Holden watched Sadie cradle Adele, and his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

He could sense something was amiss from the way they were both behaving. He turned over what Adele had just said in his mind, fathoming what she could have meant.

Suddenly, he became aware that Adele was crying and calling him. He snapped out of his thoughts. He quickly took Adele to his arms and comforted her cries. Then, he turned to Sadie and said, “I’ll take her upstairs to wash up.”

Sadie didn’t dare to object.

With Adele snuggled in his arms, sniffling occasionally, Holden carried her upstairs to clean her up. While washing, he squatted down and asked gently, “Adele, how much cake did you eat just now?”

Adele kept her head down and remained silent, twiddling her tiny fingers. Holden tried again softly and gently.

came home, did Mommy give you a lot to

was still clammed up, her expression passive as she played with the buttons

and persuade her to speak as gently as he could, but Adele remained

all the ways he could think of, Holden sighed in resignation and decided to stop. He gently wiped Adele’s face, washed his

disjointed and Adele’s voice barely reached Holden’s ears, it caused Holden’s heart to skip a beat, prompting him to

Despite Holden’s persistent inquiries, she refused to speak, merely

a trip to

Holden’s embrace and toddled to the desk to retrieve his phone. Her wide,

hesitation, she proffered the device

Adele’s tousled hair, as he gently inquired, “Adele, do you wish to make a phone call to

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