"Alright, stop crying. I am going back with you."
Mary felt her eldest son was becoming more absurd by the minute.
"Thank you, Grandma." Shirley beamed instantly.
She thought to herself that Claire truly was brilliant. Claire knew the old lady despised this kind of behavior, so she expertly guided Shirley to bring her back into
the fray.
Consequently, when Shirley walked into Latham's house with Mary in tow, Latham and Octavia were completely dumbfounded.
They had never imagined Shirley would bring Mary back.
If Mary had remained ignorant, it would have been fine. But now that she knew, she would definitely put a stop to it.
This was disastrous for their plans.
The couple exchanged a panicked glance, both caught entirely off guard.
"Since it is a family dinner tonight, there shouldn't be a problem with me bringing Grandma along, right?"
Octavia managed a stiff smile. "Of course not. Bringing Mom back was the right thing to do."
"It was thoughtless of us not to invite her in the first place."
Patti discreetly gave her daughter a thumbs-up.
Being able to summon Mary proved her daughter was quite clever and capable.
Mary was completely impartial when it came to her two daughters-in-law. She didn't particularly like either of them.
But Patti felt she was slightly more favored.
After all, the circumstances of Latham and Octavia's marriage were rather scandalous.
While Patti's family wasn't filthy rich, they were well-off, making her a highly suitable match for Pearce.
Plus, she never actively tried to suck up to Mary, so she never became a nuisance.
Octavia was a different story. She seemed to have a glutton for punishment. In the beginning, she constantly threw herself at Mary, desperately trying to win her favor.
It wasn't until Mary bluntly told her that keeping a polite distance would make them both more comfortable that Octavia finally gave up.
However, both Octavia and Patti knew that Mary still wielded immense power in this large family.
She just rarely bothered to interfere in her children and grandchildren's lives.
Except for the time when Claire was a child and nearly died from a high fever Mary hadn't said a word. She just packed the child up and took her straight to the countryside,
Octavia had cried her eyes out back then, insisting she was the child's biological mother, not some wicked е
stepmother, and would never intentionally abuse her own flesh and blood
She claimed she had just stepped out for a moment and wasn't paying attention. She swore she was heartbroken that the child almost died.
Taking the child away from her, Octavia argued, would completely sever the bond between mother and daughter.
Patti never knew exactly what Mary said to Latham and Octavia behind closed doors, but Claire was swiftly moved to the countryside.
Patti had always assumed a child raised by Mary in the country would never be able
to compete with her precious Shirley.
To her absolute shock, when Claire returned, she was even more radiant and
impressive than if she had stayed by Octavia's side.
Had she known, Patti would have sent Shirley to be raised by Mary too.
Patti had muttered about this to her husband more than once.
Pearce always told her to drop it and stop daydreaming.
His mother had only taken Claire away because she saw how terribly Octavia neglected the girl.
Patti, on the other hand, treated her daughter wonderfully, a fact his mother had fully acknowledged.
"Mom, the main reason for tonight was to discuss some company matters with Pearce and the family," Latham eagerly explained to Mary.
Despite his age, he was still deeply intimidated by his mother.
"I see," Mary replied, showing quiet understanding.
Once they sat at the dining table, she held the highest seat of honor.
No one dared to pick up their chopsticks until she spoke.
"Where is Cindy?" Mary rarely paid attention to the granddaughter who had been suddenly brought back into the fold.
Although she had prepared identical
holiday envelopes of cash for
everyone during Christmas, it was
obvious Mary was not, overly warm
toward Cindy.
Everyone understood her initial reaction. After all, Mary had raised Claire with her own two hands.
Being told the babies were switched at birth was a massive shock. It was perfectly normal that she couldn't accept Cindy right away.