The call ended.
Evelyn lowered the phone slowly, her thoughts racing.
"Axel, asked Aunty Martha DNA sample? Why?"
Her mind can’t stop thinking. Because she knew Axel never moved without reason.
Sothing was happening behind the scenes. And when a thought flashed through her mind, she felt her heart beat faster.
"He seriously found a clue about Noah?" Evelyn muttered while opening her ssaging app and scrolled to Axel’s na.
The last ssage she had sent was hours ago and went unanswered.
A faint smile tugged at her lips, though her eyes were sharp with curiosity and concern.
She typed:
"Hubby, did you forget to call ?"
Then she leaned back in her chair, staring out the window at the valley below, her heart tightened with anticipation.
It didn’t take long.
Evelyn’s cell phone vibrated softly against the desk, pulling her attention away from the valley outside her window. She glanced down and saw a new ssage.
"I’m sorry, my wife. Still handling so business here. I will call you right away after finishing this matter." From: Hubby
Evelyn frowned.
"Huh?" she muttered under her breath, rereading the ssage. "This is new!?"
She leaned back in her chair, eyes narrowing slightly as suspicion crept in uninvited into her mind.
"Usually, Axel calls imdiately," she murmured. "No matter what kind of ss he’s buried in. But now... just a text?"
She stared at the screen for a few seconds longer than necessary, then let out a quiet sigh. Overthinking wouldn’t help. If there was one thing she’d learned after marrying Axel Knight, it was that his silences were rarely simple and never accidental.
Still, she didn’t want to think about it.
She typed a short reply.
"Okay!"
After sending it, she placed her phone face down on the desk as if daring it to vibrate again. Then she pushed herself up carefully, adjusting her balance before standing fully.
"Enough," she told herself. "Distract first. Worry later."
Naturally, her feet carried her toward Oliver.
As she approached his playroom, her hand barely touched the door before it suddenly swung open from the inside.
A small figure appeared, eyes wide, hair slightly ssy, and cheeks flushed with excitent.
"Mommy!" Oliver exclaid. "How do you know I’m looking for you?"
Evelyn blinked, then laughed softly. She leaned in closer to him and patted his head.
"Because I can feel when my little Oliver needs sothing."
His face lit up as she had just revealed a superpower.
"That’s amazing, Mom..." he declared earnestly, as if committing the information to mory. Then he grabbed her hand with enthusiasm. "Mom, let’s go to my piano room. This ti, I’ll play two beautiful songs for you so you can heal faster."
Evelyn gasped dramatically.
"Two songs?" she said, pressing a hand to her chest. "Wow. This is an honor, my son. Alright, let’s go..."
She allowed him to pull her toward the stairs. Oliver slowed imdiately, glancing back at her with a stern little frown that didn’t belong on such a young face.
"Slowly, Mom," he said carefully. "Don’t walk too fast on the stairs. Your knee will hurt."
Evelyn froze for half a second.
That tone. That concerned gaze.
For a brief, surreal mont, she felt like she was walking beside Axel instead of her four-year-old son.
She chuckled and gently squeezed Oliver’s hand.
"Thank you, little Doctor Oliver. Mommy will obediently follow your instructions."
He nodded, clearly pleased with the title, and supervised her every step down as if her life depended on it.
By the ti they reached the first floor, Evelyn was already amused and a little emotional.
Laura appeared just then, walking toward them with her usual calm grace.
"Madam," Laura greeted with a slight bow. Her eyes softened when she saw Oliver. "Are we going to hear the young master’s piano concert?"
Oliver puffed out his chest. "Yes. A once-in-a-lifeti concert."
Laura smiled. "Oh dear, that sounds great. I must not miss it then."
"Hm," Evelyn agreed lightly. "This will be fun."
The three of them entered the piano room together.
Sunlight stread in through the tall windows, casting a warm glow over the polished black piano. Jimmy and Oliver’s piano teacher was already waiting inside, standing respectfully near the instrunt.
Oliver climbed onto the bench casually, his small fingers hovering above the keys. Evelyn and Laura settled onto the sofa in the corner, their attention entirely on him.
The first notes filled the room.
It wasn’t perfect. A few keys were hit too hard, a few transitions were clumsy, but it was heartfelt, earnest, and full of effort. Evelyn’s lips curved into a gentle smile as she listened.
However, before the first song could even finish, Jimmy suddenly approached her, his expression apologetic.
He leaned down and whispered, "Madam, I’ve just received a text from the master."
Evelyn’s smile faltered slightly. "Axel?"
"Yes," Jimmy nodded. "He said he called you, but you didn’t answer. So he asked to check on you."
"Oh my," Evelyn said, eyes widening. She laughed quietly. "I completely forgot. My phone is in the study room."
She glanced toward Oliver, who was intensely focused on his playing, utterly unaware of the adult tension unfolding behind him.
"Jimmy," she said softly, "can you take it for ?"
"Of course, Madam," Jimmy replied without hesitation.
As he turned to leave, Evelyn leaned back against the sofa, her amusent slowly fading into sothing more thoughtful.
Axel had called, and she could barely keep herself from blurting out the question burning on her tongue.
Her fingers curled lightly against her palm as the soft piano music continued to echo through the room, warm, innocent, and entirely at odds with the restless knot forming in her chest.
Oliver’s small hands moved nearly smoothly across the keys with an undivided concentration, each note carrying pride and comfort she desperately needed.
When Jimmy returned with her phone, Evelyn accepted it with a grateful nod.
She quietly slipped out of the piano room, careful not to interrupt Oliver’s performance, and settled onto a nearby sofa in the living room before making the call.
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