Chapter 57



“What sort of gossip?” queried someone, leaning in with keen interest.

Tessa smoothed back her hair, her smile broadening as she focused on a specific individual. “This piece of gossip involves… Mrs. Thomas.”

The statement shifted all attention to Mollie, seated prominently among them. Mollie’s demeanor didn’t waver. She casually raised her eyelids. “Oh? Something concerning me?”

Tessa nodded affirmatively. “Precisely.”

“It concerns you and Mr. Thomas’ goddaughter, Belinie.”

“What do you mean by it involves Belinie?” Darren, who was seated beside Mollie, interjected with a sharp tone. The room’s focus shifted to Tessa, everyone visibly eager to hear the impending revelation. After all, everyone here had only heard positive comments about Belinie before.

Tessa relished the captive audience, sitting up straighter and allowing a sly smile to spread across her lips. “I spoke with Ryan Adams. His aunt’s husband, who happens to be the chief physician at the Cardiac Surgery Department at the Grand Plains General Hospital, told him… Well, there isn’t a doctor or intern by the surname Thomas or named Belinie in their department.”

She paused, letting the tension build, before adding, “And it’s not just the doctors—among the nurses, too. However, intriguingly, there is a caregiver with the surname Thomas at that hospital. Could that perhaps be your goddaughter Belinie, Mrs. Thomas?”

“What? A caregiver? That simply can’t be true!” one lady gasped in shock.

“Indeed! Absolutely impossible,” another said, her voice dripping with disbelief, though her eyes shimmered with delight at the brewing scandal.

“I overheard it myself in the hallway,” Tessa declared with confidence, keen to cement the rumor. She had long harbored jealousy towards Mollie, resenting her marriage to Santino, the beloved head of the Thomas family, especially given Mollie’s known fertility struggles. She herself had fertility struggles as well, but her husband despised her because of that. Seizing the opportunity to tarnish Mollie’s reputation, Tessa wasn’t about to let this chance slip by.

However, Mollie and Darren appeared unbothered, their faces betraying no reaction to Tessa’s insinuations. With a feigned air of innocence, Tessa turned to Mollie, her voice dripping with faux concern. “Mrs. Thomas, would you mind clarifying what’s happening here?”

She then gave a small laugh, continuing, “Of course, I’m sure there’s no dishonesty from you or Mr. Thomas. But could it be… Perhaps your goddaughter has lied to you?”

Just then, Darren said firmly, “Belinie has been truthful. She indeed joined the Cardiac Surgery Department at the Grand Plains General Hospital today.”

Tessa placed a hand over her mouth, mimicking shock. “Oh, how puzzling! If that’s the case, why would the chief physician in that department deny knowing her? Mr. Thomas, perhaps it’s unwise to place such blind trust in her.”

Her voice took on a conspiratorial tone. “I fear her intentions may be a bit questionable.”

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