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.

give you a lot to eat? Is that why you didn’t want

up, her expression passive as she played with the buttons on her shirt as if she had blocked

to speak as gently as he

sighed in resignation and decided to stop. He gently wiped Adele’s face, washed his hands, and was about to help her dry hers when Adele suddenly mumbled,

skip a beat, prompting him

moment, Adele fell silent once more. Despite Holden’s persistent inquiries, she refused to speak, merely extending

a trip to the study. He

from Holden’s embrace and toddled to the desk to retrieve his phone. Her wide, expectant eyes glistened with

she proffered the device to

beseeching gaze. He crouched down, his fingers tenderly grazing Adele’s tousled hair, as he gently inquired, “Adele, do you

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