Seeing their mother's restless demeanor, Archie and Benny cautiously asked, "Mommy, who's Lucian? Why are we hiding from him?"

Roxanne slowly regained her composure, stroking their heads and smiling reassuringly. "He's unimportant. I just have a personal grudge against him. Promise you'll hide if you ever hear his name, okay?"

The boys nodded. "Okay, Mommy."

After Roxanne looked away, they exchanged curious glances. What could have happened between Mommy and Daddy? It all seems like a huge misunderstanding.

As Roxanne pondered Madilyn's situation, the boys spoke again.

"Mommy, we left in such a hurry. If he gets suspicious, he might check the security cameras and find us easily," Archie reminded her.

Roxanne tensed. "Oh, God! I completely forgot! What do I do? I was so focused on getting away that I forgot about the cameras! Lucian might already be here. We have to go home now."

Seeing their mother's reaction, the boys discreetly concealed their smiles, offering comfort only after suppressing their amusement.

"Don't worry, Mommy. I'll handle this," Benny said, taking his laptop and quickly hacking into the restaurant's security cameras to delete their footage.

"I'm done!" he announced.

After deleting the footage, he looked up at his mother with twinkling eyes, eagerly awaiting her praise.

Roxanne sighed in relief, embracing her children. "Thank goodness I have you. You saved me!"

Aware of her lingering nervousness, the boys let her hold them a little longer.

"Are we leaving now, Mommy? Or should we wait for Aunt Madilyn?" Archie asked after Roxanne released them.

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

The boys nodded.

Back inside the restaurant, unable to force a confession from Madilyn, Lucian could only suppress his hostility.

"Pardon my rudeness. Thank you for helping me find my daughter. We'll be going now. Enjoy your meal," he said coldly, then turned to his daughter. "Come, Essie."

With a reluctant pout, Estella waved politely at Madilyn before walking to her father. Lucian raised an eyebrow but said nothing more, leaving with his daughter and his subordinates.

Outside, he tried to put Estella in the car, but she resisted. Cayden quickly intervened.

The car drove off. Seated in the back, Lucian put Estella on his lap. With nowhere to run, Estella allowed it, though she continued her silent tantrum, refusing to look at him.

"Essie, was there another woman besides the one from earlier?" he asked gently.

Estella glared at him, her anger fueled by the thought of the woman leaving because of him.

Seeing her scowl deepen, Lucian pinched her cheek playfully. "I'm not mad you ran away, but you're angry at me? I was worried sick! Why did you run away?"

Estella shoved his hand away, turning her head.

Looks like she's really upset, he thought.

He sighed, feeling at a loss. "You don't have to answer, but promise you won't run away again."

He turned to Cayden in the front. "Get the restaurant's security footage."

He clearly hasn't given up.

"Yes, Mr. Farwell," Cayden replied.

The final sentence, "Sᴇaʀ*ᴄh the Fɪndηovᴇl.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality," appears to be an unrelated advertisement and has been removed.