Ch. 1361..1365
Chapter 1361
To think that she had been so bold to hug Odell and even propose to become his mistress!
It was inconceivable, a complete departure from her usual
self!
He had been naive enough to see glimpses of Sylvia in her, and it turned out that they were completely different people all along
Cliff stole a peek at Odell through the rearview mirror and observed his stoic silence. He carefully broached the subject. “Sir, should | inform the department to have her fired?”
Odell made a look, a sharp gleam appeared in his eyes.” Just let her be for now.” Cliff could see from Odell's eyes that he was not remotely interested in Shermaine‘s advances, so he asked cautiously, “Was it because she had once rescued Madam Carter?”
“Nobody would undergo such a drastic transformation in such a short time. It's impossible.”
Cliff was startled by this remark and asked to clarify, “Are you saying that this is her true self all along and she was only hiding it?”
“When you first knew her, didn‘t you also think that her entire demeanor resembled Sylvia‘s?”
Cliff understood what Odell was implying and stated, “So she had been playing a role all this time and was trying to imitate Mrs. Sylvia just to get your attention?”
A profound look surfaced in Odell's eyes as he continued, “Apart from the day when she rescued my grandmother two years ago and the handful of meetings she had with Sylvia lately, she had next to no dealings with Sylvia at
all.” Cliff was puzzled. “How did she manage to figure out Sylvia's behavior and fashion style?”
Those were not something that could be studied from only a handful of brief interactions. Besides, from the very first time they saw Shermaine two years ago, they had the immediate impression that she resembled Sylvia.
Underneath the moonlight , something seemed to glow inside Odell's eyes. “Either she's schizophrenic, or someone is pulling the strings behind her.” Someone who knew Sylvia very well.
Cliff seemed alarmed. “If there‘s truly someone working with her, could this mean that whoever it was was also responsible for Madam Carter getting lost two years ago?”
Odell grimaced and stayed quiet. The troubled look on his face was more than enough to confirm that he had suspected the same thing as well. What Shermaine did just now was clearly a desperate proposition made by someone who was blinded by love. It was very unlikely that she had done that because she was mentally unstable or anything of that sort. Someone must have been giving her guidance this entire time and helped her navigate her way into Odell’s company.
After two years of effort, the sudden shock of being reassigned to another department must have been too much for her. Since she had the impression that Odell was into her, she must have made an impulsive decision back then that turned out to be an irreparable mistake.
After a long silence, Cliff suddenly asked, “Sir, do you want me to investigate further?” “Just make sure you don't draw any unwanted attention.”
“Understood.”
Shortly after that, the car came to a stop outside the house.
Odell stepped out of the car and walked into the living room.
The three little ones were eating with Madam Carter and
Aunt Tonya.
They turned to him in unison when he entered.
Sebastian greeted him and asked, “Would you like to join us for dinner as well?”.
Odell nodded.
Sebastian looked at the housemaid and gave a signal.
The housemaid quickly brought a set of tableware for Odell.
Odell went to his usual seat.
Madam Carter, Aunt Tonya, and the children were seated across from him.
After he sat down, he picked up the cutlery and asked candidly, “Did mommy contact you kids today?” Liam, Isabel, and Flint were all rather surprised by this question.
This was the first time he had so bluntly asked about their mother since she left.
This entire time, he had only resorted to eavesdropping whenever they called their mother. He would sulk at the table with a grim look on his face but would rather die than directly ask about her. After a lingering silence, Isabel was the first to answer,” No, Mommy said she's busy with something and will talk
to us later tonight.” Flint contributed by bobbing his head up and down and murmuring, “Yep, yep.”
Chapter 1362
Chapter 1362 Odell only grunted and did not ask any more questions after that.
The children looked at him suspiciously.
As if they were trying to read his thoughts.
Odell glanced at them and waved them off. “Eat.” They quickly bowed their heads down at their bowls. After dinner, they all went upstairs.
Odell sat with Madam Carter for a while. When she eventually got tired and retired to her room, Odell turned to Sebastian. “Sebastian, did Sylvia speak to you?”
Sebastian observed that Odell seemed to be in a better mood compared to the same morning. He informed dutifully, “The madam hasn't replied yet, maybe she hasn't read my message.”
Odell nodded.
It was extremely unlikely that she had not read the message yet, chances were that she was still upset and did not want to reply. He sighed and headed upstairs.
