Crossroads

Chapter 187

It happened so suddenly that Stephanie didn’t have time to react before she

e sank to the bottom of the pool startling the fish into a frenzy.

“Mrs. Wellington! What happened to you?” A maid passing by the corridor was terrified and shouted for help.

‘L..I’m Ene.”

Drawn from a fresh source, the pool was obvious and about six feet deep. Stephanie was a good swimmer, and although the sudden scare caused her to sink, she quickly surfaced, clutching the edge of the pool and coughing.

The maid, pale with fright, along with a group of others, carefully helped her out of the pool.

“What happened, Mrs. Wellington! Don’t worry, the doctor is on the way.” They wrapped her in a clean, thick towel, trying to calm her down.

“Im really fine.” Stephanie calmly took the towel and began drying her wet hair, waving them off. “You don’t need to call the doctor”

“We’ll go get Mr. Wellington right away.”

“Don’t tell Dominick about this Stephanie panicked.

The afternoon sun was starting to set, and George had already returned to South Pavilion for a rest at this hour. With Dominick just out and Stephanie falling into the pool, the maids were at a loss,

Stephanie wiped the water off her face, lowered her voice, and explained, “Dominick is very busy. Let’s wait for the doctor to check on me before contacting him. But anyway, I’m really fine. It just felt like something suddenly flew at the back of my knees…

Her eyes narrowed as she nervously glanced back.

Behind the pool was a flower bed, along with stone tables and chairs for chess, flower viewing, and fish watching. Nothing seemed out of place.

What exactly had happened just now?

Sining by the pebbled edge of the pool, dripping wet, she couldn’t figure it out

“Mrs. Wellington, how did you fall into the pool?”

Seeing that she looked alright, the maid sighed in relief. If anything had happened to her, they would all be in serious trouble

“Did someone push you on purpose. A younger maid speculated.

possibly have the

within the walls of Wellington Villa, Stephanie’s safety was paramount to everyone. Dominick’s berce protectiveness over her had been evident in his furious

leaned heavily on the maids who rushed to her aid as she slowly regained her composure,

had pushed her on

hurtled directly at her with a relentless force that struck

despite her thorough scrutiny of the surroundings. Stephanie couldn’t

here. Look for something hard about the size of a clenched fist, weighing perhaps two pounds… Her attempt to articulate the nature of the object was more a reflection of her instincts than a

cobblestones weighs no more one pound. There’s nothing as huge as

moments before

Wellington, the doctor has

shaken upon hearing the maid’s account of the incident. Though she

though a hint of defiance flickered in her eyes

I slipped on my own, she muttered to herself, refusing to be

Sandra said, sensing Stephanie’s frustration. “You don’t need to worry about anything else as well investigate this thoroughly. We will not allow anyone to cause trouble at Wellington Villa, Sandra

Stephanie was concerned about.

afraid some people might

no matter how hard you try to find them, Stephanie replied, her brow furrowed deeply. She pushed Sandra away slightly, straightened her posture, and began walking

the depths of the water. In the end,

was especially unsettling when coupled with her recent feeling of being watched by a pair of cerle eyes. Frustration gnawed at her,

into the pool. It may be early autumn, but catching a chill is still a concern. Let’s go inside first.” Sandra urged from behind, trying

others hesitated to intervene further, wary of Stephanie’s stubbom

the corridor as he hurried

a twinge of fear at the sight of George. She stood in her

of George’s temper, she explained, “Mrs. Wellington’s health and her kits are the most important

“Sure,” be reluctantly hummed.

expression. Instead, she turned

me!” Stephanie couldn’t shake of her doubts, muttering

the corridor, watching Stephanie obediently depart with the maids. Then, he relaxed his grip on the cane in

gathering information from the staff, leaning in

attentively but offered

the edges of George’s clothing

turned and

demeanor, Lost in thought, he glanced back towards the direction of the

in the late afternoon sun, casting an exquisite glow over its

corner of the pool, where tropical fish lazily swam, the water remained tepid.

away.