Flash Marriage to a Stunning CEO (Alistair and Richard)

***17 min left

Chapter 171 Her Goodbye?

Mabel was still burdened by guilt over not protecting Caroline.

To Alistair, that was simply unacceptable. She was a

grandmother, not a guardian by law, and she had already given Caroline everything she could.

Without her presence, Caroline's childhood might have been even more suffocating and bleak.

"Please don't blame yourself. It wasn't your fault," Alistair said softly and then hesitated before asking, "Do you remember when you first got sick?"

Mabel thought for a moment. "I believe it was when Caroline had just started eighth grade. Right at the beginning of the school year."

Alistair's heart gave a sudden jolt.

In Caroline's memories, after Mabel fell ill, Paige had taken over her care--though "care" was hardly the word. It was control, plain and simple. The real breaking point came when Giselle went through her room and opened the belongings her mother had left her. That act lit the fuse.

From that moment on, Caroline and Paige had been at odds. And during the year Mabel spent in the convalescent home, Caroline had been stuck under Paige's thumb, surviving under

17:37

Chapter 171 Her Goodbye?

her rule.

Okay, maybe "surviving" was a little dramatic.

That was just his own mental exaggeration.

17 min left

Caroline had never described exactly how she got through that year. She'd only mentioned what had happened between her and Paige, leaving out the rest.

But knowing her, she would never have bowed her head just to make life easier. And Paige was the type who thrived on dominance, with a need to control every little thing.

Two people like that under one roof? Someone was going to suffer. And it didn't take a genius to know who that someone was. Caroline, barely in her teens, hadn't even grown her wings

yet.

Then, without meaning to, Alistair found himself thinking about that house in Chicago, the one not far from his own. The one with the child who'd been locked upstairs.

At first, he'd ruled Caroline out because the child had been assumed to be a boy. But now he wasn't so sure. That assumption had been based solely on the short haircut. No one had ever confirmed the gender. The two women living there had kept to themselves, rarely speaking to anyone. Who was to say the child hadn't been a girl?

17:37

girl... why couldn't that

17 min left

ever since they'd gotten married, Alistair had stopped believing anything in this

too extreme to explain with something as flimsy as low blood sugar. It hadn't added up. Which was why he'd gone back on his own to investigate. Unfortunately, he

hoped he was wrong. Even if those memories belonged to a younger version of her,

now matched up exactly with what he

Alistair asked, "Do you know what really happened between Caroline

her answer echoed what Caroline had

her position was far more complicated than his. Alistair was Caroline's husband. He hadn't even met Paige back then. All he knew came from/Caroline,

17:37

Chapter 171 Her Goodbye?

things weren't so

17 min left

sides were family, when mother and granddaughter told entirely different.

had never

blind. Paige told him

up. "A correctional

match

Chicago had been just that—a house, an ordinary residential unit. There was nothing official or clinical about

the Ashbourne family had wanted to commission a private correctional setup, they had the money to

17:37

Chapter 171 Her Goodbye?

(****) 17 min left

shifted. Her fingers wrapped around

in a way. Maybe she just couldn't face what happened, and her mind chose to forget it." Mabel paused. "Alistair, I need you to

he wouldn't. Caroline had already

silence proved she didn't want Mabel to bear the

gave her a solemn nod. “I

heavy stone had been lifted from her

when she changed the

I really had nothing to do

look and then shook her head. "You already told me. I believe you. You don't

17:37

Chapter 171 Her Goodbye?

17 min left

hit him then... about how much she meant that and how

started as a conversation about Caroline slowly shifted to

her favorite foods, her newest hobbies, and how much taller

longer she went

strange thought crept into his mind, uninvited and unwelcome,