chapter769

Lucinda's eyes dimmed and her jaw clenched tight with jealousy. It was always the same. As soon as Lydia walked in, everyone's attention shifted to her, and Lucinda faded into the background.

"Where did you and Connor go on your date?" Elliot asked, sounding half-annoyed, half-curious. He hadn't seen Lydia in over two weeks and had missed her, but when he came home, the first thing he heard was that she'd left with Connor that morning. He couldn't help but feel a bit left out.

Lydia laughed. "It wasn't a date. We just went to the hospital to visit Grandma Smith."

Elliot's teasing grin disappeared. "How's she doing?"

"She's stable right now."

"That's a relief."

Blake turned to Lydia. "So, what's your plan with the Gibson family situation?"

Honestly, Blake had rushed home because he heard someone was picking on his little sister. If not for that, he probably would have stayed away a bit longer.

"Connor's on it, and the police are investigating. We should know more by tomorrow."

"If anyone gives you trouble again, don't hold back. I've got your back," Blake said.

"And me too!" Elliot added, sliding closer.

Lydia felt a wave of warmth. "Thank you, Blake. Thank you, Elliot."

Lucinda watched their sibling moment, feeling like it was all just too much. They really were close.

Suddenly, Kylie remembered something and called out to one of the maids nearby. "Where's Tina? Why hasn't she brought Lydia her milk yet?"

Usually, as soon as Lydia came home, Tina would rush to the kitchen and make sure she had her favorite milk. But tonight, Tina was nowhere in sight.

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The maids exchanged glances, but no one spoke up. Lucinda had already warned them not to say a word about what happened, or they'd be out of a job. Earlier that afternoon, Judy and Alexis tried to hettina and ended up getting punished. After that, nobody else even thought about stepping in.

Lucinda flexed her hands under the table, looking tense.

Grace quickly stepped forward. "Ma'am, Tina took the day off. I'll go to the kitchen and get Lydia's milk myself."

Kylie sounded confused. "Wasn't she here this morning?"

Tina was supposed to be Lydia's personal maid. If she took leave, someone had to fill in for her.

Grace hesitated, then forced a smile. "She was, but she had a family emergency this afternoon and had to leave."

Kylie nodded. "Alright. Since Lydia's going to be home the next couple of days, have Judy and Alexis look after her Grace, you just make sure Lucinda is taken care of." Content'

As soon as Kylie mentioned Judy and Alexis, Grace stiffened, and all the other maids seemed to hold their breath. Judy and Alexis had both been punished earlier and were now resting in the staff quarters, nursing their injuries. They couldn risk the family seeing the bruises and asking questions.

Lydia narrowed her eyes, picking up on the strange atmosphere.

Blake, who spent a lot of time at home, sensed something was off too.

Kylie frowned. "What's going on? Did Judy and Alexis take leave as well?"

Grace had no choice but to nod. Yes, ma'am. They're both out. Lucinda jumped in quickly. Mom, if they're all on leave, just send two others. We have plenty of staff. Or Grace could look after Lydia for a couple of days."

Grace went along with it. "That's fine, ma'am. I can take care of Lydia."

Lydia gave her a pointed look. "I'm just used to having Tina around. Her leaving so suddenly feels odd. Maybe I should give her a call, ask if something happened.