Chapter 812

 812:
Caylee’s eyes welled up with tears as she listened. Shaking her head, she responded, “Linsey, you’ve done so much already. I can’t possibly accept more.”
Linsey, with the warmth of a sister, tenderly brushed a lock of hair from Caylee’s face.
“You’ve been with me so long. You’re like family,” she continued. “You’ve taken such good care of Zenia and Zander. I see everything you do. So please, don’t feel guilty. I’ve paid that apartment’s rent already; it’s empty and waiting.”
“Linsey, I’m not going anywhere!” Caylee said, clutching Linsey’s hand. “I want to stay with you and the kids longer.”
Linsey’s face lit up with a smile. “I’d love that. I just worry about your grandmother. She must miss you.”
Caylee looked down, her expression clouded with sorrow.
She hadn’t yet shared with Linsey that her grandmother was gravely ill and hospitalized.
She was also keeping a secret about how Gorman had covered the hospital expenses and had her pass on secret messages.
Caylee couldn’t bear to think about how Linsey would see her if she ever discovered the things she had done for Gorman. The mere thought of it sent a nervous shiver through Caylee.
“Are you good?” Linsey asked, noticing her discomfort.
Your favorite tales live at gⱯlnσν𝒆𝓁s．𝒄𝓸𝓂
Caylee quickly looked up. “I’m fine, really.”
Linsey looked at her with a worried expression. “You look like hell. Could it be that you’re just tired?”
Leading Caylee to the guest room, Linsey opened the door and softly suggested, “Get some rest. We can sort everything else out later. And if you feel unwell, tell me immediately. I’ll take you to the doctor.”
Tears welled up in Caylee’s eyes as she nodded. “Okay.”
Linsey didn’t push further, assuming that recent fatigue was all that troubled Caylee.
Linsey waited by the door, watching as Caylee slipped into the room. The moment she closed the door, Linsey pulled her phone from her pocket and sent a message to Dolores, asking when her friend might be free for a quick meet-up.
After all, it was time Dolores heard the news—she had made up her mind. She was staying in Grester.
Meanwhile, in the quiet room where they were supposed to be fast asleep, two little silhouettes huddled under the covers, wide-eyed and whispering like tiny conspirators.
“Zander, think that bad guy might actually be… a good person,” Zenia murmured. She was thinking about that morning—about Collin—and something in her wanted to defend him.
Zander shot upright, eyes flashing. “But he took you! That’s what bad guys do!”
Zenia bit her lip, clearly torn. “But he was nice to me. He didn’t yell or get mad. He brought me straight to the police station so Mommy could come get me.”
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