"I've sent a snitch to check where Mrs. Long lives and we've figured out that she and Park Shin Chun
are both staying at the MG Hotel."
Brian, whose eyes were fixed on Molly, cleared his voice and quipped,"Perhaps Richie and her have
had disagreement over some issues again because of Park Shin Chun. "
As far as Tony could remember, Shirley's obsession with Park Shin Chun had started two years earlier.
She had seen him perform at a charity event during one of her travels out of the country with Richie.
And ever since, she had become a Park Shin Chun fanatic.
A strange fascination for Shirley's age. It mystified Tony. Of course he and Shirley were different in
many ways. That he knew. But it bothered him that she got on Richie's nerves with her obsession, yet
she didn't seem to care in the slightest.
Although Park Shin Chun was handsome, within the family, there were two handsome men to whom
Park Shin Chun could not hold a candle, despite his international fame. So her infatuation didn't make
sense to Tony at all. At the thought of this, Tony wanted to laugh, but restrained himself after a cursory
look at Brian.
"So Mrs. Long..."
"Anyway, let her alone, although Richie may still assign Antonio to stay by her side," Brian cut in
nonchalantly.
Despite her insensitive obsessions, Richie still doted on Shirley and would never let her go out alone.
Maybe, this time he didn't tag along due to his other commitments. In that case, there was no doubt
that she had Antonio by her side.
"I'm also made to understand that it was Mrs. Long who shared a table with Molly last night at the
dessert shop," Tony said.
Not sure if he heard Tony said right, Brian gave him a suspicious look as if to ask for confirmation, to
which Tony just nodded. Then Brian looked at Molly knowingly.
Unperturbed, Molly kept her head stooped, ignoring them like their conversation was just a chit chat, to
which she didn't give a hoot.
In a snit, Brian's eyes flashed. Perhaps he was displeased with Molly's indifference, or maybe he was
annoyed that Shirley ducked into the ladies to avoid him and Wing when she saw them together last
night.
"Who hired those bikers?" a sullen Brian asked, staring at Molly.
Apparently reading Brian's mind, Tony started,"They look like a group of gangsters, but..."
As though he had unraveled the most important clue to the bikers puzzle, Tony paused, affecting a
pensive mood. Sensing his silence Molly slowly raised her head to catch his eyes. Then she looked at
Brian, who was similarly lost in thought. Disinterested, she put her head down and turned around to
face the wall.
To her, it didn't matter, who the hooligans were, who hired them or how it ended with them.
Seeing the mess she was in at the moment, she didn't feel the need of poking her nose into things that
would not add value to her life.
The way Brian treated people was so unfair, and she didn't want to have anything to do with him.
While Brian seemed to have slumped into angry, Tony was trying top sniff of the trouble, tapping his
nose, like a sage, his brain running different possible scenarios. "I have it figured out. They must be
members of the Sacred Domain," he finally said.
Grouchy, Brian ignored Tony's words. Instead, he took his laptop, booted up, and quickly typed with his
slender fingers. The instructions flashed across the screen.
Accustomed to Brian's recent strange moods and behaviours, Tony simply shrugged.
After Molly had breakfast, Brian left, without telling her whether to go back to the villa or not. So Molly
stayed put at the hospital. She preferred that to staying at the villa.
As soon as she was alone, Molly took the phone and sent a message to Shirley. They made an
appointment to meet near the sculpture in front of the Star Public Stadium, the day after tomorrow.
Putting aside the quilt, Molly got out of bed to freshen up. She then went out of the ward and realized
she stayed in the best VIP ward.
Thanks to Brian, she had been admitted here twice this week!
Why would she complain? After a while, standing at the ward door, she took the elevator heading for
Sharon's ward for a visit. Sharon had been admitted on a different floor of the same building
When the elevator reached the floor where Sharon's ward was, Molly hurriedly walked out. Right then a
figure flashed by and took another elevator nearby.
Although she still felt dizzy, and walked with difficulty, Molly longed to see her mother.
Arriving at Sharon's ward, she put her hand on the doorknob but hesitated.
"Molly, why did you come here?" the familiar voice of Daniel called out, catching her by surprise. Before
she could frame a response, Daniel continued saying with worry,"And why are you also wearing the
hospital gown? Are you also unwell? What's the problem?"
"I'm fine!" Molly said with a mild smile. "I accidentally fell and hit a pillar when I went back home from
work last night. Thankfully, I only suffered a minor concussion. But the doctor asked me to stay here for
observation."
The bruise on Molly's forehead was visible and could corroborate what she said. Besides she had
always gotten injured before. Thus Molly thought if she explained it to him in this way, Daniel might
believe her.
Persistent, and worried about her, Daniel inquired about her current situation. But because Molly
maintained she was all right, he accepted her story even though he was not wholly convinced. Then he
led Molly into the ward. "Of late, mother's been mentioning you quite a lot. She misses you," Daniel
said as they entered the ward.
"Mother..." gently, Molly greeted, staring at Sharon and gripping the hem of her clothes tightly. She was
trying to pluck up her courage.
With her eyes fixed on Molly, Sharon sighed and softly asked,"What brings you to the hospital?"
Unsure what to say, Molly pressed her lips and then repeated what she had just told Daniel. A lie!
The tension in Molly was visible. The girl looked pale and disturbed. Although she tried to keep her
head up, not to unsettle her sick mother, Sharon read her daughter's mind and understood her
struggles.
Rising slightly, Sharon motioned Molly to the sofa nearby. Then she said,"You are unwell, Molly. Don't
worry about me so much as to brave unnecessary pain up here just to check on me."
"I..." with a little stutter, Molly began. "We are in the same hospital, so I caught this chance to come and
see you," she finished, her voice betraying inner struggles.
Looking Molly straight in the eye, Sharon slightly sighed and clasped her daughter's hand. "Do you still
blame me for what happened the other day?" she asked.
In response, Molly dropped her gaze and slowly shook her head, without a word.
"I'm sorry. Whatever I did to you was on impulse..." Dejection showing on her face, Sharon said,"Molly,
your father has told me about your situation. Don't blame him for that!"
Molly bit her lips and morosely hummed,"Hmm." It seemed that Sharon would still put up with Steven's
mistakes. Indeed, Molly and her mother had owed him a lot.
Eventually, the conversation between mother and daughter got seamless. While they got immersed in
the chit chat, Daniel sat at the table nearby finishing his homework. From the time of Sharon's
admission, Daniel had been coming to check on her whenever he didn't have classes.
Suddenly Molly's phone rang.
The ringtone interrupted a peaceful, warm aura that had descended over the ward during their chitchat.
Molly tensed, as she pulled out her phone. After seeing the caller ID on the screen, she leaned back
into the sofa and answered,"Hello?"
"Where are you?" The cold voice on the other end of the line mortified Molly.
"I'm in my mother's ward now," replied Molly in a low voice while trying to hold back her horror.
"I'm giving you two minutes. Come back to your ward right now!"
"I..."
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