Swapping a Broken Heart for a New Start novel Chapter 1136

“Okay, thank you, Cynthia,” Audrey said, accepting the apple.

Charlotte came back just then. Once Cynthia handed Audrey the apple, she turned to Charlotte, trying to sound casual. “Charlotte, is something going on with Dennis? He didn’t look too happy a minute ago.”

Charlotte’s smile was stiff and didn’t reach her eyes. “It’s nothing. Just work stuff.” She clearly didn’t want to talk about it, so she changed the subject and looked at Douglas. “Why don’t you take Dad home first? And maybe grab some clothes for Audrey on the way.”

“Sure, that works,” Douglas replied.

Grandpa Williams didn’t say much. As he stood up, he looked at Audrey and gently reminded her, “Take care of yourself, sweetheart. Don’t stress over things that aren’t worth it. She worked so hard to help you recover, you know. She wouldn’t want to see you like this.”

Audrey smiled and nodded. “I know, Grandpa. Don’t worry about me.”

With that, Grandpa Williams left, leaning on Douglas and Charlotte for support. Hazel figured she didn’t have much to add with the younger folks, so she left with them too.

Soon it was just Audrey and Cynthia left in the room.

Cynthia put on her most gracious, gentle act. She didn’t try to poke her nose into the Williams family’s drama. Instead, she picked light-hearted topics, chatting about girly things, making Audrey laugh and acting every bit the caring older sister.

Meanwhile, Dennis and Aaron had just stepped out of the hospital room.

Dennis lowered his voice. “Any news on the guy who was working with Lavinia Roberts and Sandra Taylor? Did you find out who he is?”

Aaron shook his head. “Nothing solid yet. We’re still looking into it. There’s nothing suspicious around Cynthia Lee for now. We did follow some leads from Red Spider overseas, but there are a bunch of middlemen. Whoever is behind it all works carefully and knows what they’re doing. It doesn’t really match Cynthia Lee’s style.”

Dennis narrowed his eyes, thinking fast. If Cynthia wasn’t the one, then who else could it be?

After a moment, he said, “If Cynthia’s a dead end, look into Nicholas Lee. If the Lee family’s involved, then Nicholas is probably the one behind it.”

Back when Dennis called them about staging the whole act for Audrey, he’d also told them about what Lillian went through overseas. They’d been worried sick at first, immediately calling and video-chatting with their daughter to make sure she was really okay before agreeing to Dennis’s plan.

They had learned from Dennis who was behind everything, too. Honestly, Sandra Taylor was a problem that started with Jordan Smith. So much time had passed, and neither of them thought it would come back to haunt the family. It made them feel guilty toward Dennis. He had always protected their daughter, cared about her work, her wellbeing, her life—and now he was even cleaning up messes from her past. Meanwhile, as parents, they couldn’t do much to help.

Dennis saw what they were thinking and shook his head. “Don’t say that. I’d do anything for Camila, and that’s how it should be.” He’d promised to protect her, and he meant it for life.

Melissa’s eyes filled with tears. She and her husband were both deeply moved. After everything that had happened, they trusted Dennis more than ever.

“All we want now is for Camila to get her memory back, and for you two to be together again. That way, Lillian can always have her mommy and daddy with her.”

Lillian’s whole face lit up. She grinned, her eyes turning to little crescents as she nodded. “Yeah! Daddy and Mommy will always, always be with Lillian!”