Chapter 36

It was already dinner time when Collin Stone arrived. They were all seated around the dinning table eating when Collin noticed how his grandson's face was shining brightly.

"Ezekiel, why do you look so happy today?"  He couldn't hide his curiosity any longer and asked.

"I met auntie Snow White today grandfather." Ezekiel replied with a big smile.

Silence.

Collin looked from his wife to his sons who pretended like they didn't hear what the little boy just said.

"So that woman came here, again?" Collin asked but didn't get any response.

"Why is no one answering me?"

"Yes she did. She came to drop off Ezekiel." Cecilia answered.

Collin breathed out heavily. "And why was Ezekiel with her, wasn't he with Jake?" Collin stared at his second son with a penetrating gaze.

"We happened to have met her at mom's restaurant and Ezekiel insisted on staying with her while I rushed to the office." Jake explained calmly not affected by the gaze.

"And you just complied. Am I the only one that feels that this woman is a threat?" Collin asked

"Yes."

Collin turned towards his eldest son who has no problem opposing him when given the chance.

Dominique stared at his father blankly. He didn't feel threatened at all.

Collin frowned and then sighed. He turned towards Ezekiel who was busy eating not caring about the argument.

"Do you like that woman that much?"

"Yes Grandfather, she is nice and beautiful." Ezekiel praised.

"Exactly, she's a wonderful girl." Cecilia chirped in. Supporting her future daughter in-law.

Dominique smiled when he heard his nephew and mother praise the woman he likes. His chest filled with pride and affection.

Collin saw how his grandson and surprisingly his wife held great admiration for the woman. Was he blind to not see what they were seeing?

"The other day you went to her house did you like it there? Were the people nice? "

The Stone brother's frowned at their father's questions. What was he trying to do?

"Auntie Snow White's house is very big and beautiful like ours. Everyone there was welcoming, uncle Kyle and auntie Anastasia too." Ezekiel said.

Everybody looked at the little boy as he rambled on about his stay at Esmeralda's house. What caught their attention was the two names he mentioned.

"Did you just say uncle Kyle?" Timothy asked.

"Yes he was there." Ezekiel answered with a nod.

"There seems to be some kind of connection with that woman and that boy." Collin stated. "Is she his fiance? Or girlfriend?" He thought about this because that man  and that woman were always together.

"I don't think so. There is nothing about a secret fiance or girlfriend in his file neither family nor relations. Just an orphan." Dominique was the one who replied with a vexed tone.

Collin stared at his eldest son. He heard the tone used by his son but decided to brush it off. "What about this Esmeralda?" He asked

"The same as before." Jake replied while looking at his mother who was happily feeding his son.

"I don't just get why someone's history is inaccessible, even with the best of the best it is always a dead end." Collin sighed with frustration. He was not happy at all.

Timothy was about to say something but was cut off by the sound of footsteps.

Everyone turned to the direction where the sound was coming from and saw Gregory the butler and head of the workers striding towards them calmly.

He stopped some meters away from the dining table and said "Sorry to disturb your dinner but there is someone who wants to see the young master."

"Who?"

"The lady who brought the young master this afternoon."

Hearing the words of the butler Ezekiel who didn't care about the previous matters discussed suddenly jumped down from his seat and ran towards the living room.

"Really! I wonder why she came back." Cecilia smiled happily and followed after her grandson .

The stone men watched the grandmother and grandson run towards the living room excitedly. Their expressions held amusement except for Collin whose suspicion grew.

He got up and walked towards the living room with fast strides followed by his sons who shook their heads.

Esmeralda stood in the middle of the living room again for the second time today and waited for the little panda to come out. He had forgotten to give her her bracelet that he wore on his wrist after taking a liking to it. The customized bracelet with her initial was a gift from her sister who had died unfortunately. The bracelet was the only memory she had, they all had from Lucia. Just thinking about the past made her  head drop followed by a sigh. She doesn't think she can let go of the past so easily especially when she was the main reason why everything happened.

Hearing fast footsteps coming towards her she raised her head and saw the little panda running towards her followed by Cecilia who was grinning from ear to ear. He hugged her legs tightly and raised his head to look at her. His cute face and shining eyes showed that he was pleased to see her again.

"Hello dear. What made you come back?" Cecilia asked kindly

Before Esmeralda could speak she saw the Stone men striding towards them in all their glory and power. With their auras combined it was suffocating but she felt nothing and stared blankly.

Her eyes drifted towards the man in the middle, Collin Stone, who didn't seem too pleased to see her. They both locked eyes with each other and their aura slowly creeped out. One arrogant and dominating , the other eerie and terrifying.

Timothy glanced back and forth from the duo and shivered. He felt his energy draining from his body and complained to his brother. "Don't they know they are practically killing me with their presence."

Jake ignored his childish brother and sighed. He too felt the change in ambience to the point he felt numb in his legs. Were this two going to start a war with their aura?