Love's Cunning Ruse novel Chapter 357

Hearing his name called out, Dylan, who had been itching to speak his mind, stepped forward to sit beside Amanda's hospital bed. "Amanda, what's this? Leaving me in the lurch? You promised to spill the beans once everything was wrapped up. So why are you in the hospital instead?"

Amanda remained silent, prompting Dylan's gaze to sharpen. "Kerry, something about Grandma's expression is setting off my radar. And your analysis makes a lot of sense. Logically, upon hearing that Phoebe's been found, Amanda should be over the moon, bursting with excitement. But why do I only see shock, disbelief, and... it's almost like she didn't want us to find Phoebe at all?"

Kieran seemed to agree with Dylan's assessment, which was precisely why he hadn't rushed off to locate Phoebe immediately, instead opting to unravel the whole situation from the beginning.

"Or maybe..." Kieran paused, his eyes cold as steel, "Grandma, you knew where Phoebe was all along?"

"Nonsense! If I knew where Phoebe had run off to, why would I end up in this hospital?" Amanda's face wore a look of sorrow as she addressed Kieran. "Are you accusing me of not being able to keep an eye on a child?"

Sensing the conversation veering toward a family dispute, Harding, with Marlon Watson in tow, turned to Kieran and said, "The matriarch seems in good spirits, nothing serious. Mr. Watson and I will head out. Ring me if there's any trouble. I’ll inform the attending physician on my way down."

Kieran nodded in agreement.

Once Harding and Marlon had left, Julie approached Amanda, trying to calm the waters. "Grandma, don’t get worked up. We’re certainly not blaming you. It’s just that the timing of Phoebe's disappearance is... peculiar..."

"Peculiar? What's so peculiar about it? I was just worried Phoebe wasn’t dressed warmly enough for winter..."

"Where did you hide Phoebe?" Kieran cut her off abruptly, clearly tired of beating around the bush. Julie tugged at Kieran's sleeve, aghast at his bluntness. What did he mean by Grandma hiding Phoebe?

Dylan frowned, Kieran's candid remark hitting home.

He suddenly stood up, stepping back and pointing at Amanda. "That's it! That explains it! I was wondering why you’d skip our own family's department store to shop at a more remote, crowded one. Because our store's security is airtight, no gaps or oversights. But Elite Emporium, that old mall, has outdated security systems—plenty of loopholes!"

Julie caught on... It was too convenient. Phoebe had vanished exactly in a blind spot where cameras couldn't see. Too much of a coincidence.

If all this was a setup by Amanda, then it all started to make sense.

Dylan looked at Amanda, his brow knotted with a mix of realization and fear. "That's why you insisted I stop Kerry from coming back early. You were afraid that today’s mishap with Phoebe would come to light, weren't you?"

Even the usually silent Julien frowned and pressed Amanda for an answer. "Isn’t Phoebe your own great-grandson?"

Why would Amanda do all these?

Amanda remained silent, taken aback by their shrewdness. Despite meticulous planning, they had managed to poke holes and uncover the truth.

"Got nothing to say for yourself, Grandma?" Kieran asked coldly, his tone suggesting that if she didn't come clean, their familial ties would be severed.

Amanda finally let out a weary sigh, her demeanor aging as she faced her kin. "Yes, I orchestrated Phoebe's disappearance!"

Aside from Kieran, everyone else was more or less shocked.

"Guess blood isn't thicker than water," Julien muttered under his breath.

Amanda, her brow furrowed in conviction, retorted, "Phoebe is Lucian's only son; of course, he's his own flesh and blood!"

Kieran looked down, waiting for an explanation. "Why do this then? Why keep us in the dark?"

"I've seen Lucian," Amanda suddenly let slip, dropping a bombshell that fractured the calm faces around her.

Everyone had been searching for Lucian Hernandez, not suspecting that he had already made contact with Amanda.

"When?" Kieran managed to maintain composure.

Julian stepped forward, his brow furrowed, "You trusted Bruce just like that?"

"I was skeptical myself, so I set up a blind date for Dylan and her, didn't I? But then Camilla herself confirmed she had a boyfriend named Simonson," Amanda explained.

So, she had verified Bruce's words.

Later, Camilla did indeed suggest going to Britain to confront Simonson, which aligned perfectly with Bruce's prediction. And since Bruce was acting on Lucian's orders, it meant that having Kieran and Julie accompany Camilla to Britain and orchestrating Phoebe's disappearance was all part of Lucian's plan.

Because of this, Amanda believed Bruce and followed Lucian's instructions.

Still doubtful, Julian asked, "So you just went along with their plan? Didn't you ask why they wanted to do this?"

"Bruce said that once Phoebe was hidden away successfully, Lucian would return to explain everything to me in person. If Phoebe hadn't 'disappeared,' Lucian wouldn't have had a reason to come back, nor the opportunity to talk to me, so..."

"So? Where is he now?" Kieran interjected, a frown etching his features as he questioned Amanda.

Amanda, usually so calculating and composed, now seemed visibly distressed. She had assumed that with Phoebe hidden away, Lucian would have shown up by now, but... Lucian hadn't appeared as planned.

She had been waiting in the hospital for so long, and even Bruce had not shown up again. This panic was what drove her to finally reveal the truth to the people in the room.

"And Phoebe? Where is she now?" Julie demanded of Amanda.

But Amanda suddenly fell silent. After a long moment, she finally said, "I hid him at the location Bruce arranged. In a cottage on Pine Grove Path. Lucian should have shown up by now..."

Kieran turned to Julian, "Go start the car," then back to Amanda, "Where exactly is this cottage?"