Close to an hour later, James stepped out of the room, looking quite exhausted.
Nothing had worked to the effect that he was hoping for, in spite of him having doled out every trick in the book that he knew of just to coax some manner of response from Estella.
“How did it go?” Lucian inquired anxiously.
James shook his head. “Essie has completely shut herself in. She has refused to communicate with anyone and is resistant even to me. My guess is that she must have been triggered by something. The only way to resolve this is by identifying the source of her trauma.”
Lucian's expression dimmed when he heard that.
Seemingly unaware of the change in his friend's mood, James continued to ask of the latter in earnest, “Has Essie encountered any situation recently that might have brought about this change in her emotional state?”
Memories of the kid breaking her silence because of Roxanne came flowing back to Lucian. The answer thus became obvious to him.
After a moment's pause, Lucian recounted the events that transpired earlier that morning.
James was stunned after learning how that woman managed to bring about such a sharp fluctuation in Estella's emotions. “Perhaps this woman may be the key. Essie's condition may see some improvements if we could just get her to come over.”
Getting that woman to come to Essie?
Recalling the manner of the former's departure that morning caused Lucian's brows to bunch up in frustration. “Got it. I'll try to talk to her about this.”
James nodded.
Elsewhere, Roxanne remained completely in the dark about Estella's predicament.
Unsure whether it was owing to what Lucian said to her, she had been feeling rather unsettled since leaving the kindergarten premises behind.
As she reflected upon it, the man's tone of voice and expression did not seem feigned, but she had logical cause to believe that Lucian must be somehow involved.
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