When he passed by the children’s room, he suddenly
stopped.
He could hear Flint talking from inside. “Mommy, something weird must have happened to Daddy today, he’s like a different person tonight. He‘s not so grumpy anymore and he's not so fierce with us anymore. He even asked us about you. | think he’s not angry anymore.”
Odell grimaced.
At the same time, his phone vibrated. He took a look and saw a new message in the group chat. Flint must have sent the voice message to Sylvia using Liam’s phone.
Something flashed in his eyes. He proceeded back to his bedroom after that.
Inside the children’s room.
Flint sat in front of Liam as usual and hogged his phone for himself.
Isabel sat next to them and was staring at their phone as well.
They were all eagerly waiting for a reply.
Shortly after Flint sent the voice message, Sylvia replied, “Is he feeling better?”
Flint answered promptly, “He‘s much better now.”
He immediately followed it up with, “Mommy, where did you go today? Was it fun?” Sylvia replied, “Mommy went to several places today, let me show you.”
She sent several pictures of the scenery she saw today.
It was very beautiful. Each picture could easily be used as wallpaper. Flint was delighted. “Wow, it's so beautifull!” Isabel looked at his amused expression with disdain and murmured, “Stop fawning, stupid.”
Flint turned to her and made a face with his tongue stuck out.
Isabel was immediately provoked by this. “What's your problem, you fatso?”
“Brother, help!” Flint quickly burrowed himself into Liam‘s arms.
Liam ignored them. He took the phone and sent a voice message into the group chat, “Mommy, why are you texting us? Can't you talk where you're at now?”
Sylvia replied, “Yeah, mommy’s friends are chatting right now so | can't send voice messages right now.”
Liam, “Okay.”
The past few times they spoke , she had been using text messages instead of voice messages.
Were things so hectic there that she could not send voice messages? Isabel suddenly asked, “Mommy, is this your last stop? Are you coming back after this?”
Liam fixed his eyes intently on the display.
Flint also screwed his eyes on the display and waited eagerly for a reply. After a few seconds, Sylvia‘s reply finally came, “Yes, I'll be coming home after this.”
Flint was overjoyed to hear this. “Yay!! | can finally see Mommy, I've been missing you day and night!” Isabel kicked him. “Go away, you fatso!”
She barely had a chance to speak to Sylvia because Flint had been hogging all the attention. She was also annoyed by how sappy Flint was being, going on about how he had been missing her day and night.
Flint went to Liam for help again. He scrambled for the phone and sent another voice message to cry for help.“ Mommy, | don't know what got into Sister. She's in a bad mood and is hitting me again, you have to come back
quickly and save me!”
Isabel was speechless.
Words were not effective, she proceeded to kick Flint instead.
Flint swiftly dodged out of the way, quite nimble for someone called a fatso.
Enmeone cale des patients in
Chapter 1363 Isabel missed and ended up straining her back.
She groaned in pain.
Flint grinned from ear to ear and continued to provoke her. “Heheh, you missed, hehe...”
Isabel's face immediately flushed with red, and she shot up from the bed.
Flint immediately took off and ran.
“You better stop right there you fatso!” Isabel ran after him.
Flint flung open the door and ran out.
This would mark the beginning of the grand battle between the two siblings.
Liam was still on the phone. He had recorded the entire interaction between Isabel and Liam and sent it to Sylvia.
Sylvia, who was miles away from her children in a remote town, laughed uncontrollably when she listened to the silly bickering between her children on the phone.
After a while, she sent a reply to Liam, “Thank you for sending this to me, Liam. This makes your mommy very happy.” «>
Meanwhile, inside a large bedroom.
Odell leaned lazily on the recliner and was killing time on his phone.
Notifications constantly popped up on his screen. It was Sylvia and the children chatting inside the group chat. He flashed a faint smile the moment he saw Sylvia asking about his health.
Right now, he was silently listening in on Sylvia and
Liam’s conversation with a ruminative look on his face.
Creak.
He heard the door gently pushed open.
He quickly put the phone away and turned to see who had entered.
It was Flint.
He was like a tiny bunny lurking around the house. The moment he entered the room, he darted his eyes across every corner and then quickly burrowed himself
underneath the bed. Odell made a look.
It was pitch black under the bed. He could only barely make out the shape of Flint’s large, bulging eyes with a tint of excitement underneath it.
Soon, the door was flung open with a loud crash.
