Fortunate to Have You This Lifetime

The white stone steps, distinctly leveled, had an angle slightly steep to create the effect of a waterfall of flowers cascading downwards. Indeed, once someone fell, it could be very dangerous.

For this reason, there were wooden handrails erected on both sides and in the center of the staircase. Holding onto them and walking slowly was comparatively safe.

Purple Summers walked up and down the staircase steadily twice.

In the end, she sat on a step to rest.

Squinting, she looked ahead at Mrs. Douglas’s current residence.

Unlike the Summers Family’s quaint villa, the house where Mrs. Douglas lived was originally meant for servants. To match the atmosphere and scenery of the garden, the exterior of the house had been painted beautifully. However, the interior decoration was quite ordinary, not at all befitting for the lady of the house to reside in.

But now, Mrs. Douglas had moved in there with her child and sealed both the front and back doors, forbidding anyone from approaching.

If she did not sense a threat to her life, why would Mrs. Douglas go to such extremes? Could it be she truly developed paranoia?

… After suffering the death of two children in succession, experiencing such a tremendous shock, developing paranoid delusions was not entirely impossible.

The windows of the house in front flickered suddenly.

Purple Summers furrowed her brows.

The curtains had been drawn…

Had Mrs. Douglas noticed someone observing the house and, therefore, drawn the curtains? Her defensiveness towards the outside world was to such an extent.

Purple Summers couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

Regardless of whether Mrs. Douglas was indeed paranoid, her plight elicited deep sympathy.

Purple Summers stood up and descended the staircase, heading towards Mrs. Douglas’s house.

A servant sweeping the ground saw her approaching and said, unsurprised, “Don’t bother, the lady will not open the door.”

Purple Summers asked curiously, “If Mrs. Douglas never comes out, how does she and the baby eat?”

The servant tilted his chin, signaling her to look at the bottom of the door—

Beneath the door, there was a smaller door, and that was… a pet door.

“The lady calls us for whatever she needs, and we pass items through that little door. If it’s something too large, we leave it at the front door, and when there’s no one around, the lady will open the door and take it inside,” the servant explained.

“How long has Mrs. Douglas been living inside there?” Purple Summers asked.

“She moved in right after coming back from the hospital.” The sweeping servant heaved a sigh, “It’s been almost four months now.”

“Hasn’t Mr. Douglas thought of a solution?” Purple Summers was amazed, “She can’t keep living inside forever, Little Baby also needs to spend more time with his father.”

“He tried many ways, called the police, spoke to the doctor. Once, Mr. Douglas was so desperate, he decided to dismantle the door. The lady immediately fired a shot, claiming Mr. Douglas wanted to kill her and if anyone got closer, she and the child would die together.”

Purple Summers was rendered speechless. From the looks of it, Mrs. Douglas’s mental state was on the verge of collapse.

Could she, in such a state, take good care of her child?

Deep in doubt, she looked towards the house in front of her, not getting any closer, but slowly walked around the house. She could faintly hear a woman’s voice humming a lullaby inside.

The voice was very tender, filled with love and care.

Purple Summers felt as though she was missing something…

As she pondered, she noticed in the distance, Jane McCain was standing on the tulip garden staircase, waving at her.

Purple Summers immediately quickened her pace, saying without hesitation, “Be careful, the staircase is quite steep. Watch out not to fall!”

“You would never guess…” Jane McCain, with a tense expression, walked beside Purple Summers and whispered, “There are too many suspects! The Douglas family’s housekeeper, who is fiercely loyal to Mr. Douglas’s ex-wife, despises the new madam, the Douglas family’s driver, who has held a grudge ever since Mrs. Douglas docked his pay, and Mr. Douglas himself, it turns out they’ve been going through a divorce lately…”