Nonchalantly, Thalia looked away. “Who wouldn't be afraid when they suddenly heard a voice coming from their back in the middle of the night?”
Upon glancing at the sky, Tony gazed at her. “Are you sure?”
In response, she surveyed her surrounding and realized it was already morning. It had been four hours since they left! I didn't realize it had been that long!
After being exposed, she felt somewhat guilty. Hence, she gave him a side glance and uttered, “The sun hasn't completely risen yet!”
Of course, Tony knew Thalia was a stubborn woman. I need something much more effective. It was then Donna sat beside her. “Have you been sitting here since midnight, Thalia?”
“No way! I only came out not too long ago,” Thalia denied. “Is that so?”
“Of course. Do you think I'm lying?” The girl sighed with disappointment.
“What does that mean?” Thalia raised her eyebrow. Why does she look disappointed?
In response, Donna turned to Ben , who was behind her. “Have you gotten the surveillance footage yet, Ben?”
Ben was holding his phone when he heard that. Immediately, he nodded and ambled toward her. “I did. As you can see, she has been staying here all night.”
Stunned, Thalia swept her gaze past them and asked, “Is that really necessary?”
“Then why did you lie to us?” interrogated Donna .
Pursing her lips, Thalia stared at the trio before saying, “Do you have to make such a big deal out of a casual remark?”
“Thalia!” Donna exclaimed.
“All right, it's getting late. I'm feeling drowsy, so I'll return to my room and rest now.” As she spoke, she stood, yawned, and prepared to slink away.
Before she could take one step away from them, Donna pulled her clothes.
“I really am tired. If there's anything you want to talk about, wait until I wake up, all right? Good girl.” Thalia patted the girl's head before attempting to escape.
“It's futile to avoid us, Thalia. Tell us the truth.” Tony 's cold voice rang behind her. She ceased her movements and stared at the girl who was still pulling her clothes.
In response, the latter peered at Thalia with a pleading look.
Thalia took in a deep breath. Why am I so weak against these three? I'm confident I can win if I only need to deal with them one at a time. However, it's three against one right now, which caught me off guard. Then again, I guess it's expected that I can't win against the three of them when they are Alpha Kilian 's and Shadow Seeker's children. Both of them are exceptionally smart, so it's natural that their children are, too.
When her train of thought ended there, she felt relieved.
It was then Ben approached her and stated, “The cars in the garage are gone. Daddy, Nelly , and Alpha Dave aren't around either. Aside from the housekeeper, the four of us are the only ones left in the house. What happened last night, Thalia?”
The children's serious and stubborn expressions spurred her to relent. “Fine, fine. I'll tell you three what happened.”
Upon hearing that, the children stared at her with excitement.
Thalia returned to the swing and took in a deep breath. “I believe all of you know about what's going on with me. Last night, they went out to find the antidote. I was worried, so I've been waiting here.”
“The antidote? Where?” asked Donna .
“Midnight —” Thalia instantly cut herself off when she realized she shouldn't have said that.
Tony was a sharp kid, so when he heard that, he narrowed his eyes. “Do you mean Midnight fang pack ?”
“No, I said it because...” Shaking her head, she clarified with a grave expression. “It's because that place kept getting brought up recently. That's why I slipped.”
“Where is it, then?”
Her mind raced as she searched for an answer. How do I weave a convincing lie?
Unbeknownst to her, Donna was observing her reaction with a frown. Seconds later, the girl spat, “You're lying again, Thalia!”
“I did not!” Thalia refuted.
“You always avoid eye contact when you're lying! Not only that, your eyes will wander around.”
Thalia's eyes glinted as she stared at them with an aggrieved and upset expression. “So what if I'm lying? Are you three going to tell me you've never deceived me before?”
In response to Thalia's drastic change in attitude, Donna objected, “No, we told you all our greatest secrets. We aren't lying to you about anything.”
“Truly?”
The girl turned to her brothers and reaffirmed, “Nope. We didn't lie about anything!”
It's time for me to show off my acting skills. Gazing at the children with a sneer, Thalia made her first move. “What about the fact that your mommy's the Shadow Seeker? Why didn't any of you tell me about her identity before?”
Err...
The trio was stunned.
That matter had almost been completely erased from their minds. “You... don't know?” Donna asked.
“Don't give me that. You three should know the answer,” retorted Thalia. The girl pursed her lips. It does seem like we're in the wrong for this...
Seeing that the children were staying quiet, Thalia took one step further. “All of you knew my mission was to locate Shadow Seeker, yet you three hid that information from me, making me look like a fool. Does it make you happy to do that to me, hmm?”
“We didn't mean to—”
Thalia interrupted Donna by raising her hand. “It doesn't matter what you three's intentions were because it doesn't erase the blow dealt to me. I spent so much time looking for her like an idiot. You know, I've been through thick and thin with you three, and I value your lives more than my own. How could you three be so cruel to lie to me? “
When she ended her sentence, the children grew silent as they believed they were at fault.
Due to the children's soft-hearted nature, Thalia handily made them feel guilty with her speech.
Moments later, Ben said, “Yes, we're wrong to hide Mommy's identity from you, but it's not like we lied. We merely concealed the truth.”
Ugh... With how things have turned out, I must keep going! When her train of thought ended there, she raised her eyes. “Yes, but someone promised me in the past that they'll never hide anything from me again!”
As she spoke, she gazed at Tony . Clearly, she was referring to him. If I can subdue Tony , then it's basically my victory, considering he's the leader and the toughest nut to crack among the three of them. Once he's dealt with, I can handwave the rest with the other two.
Unfortunately for her, Tony didn't care about that. “I admit I hid Nelly 's identity from you, but I still don't think I did anything wrong. After all, it concerns Nelly 's privacy and safety. I trust you and am willing to put my life in your hands, but I can't afford the risk of revealing her secret. If given another chance, I'd still do the same without regrets.”
“You—” Thalia was speechless.
Her initial plan was to make the children feel guilty. However, she didn't expect him to come up with a perfectly logical explanation afterward. Furthermore, he was so sincere in his explanation that she was touched.
Feeling exasperated, she thought, These children are so difficult to deal with!
At the side, Donna nodded in agreement. “Tony's right, Thalia. It's not that we don't trust you. We discussed amongst ourselves whether to tell you about that before. In the end, we concluded that if Nelly doesn't want us to let you know her secret, we can't reveal it to you.”
Upon taking a deep breath, Ben nodded. “That's right. So, if you're angry about this, we have nothing else to say.”
The trio had identical expressions and looks in their eyes as they stared at her.
Why do they look like they've just been bullied? In any case, I can't do this anymore. I didn't plan to reprimand them. I just wanted them to stop asking me questions. If I were in their shoes, I think I'd do the same. Just as Thalia was about to speak, she heard noises coming from the gate.
Soon, two cars drove into the premises.
Joy flashed past her eyes when she saw that.
“They're back!” she uttered before approaching the vehicles. In response, the children followed her.
After the cars were parked in the garage, the passengers left the vehicles. In response, the children followed her.
After the cars were parked in the garage, the passengers left the vehicles.
The moment Thalia saw Spencer, she pounced toward him, caressed his cheeks, and inspected him from head to toe for any wounds. “Are you hurt, Spencer?”
Spencer felt a sense of warmth upon seeing her. “I'm fine.”
Then, when Thalia noticed how wretched everyone looked, she asked again, “Really?”