Isabel ran inside. She seemed very upset.
She surveyed the room for a second, then proceeded to ask her father amid hectic gasps for air, “Daddy, have you seen Flint anywhere?”
Odell glanced under the bed. Flint looked at him with a pleading look in his eyes and was motioning Odell to not give away his position.
Odell announced blankly, “He‘s under the bed.” Isabel immediately crawled under the bed.
Flint quickly rolled out under the bed. He scowled at Odell then took off and ran again.
This time, he only managed to take a few steps before he was caught by Isabel who was faster than him. Isabel lifted him in the air.
She was celebrating like a hunter who had finally caught an exotic creature in her traps,
She smiled menacingly and taunted Flint. “Haha, Flint, you're doomed!”
Flint's tone immediately switched drastically upon being caught. “Sister, it was my fault, | won't ever do it again.” Isabel scoffed at this apology. “Even if you beg for mercy
a hundred times, | still wouldn't let you off the hook.”
She walked out of the room with Flint.
Carried in Isabel's arms, Flint made eye contact with Odell. He seemed anguished and upset with Odell for betraying him. Odell barely reacted.
1.1. He was in no mood to be concerned with their trivial games. He picked up the phone again and continued spying on the conversation between Sylvia and Liam.
It was mostly Sylvia asking about what Liam had been up to recently. They talked about what he had been doing at school and how things were looking at home.
Liam answered every question she asked.
Most of the things he revealed were completely new information to Odell as well.
The brat.
He reflected with a groan, then he swiped up and saw the array of pictures Sylvia had sent to them. He frowned instinctively when he saw the pictures. Why did she stop taking pictures of herself?
Next Chapter
Chapter 1364
Meanwhile...
At Shermaine’s place.
Ruth suddenly called her. It had been a week since they last spoke.
Shermaine was feeling especially irritable today. She was convinced that Odell was interested in her and had not recovered from the unexpected rejection yet.
She did not want to answer the call and proceeded to ignore it.
Several seconds later, her phone rang yet again.
It was Ruth calling her again.
Feeling highly annoyed at this point, she picked up the phone with a scowl.
“Sher, are you busy?” Ruth’s tone was uncaring as usual. The false concern she added in her voice never managed to achieve the effect she hoped it would.
Shermaine quickly sorted herself and answered, “Hey Aunt Ruth, | was in the toilet just now and missed your call.” “It's alright.” Ruth forgave her and moved on. “What have you been so busy with the past week that you
couldn't even give me a text?”
Shermaine informed with a long sigh, “I got reassigned to another department.”
“What? What did you do?”
Shermaine quickly explained, “I didn’t do anything, it's all that idiot Sylvia's fault. She still refuses to go home so Odell decided to have me reassigned to appease her.”
Ruth furrowed her eyebrows into a zipped line. There was now a certain animosity in her voice. “So you haven't seen him at all ever since you were reassigned?”
Shermaine had always been intimidated by Ruth and upon sensing the iciness in her voice, she became terrified and quickly remarked, “Yes, but | did get to see him tonight.”
“Where did you meet him?” “| was afraid that he‘d forgotten me so | went to the basement parking lot and waited for him. My plan worked and | saw him.” “What?” Ruth was baffled and exclaimed angrily, “Who told you to go to him yourself?”
Shermaine explained meekly, “We haven't seen each other for so long, | was really worried that he‘d eventually forget about me entirely so | had to see him.”
Ruth swallowed her breath and asked pointedly, “What
did you say to him? You didn't confess to him, did you?” Shermaine’s heart skipped a beat.
She quickly stated, “No, | acted like | was surprised to see him there and exchanged some common greetings with him.”
Ruth breathed a sigh of relief. “What about him? Did he say anything to you?” “He didn't say much, he just kind of acknowledged me before getting into his car.”
“Hm.” Ruth sounded relieved, she then continued, “I know you've taken a liking to him, but | need to remind you that he's no ordinary conquest. You have to follow the roadmap | have drawn out for you and eventually, he'll fall for you without realizing it himself.”
“If you do something as rash as throwing yourself at him and making your feelings clear, the entire setting falls apart. If that ever happens, not only is he going to fire you from his company, but he‘s going to completely lose interest in you.”
Shermaine frowned unnervingly when she recalled the scene of her hugging Odell only to get shoved away by him.
