Chapter 297

Joanna stood under the streetlight, her gaze fixed ahead until Edith’s figure disappeared completely.

She was about to leave, but when she turned around, she was startled to see Maisie’s face suddenly so close.

“Mom, it’s been a while,” Maisie said, her face calm and expressionless.

Joanna looked at her, and for a moment, Maisie felt like a stranger.

This was the daughter she had carried in her womb for ten months and raised herself, yet now she couldn’t see a trace of emotion on her face.

“Is this really my daughter, Maisie?” Joanna wondered to herself.

“Why are you here?” Joanna blurted out, suddenly tense as she glanced nervously around.

Maisie shot back, “Shouldn’t I be asking you the same thing, Mom?”

Once Joanna saw that Maisie was alone, she finally relaxed a bit and put on her usual authoritative air. “This is my business. You don’t need to get involved.”

“Would you even still be alive if I hadn’t stepped in?” Maisie shot back.

Joanna snorted. “You’ve got some nerve saying that! If you’d just amounted to something, I wouldn’t be stuck like this! Tell me, whose baby is Edith carrying?”

“Who else? It’s Daniel’s,” Maisie replied.

“Then why hasn’t Daniel married Edith yet?” Joanna pressed.

Maisie was her real daughter, but she always felt like Joanna loved Edith more than her.

“Say something! Is Daniel just planning to use her and toss her aside?” Joanna snapped, her anger rising.

Maisie felt her chest tighten even more. “No.”

“Then why was Edith all alone in Pinecrest, looking so miserable?” Joanna demanded.

“Mom, you still care about her more than anyone,” Maisie said, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.

Joanna paused, then gave a cold, bitter laugh. “Haven’t I ever cared about you? And what did I get? You went behind my back and teamed up with outsiders against me!”

“Amelia has been kidnapped. How could Daniel even think about getting married right now?” Maisie shot back.

Joanna froze. “Who kidnapped her?”

Maisie thought to herself, “Wait, does this mean Mom wasn’t involved in this?”

“Forget it, you don’t have to answer. Whoever did it, I just hope the kidnappers finish her off!” Joanna snapped.

Her eyes blazed with intense hatred.

If Catherine hadn’t given birth to Amelia, no one could have ruined her plans.

With the Kington Gang behind her and Daniel under her control, she would have firmly held her place as the matriarch of the Zuckerberg family.

She would have been basking in glory and prestige, instead of ending up like now—like a drowned rat, hiding in the shadows, afraid to be seen.

Her only daughter wasn’t even there to keep her company or bring her any comfort.

“Why did you choose to live here?” Maisie asked.

“I told you, it’s none of your business!” Joanna snapped.

With that, she spun around and stormed off.

Maisie didn’t hurry or lose her temper, just quietly followed behind her mother.

After following her for two blocks, Joanna finally snapped. “Maisie! How long are you going to keep this up?”

“Who is Monroe?” Maisie asked.

Neither Landon nor Amelia had said much about Monroe, but Maisie could tell he wasn’t someone easy to deal with:

If he were, Landon wouldn’t have failed to protect Amelia.

“He’s the leader of the Mystic Sect. You really don’t ever want to meet him,” Joanna said, her chest heaving with emotion.

“Well, he’s already in Norava. Sooner or later, we’ll run into each other,” Maisie replied calmly.

“What?” Joanna’s shock was unmistakable.

Seeing how genuinely surprised Joanna looked, Maisie felt a real sense of relief inside. This time, Amelia’s kidnapping wasn’t her mother’s doing at all.

That was such a relief! She no longer had to worry about Landon and Daniel teaming up to kill her mother.

“Mom, this is your only chance,” Maisie said.

Joanna asked, “What chance?”

“To atone for your sins,” Maisie replied.

“You want me to help save Amelia and go against Monroe? Hahaha, what a joke!”

Joanna let out a bitter laugh, clearly exasperated by her daughter’s request. Of all the people in the world, she’d save anyone but Amelia.

