Wendy turned her head and saw a woman dressed in a flowing gown. Her name


    was Ida Olsen, a ssic beauty in her forties with soft, delicate, well-maintained


    features.


    Wendy had never seen a woman close to Horace before. She had heard that


    Horace and his original wife, Brittany, had divorced some years back.


    Wendy looked at Ida and asked, "Mr. Larson, who is she? How should I address


    her?"


    Horace nced at Ida and said, "Just call her Ms. Olsen. That''s what everyone


    here calls her. Ida, this is Ms. Crone.


    When Horace said "Ms. Olsen", Wendy caught a flicker of disappointment sh


    across Ida''s eyes. However, it vanished almost immediately.


    Ida smiled politely. "Hi, Ms. Crone."


    Wendy responded with a nod, "Hi, Ms. Olsen."


    Ida turned to Horace and asked, "Why have you been abroad so long this time?"


    Horace pressed his lips together. "I finally found Jessica''s mother."


    What?!


    Wendy was stunned. She hadn''t been sure whether Jessica''s mother was still


    alive, but now, Horace had confirmed she was, and that he had found her.


    Ida''s face went pale. "So, she''s still alive?"


    "She is," Horace replied. "She''s just been in a deepa all these years, but now


    she''s awake. I''ve told her everything about Jessica. She''ll be returning to the


    country soon to see her."


    Ida''s expression twisted into somethingplicated, but then she quickly said,


    "Back then, Brittany misunderstood our rtionship. When shees back, you


    should exin everything properly. Maybe you two can rekindle what you had."


    Horace''s voice turned cold.


    "She wanted the divorce, and she left. There''s no future for us."


    With that, he turned around and walked away.


    Ida smiled faintly to herself. "Ms. Crone, I''ve already arranged a room for you. If


    you need anything, just ask."


    Wendy looked at Ida, noticing how she carried herself like thedy of the house.


    She had heard that Ida was Horace''s first love-the one who got away. Later,


    Horace married Brittany in a marriage alliance. When Brittany discovered Horace


    was still tangled with Ida behind her back, she pushed through the divorce without


    a second thought.


    Ida was the biggest winner in all of it.


    But Ida hadn''tpletely won, because even after all these years since Brittany


    left, she was still just "Ms. Olsen ". Horace had never married her.


    Wendy nodded. "Alright. Thank you, Ms. Olsen."


    Wendy


    settled into the Larson family''s estate. She had to keep an eye on Jessica.


    The one who should be the most worried wasn''t her it was Jessica.


    Be and Ang were still in Jessica''s hands, and the people working for her who


    hadn''t seen her would definitely start to get anxious. That kind of anxiety could


    easily lead to mistakes and exposure.


    Jessica stayed locked away in her room when her kidnappers called again. "Hi,


    Ms. Larson."


    Jessica''s heart raced. She lowered her voice sharply. "Why are you calling again?


    I already told you, I''ll call when it''s time. Stop calling me! My dad''s at home now-if


    he overhears, we''re all doomed!"


    It wasn''t just Horace-Wendy was here, too. Jessica was living in constant fear.


    One of the men in ck on the other end assured her, "Don''t worry. This call is


    untraceable. As long as you''re careful, nothing will go wrong."


    "But-


    "You were supposed toe today! Why didn''t you? You stood us up!"