new phone I had hidden, and slipped into the bathroom.

Turning on the phone's monitoring app, I saw Anna sneaking over to the medicine cabinet. She listened for a moment before squatting down to rummage through it.

It took her quite a while, but eventually, she restored everything to its original state and quietly returned to her room like a ghost.

The next morning.

When Sean got up, he seemed perfectly fine, as if nothing had happened. Seeing me still in bed, he asked, "Why aren't you up yet?"

"You had a fever last night, and I was up half the night. My head still hurts," I mumbled, "I really can't handle late nights anymore."

"I'll take the kids to school then." At his words, I immediately sat up, "No, I'll take them! Missing the second day would be irresponsible."

I hurried to get dressed and went to Gage's room, where he was already dressing himself.

After dropping him off at school, I didn't rush back. I stayed in the car and checked the surveillance footage. Just as I expected, Anna had reported me.

I saw Sean pause his breakfast and look up at her, asking, "Are you sure she was searching?"

"Absolutely, she spent ages looking for something in the car," Anna replied earnestly, "I saw the whole thing."

Sean slowly sat back, leaning into his chair, his eyes narrowing in thought.

My hands clenched involuntarily, palms sweating. Damn Anna, she's hell-bent on destroying me—a die-hard puppet.

At this moment, Arya came out of her room in new clothes, looking neat and sitting properly at the table. Anna sneered at her before sliding her breakfast over.

Sean glanced at Anna but didn't ask any more questions, resuming his meal.

I turned off the phone. With Arya there, they wouldn't continue the conversation.

I sat in the car for a long time, nervously biting my nails. Suddenly, an idea struck me. I started the car and drove to the nearby pharmacy to buy some medicine, hoping to miss Sean's departure time.

To my surprise, when I got home, Sean, who should have left for work, was still sitting in the living room.

Seeing him, I was momentarily stunned but quickly put on a concerned face, "Why haven't you left yet? Are you still not feeling well?"

He looked up at me and smiled faintly, "I'm waiting for a call."

That's when I noticed two identical black phones on the coffee table in front of him.

I immediately understood his intention—he was testing me. It seemed he had begun to suspect me.

I put down the bag I was carrying, placing it on the table next to the phones, and lazily sank into the sofa, feigning exhaustion, "Just a few steps tire me out. A poor person with a rich person's body! One late night nearly kills me!"

He glanced at the bag and asked, "What did you buy?"

I sneered inwardly. Hooked.

"I stopped by the pharmacy to buy some medicine. The ones we had at home were all expired!" I yawned, still pretending to be drowsy, "Luckily, I found some cold medicine in your car. With such a high fever, you needed to take something. Make sure you see a doctor today, don't be careless!"

I didn't say much, just enough to hint.

"It's nothing, just a little chill. I'm much better today! No need for the hospital," Sean said indifferently, "Last night was really uncomfortable."

No hospital? Keep pushing your luck! I figured his other health issues were flaring up.

"You men just hate going to the hospital. A fever can't be ignored, especially since it was so high last night."

I spoke earnestly. I didn't know if Anna had mentioned the 39.2-degree fever to him.

"It's just a chill, nothing serious!" he dismissed.

"Then keep your distance from the kids. Have Anna mark their utensils. Children have low immunity and need to go to school. Don't overlook this!" I was genuinely concerned, not wanting to be worried all the time.

"Okay! I'll go after this call. Have Anna disinfect the utensils."

He deliberately picked up the two phones and fiddled with them.

I didn't even look, "You wait for your call then. I'm going upstairs to catch up on sleep. I didn't rest well last night, and my head hurts."

I stood up and reminded him, "Have Anna put the medicine in the cabinet. Oh, take two more cold pills before you leave. If you get a fever again today, let me know, and I'll go to the hospital with you."

"Maybe another time. Busy day today!" He put the phones back on the table.

Ignoring him, I yawned and headed upstairs.

Once in my room, I locked the door and quickly checked the surveillance. I saw Anna come out, asking Sean, "Are you feeling okay?"

Sean gave her a sideways glance without answering, then silently got up, took the two phones, and left.

Anna chased after him, "You haven't taken your medicine."

But Sean was already out the door.

I heard the car start up downstairs.

I turned off the phone and hid it again. From my knowledge of Sean, he hadn't dismissed his suspicions.

My head felt heavy and I was exhausted, but the priority was to catch up on sleep so I could think clearly. I couldn't afford to make any reckless moves now.

I was woken up by a call from Inara, saying that the plan to meet Elena was arranged.