Madeleine looked surprised, then frowned.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRoderick probably won\u2019t agree. He has \u2026 bad memories.\u00a0<\/p>\n
associated with that place.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat bad memories, Mommy?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s something Roderick should tell you himself later.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kevin sat back, visibly disappointed, his eyes filled with deep\u00a0<\/p>\n
sadness.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine\u2019s heart ached again. After a moment\u2019s thought, she\u00a0<\/p>\n
gritted her teeth. \u201cAlright, I promise you. I\u2019ll talk to Roderick.\u00a0<\/p>\n
We\u2019ll take you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The light immediately returned to Kevin\u2019s eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cReally? Thank you, Mommy!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnything for my sweet boy.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine reached out to stroke his hair, but a sharp ache shot\u00a0<\/p>\n
through her arm, making her hiss involuntarily.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 40\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMommy, what\u2019s wrong?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing, sweetie. Just sore from dancing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kevin immediately scrambled onto the sofa and started\u00a0<\/p>\n
imitating an adult, trying to massage Madeleine\u2019s shoulders and\u00a0<\/p>\n
back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But his strength was too little. Even though he gritted his teeth\u00a0<\/p>\n
and used all his might, it had little effect.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine chuckled.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, you sweet thing. How did I get such an adorable son?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The twenty\u2013something Madeleine had many dissatisfactions\u00a0<\/p>\n
with her current life, but the one thing that brought her comfort\u00a0<\/p>\n
was this lovely son.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kevin stayed quiet, inwardly frustrated that he was still too\u00a0<\/p>\n
small to even properly massage his mother\u2019s shoulders or legs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He wondered, \u201cI need Daddy to do that when he gets home.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s an adult, much stronger than me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSince Mommy had said Daddy wasn\u2019t strong before, this is a\u00a0<\/p>\n
chance for him to prove he\u2019s strong.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
After their conversation, Kevin mentioned he needed to\u00a0<\/p>\n
complete his reading and writing exercises in his room.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine looked puzzled.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cKindergarteners have homework now? The pressure starts so\u00a0<\/p>\n
young?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kirsten smiled warmly. \u201cMr. Kevin sets those goals himself.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He\u2019s very determined to learn.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re kidding?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine was genuinely impressed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She wondered, \u201cWhere did he get that drive?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRicki and I had never been particularly studious as children.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Thinking of Roderick reminded Madeleine of her test results. It\u00a0<\/p>\n
was getting late, and Roderick had promised to update her. But\u00a0<\/p>\n
he hadn\u2019t texted her yet.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She picked up her phone and dialed his number.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At that moment, Roderick was reviewing a disturbing report\u00a0<\/p>\n
from a subordinate. Their branch office had lost several major\u00a0<\/p>\n
contracts, all intercepted by Edward\u2019s company.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 40\u00a0<\/p>\n
The subordinate continued nervously, \u201cSir, I\u2019ve confirmed with the branch. Their deals were completely confidential. No\u00a0<\/p>\n
external parties should have known about them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShould we launch an internal investigation at both\u00a0<\/p>\n
headquarters and the branch?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOh yes, last month, your wife did visit the branch office.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nearby, Gerry\u2019s alarm spiked at the mention.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His eyes widened as he cleared his throat, then snapped back\u00a0<\/p>\n
irritably, \u201cThat\u2019s enough speculation! The partner list wasn\u2019t\u00a0<\/p>\n
even finalized last month. Stop spreading baseless rumors.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He quickly took the documents from the subordinate.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cGet back to work!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Any longer, his own position might become precarious.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The subordinate finally understood his misstep and hurried out.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The room fell into heavy silence. Gerry chose his words\u00a0<\/p>\n
carefully. \u201cSir, I\u2019ll personally oversee this investigation. We\u2019ll have answers shortly.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roderick massaged his temples without responding.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 40\u00a0<\/p>\n
Gerry\u2019s claim about the partner list was clearly untrue.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Everyone was suspecting Madeleine.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t the first time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Carroll Group and the Livingston Group maintained surface-\u00a0<\/p>\n
level cooperation while waging constant corporate warfare\u00a0<\/p>\n
behind the scenes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The previous Madeleine, always favoring Edward, had\u00a0<\/p>\n
frequently passed confidential information to him, trying to win\u00a0<\/p>\n
his approval.\u00a0<\/p>\n
While these leaks never crippled the Livingston Group, each one\u00a0<\/p>\n
required significant effort to contain.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sometimes, even Gerry wondered how much longer this could\u00a0<\/p>\n
continue.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As Gerry waited anxiously for a response, unable to gauge his\u00a0<\/p>\n
thoughts, a phone rang on the desk.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Glancing at the caller ID showing Madeleine\u2019s name, he quickly\u00a0<\/p>\n
excused himself.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The phone continued ringing persistently.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roderick took a deep breath before answering.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes?*\u00a0<\/p>\n
His voice was cold, but Madeleine noticed only his delayed\u00a0<\/p>\n
response.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat have you been doing? No report, no answered calls.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine curled her lip. \u201cAre you really that busy? It\u2019s nearly\u00a0<\/p>\n
dinner time.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kirsten had mentioned Roderick\u2019s stomach issues would\u00a0<\/p>\n
worsen when he skipped meals.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cQuite busy.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roderick admitted, rubbing his forehead.\u00a0<\/p>\n
*The results came this afternoon. Bradley found nothing\u00a0<\/p>\n
physically wrong. He thinks it might be psychogenic amnesia.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cPsychogenic amnesia? What does that mean?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTemporary memory loss from psychological trauma. He\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Night Carved Paths Into Silence by Zyrel Ash 40 Madeleine looked surprised, then frowned.\u00a0 \u201cRoderick probably won\u2019t agree. He has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29293","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-heart-surgeons-last-patient-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29293","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29293"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29293\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29293"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29293"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29293"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}