Chapter 615

Mandy's words left Hattie completely floored.

What on earth has this kid been watching on TV?

"Mandy, Josie is my own flesh and blood, and I've never treated Lena poorly. How could you ever think I'd push her away just because Josie's here?"

"And what about Lena? She's not at home either, right? I texted her, and she hasn't replied."

Hattie felt a headache forming. She hadn't yet broken the news about Lena to her family back home.

Her mom has a heart condition, and she feared the old lady wouldn't be able to take the shock. Plus, since Josefina wanted to keep her identity a secret, Hattie had kept quiet about everything.

Facing Mandy, Hattie could only say as calmly as possible, "Mandy, I'll explain everything later."

Mandy snapped, "Auntie, you've changed, how could you do this!"

Fuming, Mandy stormed off, and Hattie quickly sat down beside Josefina, her voice soft and soothing, "Josie, don't be upset. This is all on me. I didn't mention it because your grandma has a heart condition, and I was afraid it'd be too much for her. And with our family being poisoned, I was scared that revealing the assassination attempt would tip off our enemies.”

Hattie was worried Josefina might misunderstand and didn't want this to affect their relationship.

As Hattie fretted, Josefina turned around and comforted her instead, "Mom, I'm not upset. You're right; we can't just tell anyone about this."

Hattie breathed a sigh of relief, "Now that things have calmed down a bit, I'll go and tell grandma."

Josefina grabbed Hattie's arm, "Mom, let's not tell grandma just yet. Dorian mentioned how much grandma loves Lena, and if she finds out Lena is gone, I worry she won't be able to handle it."

Hattie felt a mix of anxiety and heartbreak, "Josie, this means you'll have to bear a lot of unfair treatment. Grandma won't understand, and Mandy's being unreasonable they'll surely blame you."

Josefina didn't care about that; her mom was protecting her, and she wanted to protect the ones her mom cared about.

"Josie, this isn't fair to you," Hattie said helplessly.

Thinking of how sweet Josefina was, Hattie still felt this wasn't the right way to handle things.

"Josie, grandma has to know the truth eventually. You have those emergency heart pills, right? Give me a few so when the time comes, we can give grandma a couple more, and she should be okay, right?”

Josefina couldn't help but smile through her tears; her medicine was indeed effective, but it wasn't a guarantee every time.

For the greater good, Josefina still thought they shouldn't proceed this way.

"Mom, let's take it one step at a time. Mandy knows about me now, right? If she knows, grandma will eventually find out too. Mom, grandma will surely call you to ask about this."

"Mandy's just spoiled, been pampered too much," Hattie said, feeling a bit helpless.

She had discussed this with Dorian before; after all, Mandy wasn't her child, and there wasn't much she could do.

"Mom, don't tell grandma about Lena's passing just yet. Say she went abroad for further studies or

something Gradually, when grandma can't get in touch with her, we'll figure out what to do then.”

Persuaded by Josefina, Hattie could only proceed as suggested for now.

...

After Josefina returned to her room, her phone buzzed with numerous messages.

Orla had sent a message: Ms. Josefina, someone's requesting your help to design ten men's,

outfits. I've sent your the sizes. They mentioned money is no object, they just wish to wear your designs to an event.

Josefina replied: Alright, I'll send you the designs by tomorrow.

The next message was from Percy: Josie, the acne treatment product is ready, and

the trial was a success. Are we partnering with your mom on this?