Chapter 491 Timmy or Jimmy?
Josephine had originally asked Courtney to pick a birthday present with her, but after they had browsed through many shops in the shopping mall, Courtney started to find her a burden.
“Josie, I think that this bag’s nice. I’m sure that Great-Aunt Alicia will love it.”
Courtney slung the bag on herself and twirled it in front of Josephine as she modeled it on herself. However, Josephine merely rolled her eyes at Courtney. “Please, Mommy. You seem to be picking a gift for yourself. Great-Aunt Alicia’s nearly sixty years old, so she wouldn’t fancy bags with gold rims.”
As soon as Courtney heard that, she silently put the bag down and trailed after Josephine, who had already turned around to enter another shop.
“How about this silk scarf? I think this scarf suits Great-Aunt Alicia very much, and it’s her favorite color too.”
At that moment, Josephine was tugging on the straps of her bag with both hands, and she peered out of her hoodie to reveal a pair of large, bright eyes. She considered Courtney’s suggestion seriously and the shop assistant was quite perceptive too, so she quickly squatted down and enthusiastically held the scarf in front of Josephine as soon as she saw that. “Hey there, this scarf here is our best-selling product, and many customers came to get this when it was first released. This is the only one left, so if you like it, you should probably grab it as soon as possible.”
As soon as Josephine heard that, she nodded her head and the slight frown on her face disappeared. “I’ll skip this then. Great-Aunt Alicia mentioned that she doesn’t like best-sellers.”
After she had said that, she turned on her heels before marching to the next shop decisively.
They finally entered the final shop on the second floor of the shopping mall, and at that point, Courtney’s soles were slightly swollen. She took a seat in the public waiting area of the second floor, and she looked at Josephine with a defeated look. “I’m feeling tired. How about—”
“Mommy, look!” Josephine’s shrill voice suddenly made Courtney stifle her words.
She glanced in the direction where Josephine was pointing with a slightly confused look. “What is there to see?”
“This shop, Dolce Patisserie, is owned by Fiona’s dad, and she said that we can go and try everything for free.”
There was a glimmer in Josephine’s eyes, and there was an excited expression on the five-year-old’s face, which was hardly ever seen. After she had said that, she instantly dragged Courtney’s hand and bounded toward the shop.
There was a group of five people lining up in front of them at the entrance to Dolce Patisserie. Josephine then pushed Courtney to the front so that she could help Josephine to take a look at the menu. Since she was left without a choice, Courtney could only stand on tiptoes and recite the menu to Josephine.
“That would be twenty-five.”
The cashier stretched out with his hand at the little boy in front of Josephine. However, the boy grabbed the huge slice of cake and gobbled it as he disregarded the cream smeared all over his face. The boy did not seem to have the intention to pay for the cake.
At that point, the cashier’s expression changed. “Hey, you brat! Are you going to dine and dash?! Where are your parents? Get them here right now to pay for this!”
The boy turned around and tried to run off, but the cashier was agile and managed to grab the boy around his collar. Before the cashier could say anything, the boy, who was perhaps anxious or angry, kicked him several times.
The cashier could not control his anger upon being kicked, so he carried the boy in the air. “Where are your manners?! Don’t even think of leaving this place today if you don’t pay for the cake!”
At this moment, Courtney saw the unfolding scene and she was about to say something when Josephine suddenly popped her head out from behind Courtney. Subsequently, Josephine tugged on the cashier’s orange apron. “Hey there, sir. He could be Fiona’s classmate too.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m Fiona’s classmate too. I thought that we’re allowed to try the desserts in the shop for free?”
The cashier placed his hands on his hips and roared, “Are you planning to dine and dash too?!”
Josephine felt that the handsome guy’s words were true. However, she could not seem to fathom why he was so mad when Fiona had actually agreed to this. As such, Josephine nodded her head firmly. “Fiona said that I could do so.”
