Chapter 36 Visit Marilyn
The moment Patrick heard Steven mentioning ‘the darkroom,’ a chill went down Patrick’s spine. “Steven, please… Don’t do that to me. I admit that it’s my fault, okay? If I leave, who’s going to take care of Mrs. Faulkner?”
“There are many housekeepers in Swallow Garden. We don’t need you to tend to Mrs. Faulkner!”
Patrick was then at a loss for words.
Noticing the temper rising in Steven as if he wanted to punish Patrick heavily, Genevieve spoke up hastily, “What happened this time isn’t entirely Patrick’s fault. It’s the opponent that’s too cunning. Giving Patrick a scolding should suffice.”
If it were not for Patrick hacking into Erica’s phone and unearthing all that information, it would have been impossible for Genevieve to exact vengeance.
If anything, I should be thanking Patrick.
When Steven heard Genevieve’s plea, his mood improved slightly. He then shot a glare at Patrick. “Hurry up and thank Mrs. Faulkner!”
“Thank you, Mrs. Faulkner. You saved me.” Patrick wiped the sweat off his forehead. “Otherwise, you’ll find only my corpse in ‘the darkroom’ once my sentence is up.”
Genevieve could not help but burst out in laughter at Patrick’s joke.
After a short conversation, Genevieve noticed that it was getting very late. She sent the men off to rest, then went up the stairs herself. Guess I’ve overthinked things.
Not long after Genevieve returned to her room, Steven came upstairs and entered Armand’s room.
“Mr. Faulkner.” After entering the master bedroom, Steven spotted Armand sitting silently by the window. Steven then marched over to Armand and reported his prior conversation with Genevieve to Armand. “I told a lie to Mrs. Faulkner. She believed it…”
Steven paused for a few seconds, then continued, “When I was handling the scene, I retrieved the surveillance footage from a store by the street. I spotted one of Ms. Wood’s bodyguards standing next to Mrs. Faulkner’s car for ten seconds after Mrs. Faulkner and Patrick went into the hotel.”
After Armand heard that, he narrowed his eyes. “Did you take care of the surveillance footage?”
“I’ve handled them all,” Steven answered. He then asked, “Mr. Faulkner, you’re constantly being considerate of Marilyn, but she’s acting more brazenly recently.”
Armand bowed his head down to look at the phone in his hands.
It was only out of pure coincidence that he had a business meeting in Langfield Hotel, which enabled him to push Genevieve down in time when the car exploded. Otherwise, Genevieve would have truly lost her life.
After a momentary silence, Armand unlocked his phone, then keyed in a series of familiar numbers.
However, before he made the call, his phone rang. The caller was exactly the person Armand wanted to speak with.
Steven took a glance at the caller ID, then wisely decided to take a few steps backward.
Armand stared at the vibrating and ringing phone. In the end, he accepted the call and placed the phone by his ear. “What happened?”
“Mando, I’m scared.” The sound of a woman weeping resounded from the other end of the line. The voice sounded weak and pitiful. “I had a dream just now. I dreamt that you dumped me.”
Armand initially intended to reprimand her. However, the moment he heard her cries, his initial intentions disappeared into thin air.
“It’s just a nightmare,” Armand coaxed her with his deep voice. His cold expression softened substantially. “Don’t think too much about it.”
“Was it truly a dream? It felt so real…” the woman sobbed. She then took things further and began to beg Armand, “Mando, come over and keep me company, will you? I’m really scared!”
“I’ll call a housekeeper and ask her to accompany you.”
“I don’t want a housekeeper. I want you!” the lady whined. She suddenly cried out in pain, “Mando, the b-baby is kicking me as well! Could it be that the baby is going to abandon me too?”
Marilyn’s cries made Armand’s heart ache. He could not bring himself to ignore her. “Be good and stay there. I’m heading over there now.”
“Okay. Mando, you must come!”
Armand promptly stood up, grabbed his coat, and got ready to leave. Seeing that, Steven let out a deep sigh in private. He then ran up to
Armand. “Mr. Faulkner, allow me to drive you.”
Steven was secretly disappointed. After all these years, that woman still has Mr. Faulkner under her thumb.
“No need. I can drive there on my own.”
“But you’ve suffered a heavy injury on your back.” Steven was about to say more, but as soon as he arrived downstairs, Armand was gone in the blink of an eye.
Meanwhile, Patrick, who had collected a pile of snacks from the fridge in the kitchen, was sitting in the living room.
It just so happened that Patrick witnessed Armand going out the door hastily. Soon after, his brother arrived downstairs as well.
“Just from one look of that bitter expression of yours, and I can tell where Armand is headed to.” Patrick dug out a big scoop of ice cream, then stuffed it into his mouth. “He’s going to visit Marilyn, isn’t he?”
