The Ex and Her Riches novel (Gwendolyn and Maverick)

Cedrick was about to clear his mind and analyze the situation when Swain stopped the car in the laboratory’s open-

air parking lot. The latter got out first, then went to open the rear passenger door for the former.

“Boss, we’ve arrived at the laboratory.”

Cedrick had no choice but to pull himself out of his thoughts. Taking his tablet and phone, he stepped out of the

vehicle. “Return to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Joe has yet to be caught, so we must continue investigating

this matter.”

“Understood.” Swain watched Cedrick walk away before driving off.

The laboratory was extremely quiet at night, and on the entire floor, Benedict’s ward was the only room with its

lights on.

Not wanting the two children to wait too long, Cedrick quickened his pace.

Just as he approached the door, he saw it was slightly ajar. He was about to push it open when he heard Zendaya

crying and Benedict comforting her patiently.

“Uwaahh! Benny, I miss Mommy so much. So very, very much!” Zendaya wailed in a tearful voice, weeping pitifully.

Surprisingly, Benedict did not make fun of her. Instead, he patiently wiped away her tears with a tissue. “Don’t cry.

Your eyes are already red from crying. Daddy is bound to notice it when he arrives.”

“But… I can’t help it. I’m so worried about Mommy, yet I’m afraid of causing Daddy trouble,” she replied through

sobs.

Benedict sighed. In his piping voice, he reasoned with her solemnly, “You need to be good. Make sure you sleep well

at night and don’t misbehave. Let Daddy have peace of mind as he looks for Mommy. I trust his capabilities. He’ll

surely find Mommy soon. Don’t cry anymore. Daddy will get upset if he sees you like this, and we can’t make him

even more worried.”

Shortly after, the cries in the ward grew softer and less frequent.

However, a sense of guilt crashed over Cedrick like a raging wave. His fingertips on the door handle trembled

uncontrollably, there was a stinging sensation in his nose, and he could not stop his eyes from swiftly reddening.

It turns out these two precious little ones know Gwendolyn didn’t go to her parents’ house but is missing.

The choking feeling in his throat became almost too much to bear, and he forced himself to swallow the bitter pain.

However, the more he tried to suppress his emotions, the more tears welled up in his eyes.

Guilt and sadness overwhelmed him to the point that he could hardly breathe.

He did not want his distress to affect the children, so he went to the washroom to get some air and splash cold

water on his face, trying to alleviate the waves of heart-wrenching emotions.

After taking about five minutes to regain his composure, Cedrick glanced at his watch to check the time, then

looked at his reflection in the mirror. Apart from his exhaustion that had no way of being concealed, he had done a

good job at tamping down his emotions.

Upon walking to the ward again and opening the door as though nothing had happened, he realized that Benedict

had put Zendaya to sleep.

Under the dim light from the bedside lamp, the redness around her eyes from all that crying was not that obvious.

However, she was sucking gently on her thumb while furrowing her brows slightly, looking utterly miserable.

Benedict immediately put on a smile when he saw Cedrick walk in. “You’re early today, Daddy. It seems the Federal

Bureau of Investigation will be wrapping up its investigation soon, am I right?”

“That’s right. It’ll be over soon.” Cedrick sat on the edge of the bed with a smile and stroked the boy’s head lovingly.

“Why did Zendy go to sleep so early tonight? Is she feeling unwell?”

“She’s eating well and is in good health, so there’s no way she’d be unwell. She was just being too noisy, so I quickly

put her to bed.”

Cedrick caressed the boy’s face as his heart ached.

Something seemed to occur to Benedict, and he said, “By the way, I sent Mr. Mallory away. He likes lecturing me. I

found it annoying, so I kicked him out.”

“He only did it for your own good,” Cedrick said gently with a helpless sigh, wanting to speak up for Joshua.

However, Benedict was uninterested in listening to such reasonings. He hugged Cedrick’s arm and lay sideways

with his head on the pillow. Fixing his clear eyes on Cedrick, he said, “I’m sleepy. You must be tired too. Will you stay

and wait until I fall asleep?”

“Okay. Go to sleep now.” Letting Benedict hold his arm, Cedrick blocked the light from the bedside lamp with his

body and watched over the former until he dozed off.