Swiftly, Courtney put a stop to the debacle before the cashier grabbed Josephine around her collar too. Courtney quickly took out some money and pointed to the little boy, whose face was already distorted from struggling too much. “Let him go. I’ll pay for the cake.”
After the cashier received the payment, he released the little boy before the boy fled and disappeared without a trace.
Josephine ate her tiramisu dejectedly after they bought the dessert. At that moment, Courtney thought that she was upset because Fiona had lied to her, so Courtney was just about to comfort her when a soft voice rang out and interrupted her thoughts. “I’ve seen that boy before.”
“Huh?”
“He was the one who hurt Angie the last time I went to the orphanage with Great-Aunt Alicia. I remember one of the staff members saying his name. His name is either Timmy or Jimmy.”
As for Courtney, her heart skipped a beat as soon as she recalled the incident, and frankly speaking, she didn’t have a good impression of this hot-tempered little boy.
“How could a child from the orphanage turn up here? Could it be that you’ve mistaken him for someone else?”
“I don’t think so.” Josephine had a strong impression of this little boy because of his dark, naturally curly hair. “Perhaps some kind couple adopted him? Mommy, you’re silly.”
“Josephine!” Courtney could no longer stand it. “You’ve doubted my intelligence more than once today!”
“Mommy, let’s go upstairs to take a look. I’ve figured out what to buy for Great-Aunt Alicia.”
After Josephine said that, she dragged Courtney’s hand and ran off in the direction of the third floor. Meanwhile, Josephine disregarded the angry hollers in her ears.
Finally, Josephine chose a bangle for Great-Aunt Alicia. She leaned her tiny body on the glass display, and she reached out to point at one of the bangles. “I want that one there.”
At that moment, Courtney glanced wide-eyed at the two hundred and eighty thousand price tag. “Josephine, where would you get the money to buy this?”
“Have you forgotten about the last time where Jordan spent a million to buy you bags?”
Suddenly, it dawned on Courtney. Back then, Josephine had just been told that Jordan was her brother, so she had been at one point quite fretful that he would ask for that money back.
After paying for the bangle, Courtney impatiently dragged Josephine back home. They walked one after the other into the underground car park, but before Courtney started the ignition, she turned to look at Josephine, who looked quite normal. “Josie, actually, regarding the matter with Fiona today—”
“Mommy, I know what you want to say.”
“Yup?”
“Fiona mentioned that her daddy owns Dolce Patisserie because Ethan told her that his dad was one of the directors of Sunhill Enterprise. As for my dad, he’s the president of Sunhill Enterprise, so I reckon she must have thought that Ethan was lying.”
At that moment, Courtney was quite perplexed by Josephine’s train of thoughts, so she looked at Josephine incredulously. “Who told you all of this?”
Josephine pouted and responded by shooting Courtney a look to signal that she should figure it out herself. “Anyway, I don’t really like Fiona. Ethan likes her only because of her naturally curly blonde hair. Someday when he goes to Dolce Patisserie and realizes like I do that he doesn’t get free desserts, then he would definitely come to his senses.”
Her sensible words somehow rendered Courtney speechless and Courtney stifled the comforting words that she’d spent quite some time coming up with.
“Mommy, there’s someone in front.”
Courtney had just started the ignition, and she was just about to drive out of the underground parking lot, but her path was blocked by a boy lying in the middle of the road.
Josephine leaped out of the car before Courtney and ran toward the unconscious little boy to stand in front of him. As soon as she saw his features, she couldn’t help exclaiming, “Mommy, it’s Jimmy.”
Courtney quickly checked up on the little boy’s condition and found that his face was pale and his breathing was quite shallow. His originally dark complexion looked as pale as a white sheet as he lay there lifelessly. She realized the severity of the situation, so she decisively took him into her arms and got him into the car before speeding off to the hospital.
Along the way to the hospital, Courtney also instructed Josephine to call Linda in advance. “Linda, there is a little boy in our car whom we suspect is poisoned. He looks quite unwell, and we’re now on the way to the hospital, so could you please get a stretcher ready? Thank you.”
