Chapter 717:
Something in his gut told him Zander was related to Collin. No—he was almost certain. Zander had to be Collin’s lost son.
The more he thought about it, the more excited he became. He opened his camera and aimed.
Suddenly, a blow struck him square in the back.
Dustin flinched in shock. His phone slipped from his hand and hit the floor with a loud crack.
“Who the—”
The curse froze on his lips when he turned and saw Dolores.
He held back his anger, but the effort made him cough hard. His face turned red.
Dolores looked a little embarrassed. She had rushed over and hit him to stop him from taking the picture.
Now she realized she might have overdone it.
“Y-you okay?” she asked, her voice laced with guilt. She forced a smile. “I saw you from afar and thought I’d surprise you. Didn’t think you’d scare so easily.”
After a pause, she added, “You sure you’re alright?”
While she spoke, her eyes flicked past Dustin. She spotted Caylee walking away with Zander. Relief washed over her like a wave.
Dustin stared at her, dazed, then quickly turned around.
Zander—the boy who looked so much like Collin—was gone.
Dustin hurried over and bent down to pick up his phone.
Dolores stepped closer, eyes fixed on the device, silently hoping it was broken. “Is your phone okay? I can pay for it if it’s damaged.”
Dustin checked the screen, then gave a small smile. “No need. It’s tough. Still works fine.”
“Ah, that’s good,” Dolores said, forcing a grin.
gⲁ𝗅𝗇𝗈ν𝖊𝗅𝘀.k𝗈𝗺 – 𝓕𝓲𝓻𝓼𝓽 𝓬𝓱𝓮𝓬𝓴
Her gaze lingered on the phone, uneasy.
She had seen him trying to take a picture of Zander. That was why she had knocked the phone away.
If he had gotten that shot, things would have gotten messy. She would have had to find a way to erase it.
Just then, Dustin frowned and muttered, “Ugh. The picture’s all blurry.”
Dolores couldn’t help the smile that tugged at her lips.
But she quickly masked it with a look of concern. “Oh? What picture? Was it something important for work?”
Dustin turned to look at her. There was an apologetic look on Dolores’s face, and something about it tugged at him. “It’s not a work photo,” he said quietly.
Dolores bit her lip and lowered her voice. “What kind of photo was it? I’m really sorry, Dustin. I didn’t mean to interrupt. I didn’t know it was something important.”
Her guilt made him uncomfortable. He quickly replied, “It’s fine. I just saw a kid that looked really familiar.”