“Fine, I won’t bother you anymore. I’ll go save her myself.”

Maisie didn’t insist any further and turned to walk in the opposite direction.

Joanna gritted her teeth, grabbed Maisie’s arm, and pleaded in a softer tone, “Mais, just listen to your mom for once. Go back to Lunova! Don’t go up against Monroe!”

“Amy is my half-sister. As her big sister, it’s my duty to protect her,” Maisie replied firmly.

“Are you trying to make me so mad that I’ll die?” Joanna snapped.

“Well, you’re about to drive me to my grave too,” Maisie shot back.

They all looked helpless.

Joanna felt her vision go dark for a moment.

This girl was getting more and more rebellious. Every time Joanna said something, she just talked back.

If Maisie weren’t her own daughter, Joanna would have strangled her by now.

“Monroe isn’t like us. He’s got supernatural powers—he can control time. No one can beat him,” Joanna finally admitted.

Maisie’s eyes went wide in shock. “Supernatural powers? Controlling time? Is this some kind of fantasy magic?”

“He also has a twin brother—just as smart, and they look exactly the same. The two of them switch places all the time. No matter how clever you are, you can’t guard against both,” Joanna added.

With that, Joanna walked off, not wanting to stick around and get even more worked up by her daughter.

Maisie stood under the streetlight, letting its glow stretch her shadow. She stayed there in a daze for a long time, unable to snap out of it.

By the time the moon was high in the sky, Landon and his group finally made it back to Norava.

Daniel held down the fort while Aaron backed him up. Every resource at their disposal—both in the open and from the shadows—was thrown into the search for Amelia and the two kids.

But no matter what they did, they still couldn’t find them.

Monroe’s abilities were far beyond anything they could have imagined.

People were starting to wonder if Monroe had other abilities besides just controlling time.

“Don’t worry. As long as Monica is still under our control, Amy will be safe,” Aiden said, trying to reassure Landon while sneaking a glance at Night Owl.

Night Owl was like a doll—so delicate that just one long flight and she was about to pass out.

She better not say she was going to look for Monroe right now.

Night Owl shot him a cold glare, and Aiden quickly looked away, pretending to look elsewhere.

Night Owl let out a disdainful snort, sat down by herself on the couch, and started to sleep.

Aiden frowned and said to Landon, “Everyone’s exhausted. Let’s arrange for everyone to rest first.”

“Night Owl, come with me,” Landon said, noticing she wasn’t feeling well, and immediately took her to rest.

Aiden let out a quiet sigh of relief.

Kayla caught his little act and arranged for his room to be right next to Night Owl’s.

Aiden’s heart fluttered for no reason, and he went off to rest with a cheerful grin.

Landon couldn’t rest even if he wanted to.

He glanced around his familiar home, his heart twisting with pain.

At this very moment, Amelia should be here, holding Kimsey, waiting to welcome him home. But she was nowhere to be found.

He didn’t even know where she was.

“Did Maisie go back?” Landon suddenly asked.

“She went to find Joanna,” Daniel replied. “Monroe should still be in Norava. He might show up with his terms any minute now.”

Landon thought so too.

By now, Monroe had definitely realized they were back in Norava and couldn’t keep things under his direct control anymore.

Whatever terms Monroe threw at him, Landon would take them all.

Even if it meant springing Monica from jail.

Right on cue, Landon’s phone rang. He stared at the unfamiliar number, his heart thumping in his chest.

He forced himself to take a couple of deep breaths, trying to steady his nerves before finally picking up.

“Back already? That was fast,”

Just as expected—it’s Monroe.

“First, release Monica and my brother. Second, go to the hospital yourself and get an amnesia chip implanted. Wait there for me to pick you up,” Monroe ordered coldly.

Everyone sucked in a sharp breath. This was insane.

Letting Monica out was bad enough, but now Monroe actually wanted Landon to wipe his own memory and become nothing but a puppet for Monica.