The old Grayson estate.
Una Sullivan held Kiki, a constant sense of unease in her heart. She couldn’t shake the feeling that sothing bad was going to happen to her daughter.
Even knowing Tristan Grayson was with her, Una couldn’t feel at ease. Just as she and Joseph Sumrs had decided to head to the hospital to check on things, a sudden knock echoed from the front door.
Una Sullivan frowned, glancing at Joseph Sumrs. "Who would co at this hour?"
"Could it be Jasmine?" Joseph Sumrs was just as puzzled.
Though puzzled, Joseph Sumrs went to answer it. Just as he reached for the handle, he heard the sound of a key turning in the lock. A mont later, the door swung open from the outside.
Joseph Sumrs stiffened and took a wary step back.
A young man stood in the doorway. He turned and helped a middle-aged man in after him. The older man, leaning on a cane, gave Joseph Sumrs and Una Sullivan a cool glance, his voice icy as he asked, "Who are you people? What are you doing living here?"
"This is our ho. Why shouldn’t we be living here?" Joseph Sumrs’s temper flared instantly. ’Who barges into a house and starts questioning the owners?’
Julius Lockwood ignored Joseph Sumrs and walked in, leaning on his cane. The driver, Lane, hurried to his side to support him. "Sir."
"It really has changed," Julius Lockwood said, looking around the room with a nostalgic smile. "Help upstairs. I want to have a look."
"Yes, sir."
Una Sullivan watched Julius Lockwood and his driver head upstairs, then walked worriedly to Joseph Sumrs’s side. "What’s going on? Who are they?" ’How did they get a key to our house? And the way they act, you’d think they were the owners, not us.’
"How should I know?" Joseph Sumrs shook his head. "Maybe our daughter is just renting this place. They could just be here to view the house, too."
"Yes, that’s possible." Una Sullivan nodded. Still, looking at Julius Lockwood, she couldn’t shake a strange sense of both fear and familiarity.
Joseph Sumrs quickly shut the front door and returned to Una’s side. "Co on, let’s follow them. We need to make sure they don’t try to steal anything."
"Okay."
On the second floor, all the doors were open except for the study, which was always kept locked. But by the ti Joseph and Una got upstairs, they saw that the study door was now open as well.
When Joseph Sumrs and Una Sullivan had first moved in, they had wanted to see what was inside, but Mika had told them there was no key, so they had never gone in.
Now, seeing the two n enter, they followed them inside.
Julius Lockwood gazed up at the woman in the oil painting, a faint smile playing on his lips. His voice was low and deliberate. "It seems this study hasn’t changed at all. It’s just as it was."
Una Sullivan and Joseph Sumrs were both taken aback when they saw the oil painting. Una, in particular, turned to Joseph in shock, her eyes wide with disbelief. "Joseph, look! Isn’t that Penny?"
Julius Lockwood was lost in thought, gazing at the painting, when Una’s words suddenly broke his reverie. He spun around to face her, his voice sharp. "You know Penny?"
eting Julius Lockwood’s intimidating stare, Una shivered and hastily denied it. "No, we don’t know her."
"Tell the truth! Do you know Penny or not!" Julius Lockwood had no patience for their lies. He slamd his cane hard against the floor and bellowed.
Una nodded and said nervously, "We... we know of her. But we weren’t close."
Julius Lockwood frowned, sizing up the couple before him. Their clothes, their mannerisms, their way of speaking—they were clearly just ordinary people. ’Soone from a family like Penny’s would never befriend people like them.’ And so, he didn’t doubt Una’s words any further.
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