Night Carved Paths Into Silence by Zyrel Ash 40

Madeleine looked surprised, then frowned. 

“Roderick probably won’t agree. He has … bad memories. 

associated with that place.” 

“What bad memories, Mommy?” 

“That’s something Roderick should tell you himself later.” 

Kevin sat back, visibly disappointed, his eyes filled with deep 

sadness. 

Madeleine’s heart ached again. After a moment’s thought, she 

gritted her teeth. “Alright, I promise you. I’ll talk to Roderick. 

We’ll take you.” 

The light immediately returned to Kevin’s eyes. 

“Really? Thank you, Mommy!” 

“Anything for my sweet boy.” 

Madeleine reached out to stroke his hair, but a sharp ache shot 

through her arm, making her hiss involuntarily. 

Chapter 40 

“Mommy, what’s wrong?” 

“Nothing, sweetie. Just sore from dancing.” 

Kevin immediately scrambled onto the sofa and started 

imitating an adult, trying to massage Madeleine’s shoulders and 

back. 

But his strength was too little. Even though he gritted his teeth 

and used all his might, it had little effect. 

Madeleine chuckled. 

“Oh, you sweet thing. How did I get such an adorable son?” 

The twenty–something Madeleine had many dissatisfactions 

with her current life, but the one thing that brought her comfort 

was this lovely son. 

Kevin stayed quiet, inwardly frustrated that he was still too 

small to even properly massage his mother’s shoulders or legs. 

He wondered, “I need Daddy to do that when he gets home. 

“He’s an adult, much stronger than me. 

“Since Mommy had said Daddy wasn’t strong before, this is a 

chance for him to prove he’s strong.” 

After their conversation, Kevin mentioned he needed to 

complete his reading and writing exercises in his room. 

Madeleine looked puzzled. 

“Kindergarteners have homework now? The pressure starts so 

young?” 

Kirsten smiled warmly. “Mr. Kevin sets those goals himself. 

He’s very determined to learn.” 

“You’re kidding?” 

Madeleine was genuinely impressed. 

She wondered, “Where did he get that drive? 

“Ricki and I had never been particularly studious as children.” 

Thinking of Roderick reminded Madeleine of her test results. It 

was getting late, and Roderick had promised to update her. But 

he hadn’t texted her yet. 

She picked up her phone and dialed his number. 

At that moment, Roderick was reviewing a disturbing report 

from a subordinate. Their branch office had lost several major 

contracts, all intercepted by Edward’s company. 

Chapter 40 

The subordinate continued nervously, “Sir, I’ve confirmed with the branch. Their deals were completely confidential. No 

external parties should have known about them. 

“Should we launch an internal investigation at both 

headquarters and the branch? 

“Oh yes, last month, your wife did visit the branch office.” 

Nearby, Gerry’s alarm spiked at the mention. 

His eyes widened as he cleared his throat, then snapped back 

irritably, “That’s enough speculation! The partner list wasn’t 

even finalized last month. Stop spreading baseless rumors.” 

He quickly took the documents from the subordinate. 

“Get back to work!” 

Any longer, his own position might become precarious. 

The subordinate finally understood his misstep and hurried out. 

The room fell into heavy silence. Gerry chose his words 

carefully. “Sir, I’ll personally oversee this investigation. We’ll have answers shortly.” 

Roderick massaged his temples without responding. 

Chapter 40 

Gerry’s claim about the partner list was clearly untrue. 

Everyone was suspecting Madeleine. 

It wasn’t the first time. 

The Carroll Group and the Livingston Group maintained surface- 

level cooperation while waging constant corporate warfare 

behind the scenes. 

The previous Madeleine, always favoring Edward, had 

frequently passed confidential information to him, trying to win 

his approval. 

While these leaks never crippled the Livingston Group, each one 

required significant effort to contain. 

Sometimes, even Gerry wondered how much longer this could 

continue. 

As Gerry waited anxiously for a response, unable to gauge his 

thoughts, a phone rang on the desk. 

Glancing at the caller ID showing Madeleine’s name, he quickly 

excused himself. 

The phone continued ringing persistently. 

Roderick took a deep breath before answering. 

“Yes?* 

His voice was cold, but Madeleine noticed only his delayed 

response. 

“What have you been doing? No report, no answered calls.” 

Madeleine curled her lip. “Are you really that busy? It’s nearly 

dinner time.” 

Kirsten had mentioned Roderick’s stomach issues would 

worsen when he skipped meals. 

“Quite busy.” 

Roderick admitted, rubbing his forehead. 

*The results came this afternoon. Bradley found nothing 

physically wrong. He thinks it might be psychogenic amnesia.” 

“Psychogenic amnesia? What does that mean?” 

“Temporary memory loss from psychological trauma. He