Chapter 229

Willow sank onto the sofa. Rachel spoke up to say, “Gosh, it must be tough, raising four kids! But lots of people would envy you for having children as clever and adorable as those! I’m one of them!” “Well, of course they’re clever!” Willow declared proudly. “They take after their mother, you see?” Rachel was perplexed by this statement. “I seem to recall you only achieved an IQ score of 100, though…” Average intelligence, in other words. Yes, a heaven-sent blessing of a friend, Rachel Stone was to her… Rachel went on, “I’ve heard that, where intelligence is concerned, children mainly take after their father.” What she meant was that if Willow’s children were so bright, it was because they got it from their father. “I think it might actually be thanks to Jas—” Before Rachel could finish that thought, Willow clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle it. “What manner of deceit are the two of you up to now?” Lara emerged from her room to find her daughter smothering her own be