Family on Their Knees Heart Turned to Ice novel Chapter 1289

"Auntie Bella, please... I'm so terrified," Noah pleaded.

Bella had been utterly speechless just seconds ago, scrambling for a way to respond. She never could have anticipated the sheer scale of the child's imagination.

He actually believed Lillian Mercer was a serial killer, and that Sebastian was carrying around dismembered body parts to cover up her crimes?

The frantic, anxious knot that had been twisting in Bella's chest all afternoon suddenly evaporated, replaced by a soothing wave of vindication.

Noah really was the best pawn she could have ever asked for.

"Noah, sweetie, I really don't know," Bella purred, injecting a perfect note of hesitation into her voice. "Are you absolutely sure you didn't just misread the situation?"

"Of course I didn't!" Noah sobbed. "I touched it, Auntie Bella. It felt real. Please, I'm so scared. I don't want to stay here with Dad. I want to go to Grandpa's. I want to live with you."

Noah's desperate call couldn't have been timed more perfectly. At the very least, it confirmed one crucial detail: Sebastian had received the package.

And if he had the goods in hand, there was no way he would refuse to pay up.

Bella zoned out for a moment, lost in the tantalizing thought of her imminent payday, leaving Noah's frantic pleas met with dead silence.

Noah didn't dare speak too loudly, but he urgently whisper-shouted her name a few times through the receiver until she finally snapped back to reality.

"Oh, Noah, I'm sorry, you just startled me," Bella lied smoothly. "What were you saying? I didn't quite catch that."

Noah hurriedly repeated his desperate request. He couldn't stay in this house of horrors a second longer.

Bella offered a practiced, soothing hum. "Noah, listen to me. I need you to promise me something first. You have to keep this an absolute secret. You cannot breathe a word of this to anyone, do you understand?

"You're a smart boy, and you always listen to Auntie Bella, right?"

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