"Not yet, but someone snuck into my apartment and installed surveillance equipment."
"Perhaps they're getting restless."
Pandora's expression shifted drastically. "They broke into your home? Isn't that incredibly dangerous?"
If they could infiltrate her home, they could strike at any moment.
The young girl knew how to throw a punch, but she was no match for trained professionals!
"I think they just want to observe me for now. Maybe they don't even plan on attacking?"
"Besides, you already assigned people to watch over me. I don't think I'm in immediate danger."
Claire didn't feel particularly threatened herself.
But she had to admit, her grandmother's concerns were completely justified.
"We cannot be careless," Pandora mused darkly. "After the holidays, Dewitt is going to Cabinda with you."
What?
Claire almost thought she misheard.
"Grandma, doesn't Dewitt have important business in Kaston?"
"If he comes to Cabinda with me, who will handle things over there?"
Dewitt had spent years building his empire in Kaston; he was a formidable, feared figure in that region.
Tearing him away from his territory to babysit her in Cabinda seemed like a massive inconvenience.
"He already made the necessary arrangements. He doesn't need to stand guard there twenty-four-seven."
Truthfully, Pearce and his wife wanted Dewitt to come back, settle down, and start a family.
Even if he had to stay stationed abroad, he still needed to get married and have kids.
Pearce and his wife were quite conservative in their thinking.
Their son had always been a rebellious wildcard, and Pandora was the only one who could keep him in line.
Once he left the village, it was like he had grown wings he never wanted to come back.
His parents used Edison's wedding as the perfect excuse to summon him home.
Dewitt was planning to take a vacation anyway.
So, it conveniently aligned with his parents' wishes.
However, he definitely hadn't returned to blindly go on blind dates and get hitched.
The line of work he was in remained incredibly dangerous.
Even though he had secured his
foothold in Kaston, Dewitt fiet a woman down. Conto To
believed
hat marriage would
Kaston was a volatile place; one
wrong move and he could end toet
dead, What kind of life would he leave behind for a widow and child?
But Pearce and Patti saw things entirely differently.
They knew how dangerous Kaston was, which was exactly why their son needed to get married!
He needed to leave an heir so they would have something to live for.
If something truly happened to him, how were the two older folks supposed to survive the grief?
Claire had no idea about the real reason behind Dewitt's return; she just assumed he was back for Edison's wedding.
"I don't know about this. Won't it be too much trouble for Dewitt?"
He was a great guy, and Claire actually liked him a lot.
She just didn't want to be a burden.
"He won't mind at all." Once Pandora made a decision, there was absolutely no room for negotiation.
Because this concerned her granddaughter's safety.
She wasn't willing to gamble!
If she had paid closer attention back then, her son and daughter-in-law might not have disappeared.
Now that history was threatening to repeat itself with Claire, Pandora had learned from her past mistakes.
She refused to be careless.
So she wasn't going to take no for an answer this time.
"Then I'll leave the arrangements to
you Claire recognized the
unquestionable
uthority in he
grandmother's tone.
She had no choice but to accept her fate.
Fortunately, Dewitt was pleasant company.
"Grandma, I invited Mary to the village for the first day of the holidays."
"The city doesn't have much of a festive atmosphere, but our village is always so lively. So I figured..."
Claire quickly explained her reasoning for inviting Mary.
"That's wonderful. You should have invited her to celebrate with us a long time ago."
"She raised you so beautifully, I don't even know how to properly thank her."