A Widow's Poison, A Wife's Rebellion novel Chapter 1356

Who could have ever predicted that Yardley would end up where he did?

As Starla shook off the thought, the little girl spotted her, dropped the doll, and ran over as fast as her tiny legs could carry her.

"Mommy!"

Starla caught her effortlessly, sweeping her up into a warm hug.

At three years old, the child was soft, squishy, and smelled delightfully of milk and baby powder.

Starla loved that scent. Every time she held her, she would breathe it in like a lifeline.

"Were you waiting for me?"

The little girl nodded vigorously. "Yeah! Mommy did the dolly's hair so pretty yesterday, and I don't know how to do it!"

Despite being only three, she was incredibly articulate. She was a brilliant little thing.

And Starla had fallen in love with her the very first time they met.

"Then why did you take her hair down in the first place?" Starla teased gently.

"I wanted to reverse-engineer it! But once I took it apart, I couldn't put it back together."

Starla laughed aloud, carrying the girl further into the room.

Seeing Elmer, she gave a respectful nod. "Father."

"Any news on your brother?" Elmer asked quietly.

They had dispatched countless search teams to track Yardley down. Back when Yardley was waging war on Starla over Susanna and Fairfax, Elmer had genuinely considered exiling him from Maxlandia.

But now that Yardley had left of his own accord and vanished without a trace for so long, Elmer couldn't help but worry.

He was still his son, after all. No matter how vicious their fights had been, a father couldn't just stop caring.

Starla shook her head. "Nothing yet."

"Sigh..."

Elmer let out a heavy breath but didn't press the issue further.

Starla spent the next hour playing with her daughter. No matter how demanding her work at the conglomerate was, as long as the little girl was awake when she got home, Starla always made time for her.

She even handled bedtime routines personally. Over the past few months, the child had grown deeply attached to her.

And Starla cherished every second of that attachment.

After coaxing the little one to sleep, she returned to her own room.

Nearby, Romy answered a phone call. As she listened, her expression darkened instantly. "Are you absolutely sure?"

Romy glanced warily at Starla before speaking into the receiver again. "Understood."

She hung up and walked over, her face grave.

"What happened?" Starla asked, catching the shift in mood.

"We have a situation."

"What is it?" A cold glint flashed in Starla's eyes. Things had been peaceful lately, but she knew better than anyone that silence often masked an approaching predator. She assumed a rival faction was targeting the Hoggart Group.

But Romy shook her head. "Herbert Farley died an hour ago."

Starla froze.

Her pupils contracted as she stared at Romy in disbelief.

"He passed away in the hospital," Romy explained softly. "Heart failure. It was incredibly sudden."

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