Once Benedict had fallen asleep, he took a strand of their hair from his and Zendaya’s pillows respectively. Then,

he sealed them inside a small, airtight bag.

Even though I know that woman in the hospital is an imposter, that’s merely my judgment based on how well I

knew Gwendolyn. I have no concrete proof. Only a DNA test will be irrefutable confirmation.

The following day, Cedrick bought breakfast for the children and ate with them in the laboratory’s ward before

going to the hospital.

The police officers in front of Gwendolyn’s room reported to him what had happened the previous night. “Last

night, Mrs. Jenson opened the door twice. The first time was to ask us how long we would be standing guard. The

second time was in the middle of the night. She said she couldn’t sleep and had no phone, so she wanted us to help

her contact you. We knew you were with your children last night, so we didn’t dare to disturb you.”

They spoke cautiously, knowing how protective Cedrick was of his wife. When he finds out we didn’t call to inform

him that she woke up in the middle of the night and couldn’t sleep, we’ll all get punished, won’t we?

However, Cedrick listened to their report calmly without showing any expression. “Got it. Good job. You can change

shifts and go get some rest.”

“Thank you, Mr. Jenson.”

When Cedrick opened the door, he saw the woman eating breakfast from the hospital’s small cafeteria while sitting

on the hospital bed.

There was only some plain oatmeal and a bun, and her disdain was evident as she ate the food. As soon as she saw

him, she began complaining. “Hubby, you’re finally back! The food at this hospital is truly unfit for humans. The bun

is so dry and hard that it’s going to be the death of me!”

Suppressing the iciness in his eyes, Cedrick walked over, pulled up a chair, and sat next to the bed. “That’s how

hospital food is. Just bear with it a little, Gwenny. Once you get discharged, you can eat whatever you want.”

Her eyes lit up, and she tilted her head coquettishly. “Then how about we leave the hospital today? You’re the best.

I’m fine, honestly. Besides, I miss Zendy and Benny. Take me to see them, okay?”

The woman clutched at her heart coyly and continued sadly, “Not being able to see my little ones makes my heart

feel empty. Benny and Zendy also haven’t seen their mother for many days. They must miss me a lot, right?”

Cedrick did not say anything as he listened to her repeated mentions of the children’s names.

He could not help thinking that was the real reason behind Joe sending her here. The DNA test results take time,

which means it’ll also take time to verify this woman’s identity.

With that thought in mind, Cedrick agreed to her request without showing any sign of concern. “In that case, I’ll ask

the doctor to check on your condition. As long as there are no serious issues with your health, we’ll leave.”

“Wonderful!” She pushed the oatmeal and bun on the table further away from her and said sweetly, “I feel like

eating the fancy breakfast from the five-star hotel next door. Could you have someone go and buy it for me?”

“Sure. You can have anything you want.”

Half an hour later, a doctor arrived to conduct a follow-up examination on Gwendolyn. The woman sat in the ward,

enjoying a delicious five-star breakfast. In order to maintain an elegant appearance, she ate at a leisurely pace,

savoring every bite.

Meanwhile, Cedrick was silent as he sat to one side and tapped away on his tablet, attending to some work matters.

After checking on her, the doctor reported the results of his examination as per the instructions he had received

from Cedrick earlier. “Mr. Jenson, your wife’s condition is still not stable. She has a high blood sugar level and will

likely experience nausea and vomiting. In severe cases, it could even cause fainting spells. I recommend staying at

the hospital another day for observation. If everything is okay after her checkup tomorrow, she can leave in the

afternoon.”

The doctor wrote out his diagnosis while speaking. Glancing at the woman occasionally as she stuffed her face, he

could not help thinking that with all the sweets she was eating for breakfast, it was no wonder she had high blood

sugar.

Putting away his tablet, Cedrick said to her, “You heard what the doctor said. If you get a good rest, you might be

able to be discharged tomorrow.”

His long eyelashes concealed his dark eyes, which were fathomless and deathly cold. Enjoy your last two days of

happiness. Once you leave this place, I’ll give you a taste of the true meaning of a nightmare.