After a prolonged silence without an answer, Ruth snapped grumpily. “Hey, were you listening?” Shermaine snapped back to her senses and hurriedly
answered, “I heard you, I'll make sure I'll keep that in mind, don’t worry.”
“You better not forget.”
Ruth proceeded to hang up. Shermaine turned pale. Had everything fallen apart?
No... If what Ruth said was true, Odell would have become so upset with her and had her fired by now. There was no chance of her surviving inside the company.
He must have had a thing for her as well, but the only thing holding him back was his loyalty. He had only shoved her away and said what he said to keep up
appearances. Certainly, that must be it!
Besides, his relationship with that idiotic wife of his was rapidly deteriorating anyway. It was only a matter of time before he was done with her.
With this in mind, Shermaine’s resolution was strengthened.
Meanwhile, inside a secluded manor in a foreign land. There sat a middle-aged woman draped in a silky and expensive gown. She was leaning against a velvet couch with a glass of wine in her hand.
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Chapter 1365
Chapter 1365 She stared at the red and glittering wine, its luster was captured in her eyes. It was eleven years ago when she met Shermaine. She was only twelve years old then.
She had rescued Shermaine from poverty because of her extreme similarity with Sylvia. Her son was obsessed with Sylvia to an unhealthy degree and she wanted Shermaine to grow into a doppelganger of Sylvia to become the perfect replacement for the lover her son never had.
Only, her son wanted nobody other than Sylvia herself, he would rather go to prison than settle for Shermaine. There was also the fact that Shermaine had only come to resemble Sylvia in appearance but did not manage to capture her essence in any other facets.
In the end, she decided to let Shermaine go back to her home country and creep into Odell's life.
Even if she could not bring an end to the Carter empire, she would avenge her son by ruining Odell and Sylvia's romance! Only...
She frowned uneasily.
She knew Shermaine like the back of her palm.
During their conversation on the phone, she noticed that Shermaine sounded very agitated. There must be something more to it. Was she hiding something from her?
The look in her eyes sharpened, and she downed the glass of wine in one go and smashed it back atop the table.
She could not let the foolish girl foil her plans. She had to go back to Westchester herself to get a closer grasp on the situation.
The next day.
After breakfast, Odell was driven to the company as usual.
The car stopped at the entrance.
As soon as he stepped out of the car, he saw Shermaine standing by the side of the road.
It would appear that she was waiting for him.
He only spared her a glance before he continued advancing toward the entrance.
“Master Carter,” Shermaine suddenly stepped forward and called after him.
Odell turned to her. “What do you need?”
His tone and entire demeanor were standoff—ish.
However, Shermaine noticed that he was no longer as upset as when he shoved her away last night.
She was relieved by this and proceeded to give a heartfelt apology. “I want to apologize for my behavior last night, | stepped out of line. I'm very sorry and | promise to never do anything like that ever again.”
A profound look surfaced in Odell's eyes. After an uncomfortable silence, he spoke, “I'm glad you realized your mistake.” With that, he walked away.
Shermaine stood still like a totem. She quietly gazed at Odell marching into the building and heaved a sigh of relief, a soft smile slowly surfaced on her
lips.
Surely he must have a thing for her.
Otherwise, he would not have forgiven her so quickly, especially considering it had been no more than a day since it happened. Odell arrived at his office in no time.
Shortly after he sat down, Cliff entered the room. “Sir, here‘s the information | managed to dig out about
Shermaine,” he said as he placed a stack of documents on the table.
Odell quickly went over them.
Cliff began to relay his findings. “She‘s not from Westchester, she’s from a small town on the far border of Westchester. This town has seen some urban development in recent years but before this, it was a largely rural area with a majority of its population stuck in poverty.
“Her family was very poor growing up. From the information | managed to collect from her past neighbors, it appears that her situation suddenly improved roughly eleven years ago. It seems like someone suddenly began giving her family financial support and made sure Shermaine received a proper education.
“Before she graduated from university, she would travel abroad every summer break and only return days before the new semester began. It was during this duration when she began to shake off her rural air and transform into a city girl. | suspect that she must've gone to her benefactor during this period.
“After graduation, she stayed in Westchester. Her encounter with Madam Carter happened shortly after she began working. That's when we brought her into Carter Corporation and everything progressed from that point on until the present day.”
After going through the documents, Odell observed that her life’s story seemed nothing out of the ordinary, the only question he raised was, “So, who's this mysterious benefactor?”
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