SWNOVELS Chapter 608: Tina Cries
Tina suddenly clutched Natalie tightly, her arms wrapping around her body as tears burst forth like a fountain. She sobbed uncontrollably, disregarding her appearance completely.
This time was different from when she had deceived Master Tam out of eighty million; this was genuine, childlike weeping. In front of her own mother, she was always just a child. Tina didn't know how long she cried, but it left her drained of strength before she finally stopped.
She then remembered she had to confront her mother. "Mom, you..." Tina got up only to see Natalie asleep against the car window! What kind of unreliable mother was this! She was crying her heart out! Natalie, awakened by Tina's call, quickly opened her eyes and wiped her mouth, "Oh, it's been a long time since I heard you cry; it's still so hypnotic."
Tina was speechless, staring deeply at Natalie. She hadn't been like this when she first saw Courtney. "Mom!" Natalie quickly embraced Tina, "Sweet Tina, I'm hungry, can we go have some beef hot pot first?"
Jared, who was outside, couldn't stand it anymore and decided to get in the car. He had thought to give Tina and Natalie a warm reunion moment, but all Natalie could think about was beef hot pot! It was clear who Tina took after! "Master, are you always this focused on eating?" Jared complained as soon as he got in the car, despite Tina's long crying session going unsoothed. Natalie raised her hand and gave Jared a slap, "Shut up, drive!"
"Mom, don't do that to my Uncle," Tina said, tenderly rubbing the back of Jared's head. Jared chuckled softly, grateful for Tina's gentleness.
Natalie scoffed, "It's not like when you peed on him as a baby!" Tina blushed deeply, barely remembering such an incident. Jared was about to retort when Natalie added, "It's not like when you cried holding her diaper either!" Jared knew better than to argue; Natalie was always more ruthless.
Obediently, Jared took them to Ashbury's finest beef hot pot restaurant, booking the entire place so the mother-daughter duo could eat their fill. Satisfied after the meal, Natalie finally remembered they had a serious matter to discuss. "The Five Poisons at the scene were bio-robots," Natalie leaned back in her chair, unabashedly rubbing her belly. Tina sipped her Coke and belched, "Throwing that stone was to check if she was a bio-robot, turns out we were fooled." Jared, watching the pair without a care for appearances, silently offered a wet wipe, "It just shows, the bio-robots inside GTO are evolving with us." The bio-robots Tina had handed over to Janson and Ethan Ward, thanks to the involvement of the Reed family and the sample Natalie had left, were now the most advanced model. "Scarlett" today was one of these top-tier experimental models, capable of connecting and acting on human thoughts.
This bio-robot had been delivered to Tina by Janson just last month. GTO had made no advancements for many years, yet now they had a model that matched their highest version?
Tina frowned slightly, "It seems we've got a traitor among us!" She had been so focused on finding Natalie that she hadn't checked in with Janson and Ethan Ward, or the cooperating Reed family. She had assumed all was well, but clearly, there was a leak.
Natalie neatly folded the used wet wipe and placed it on the table, "There must be an issue internally, but a traitor among the Reeds is unlikely. Jasper is gone, and the others have no ties with GTO. His father has retired from public life. We need to see if there might be some other connection they've made."
Tina nodded, "Indeed, after Jasper's departure, the Reeds have been under my surveillance and unlikely to cause issues, and the Woodham and Ward families even less so." Natalie continued, "And the explosion wasn't caused by anything we did. The air particles would have ignited even without Jared's gunshot."
Jared, having just paid and returned, caught the tail end of Natalie's explanation and sat down, "Gun barrels."
"Yes, when the X Bureau came today, I felt something was off. Their gunshots sounded much more muffled than before."
"I thought it was because they changed their guns, could it be Linden?" Natalie pondered, tapping her cheek thoughtfully as she stared into the distance.
Jared turned to see Tina mirroring Natalie's thoughtful pose, her brow furrowed even deeper. He sighed, "Master, Tina, maybe we should go home and think this through?" At the mention of home, Natalie appeared momentarily lost. The Brookes family would surely be in chaos now. Natalie hadn't been ready to meet Grandpa Brookes just yet, not if it weren't for the recent urgency caused by Tina pushing Rachel to her limits, forcing Natalie to reveal herself. Tina noticed Natalie's hesitation and reached out to hold her hand, "Mom, let's go home." Natalie had always been ambivalent, even resistant, to the notion of 'family.'
No matter how strong a person was, everyone had an untouchable scar deep within. Before knowing her own origins, Natalie had been deeply wounded by the Whittaker family, leading her to a prolonged state of isolation.
Now, informed that she had real relatives who had sincerely sought her for over thirty years, she was even more reluctant to approach them. "Mom, Grandpa is waiting for us." Tina's hand was warm, comforting like a mother's loving embrace. Over the past decade, Natalie had hidden in the shadows, watching Tina build the Mountain Veil Order from scratch, growing from a young girl into a graceful young woman.
Yet, Natalie had never really felt her daughter had grown up until this moment. Her precious daughter had truly matured, capable of standing on her own, and now, leading her home. Natalie nodded, "Alright, let's go home." Jared dropped them off at the Brookes family's home without entering, respecting their need for privacy during such a moment.
Natalie stood at the doorstep, familiar with every detail of the Brookes household from her visits as Warren Pace. Yet now, standing here, hearing the domestic sounds from within, she hesitated to step forward. Tina affectionately linked arms with Natalie, "Mom, today, I'm also coming home for the first time." For the first time, as a granddaughter returning home.