Chapter 678
She knew Mrs. Stapleton had been searching for Norton for the past two years. Because Theodore had been intentionally hiding things from his mother, Mrs. Stapleton had been unable to find Norton, despite deploying considerable resources.
Mrs. Stapleton was overcome with emotion. After hanging up, she rushed toward the door.
“Who did you say they found? Norton?” Penelope asked.
Mrs. Stapleton tried to conceal her excitement from Penelope, composing herself before answering. “It should be him. I’m going to bring him back p>
Penelope frowned. No matter where Mrs. Stapleton got her information, she was sure it wasn’t Norton.
“You should wait for Theodore to get back and discuss it with him first p>
Mrs. Stapleton scowled. “Theodore is another story. I keep urging him to find Norton, but he completely dismisses it. That’s no way for an older brother to act. Now that I’ve found Norton myself, he can’t possibly stop me. I’m not telling him p>
Mrs. Stapleton was furious with Theodore regarding the search for Norton, so she had no intention of involving him.
Seeing Mrs. Stapleton head out the door, Penelope hesitated for only a moment before hurrying after her.
She gave Lilian some quick instructions and then got into the car first.
Mrs. Stapleton frowned. “You want to come with me p>
Penelope nodded. “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Norton, too p>
Mrs. Stapleton paused for a moment but didn’t refuse. “Fine, you drive. I need to confirm the address again p>
“Okay p>
It turned out Mrs. Stapleton hadn’t found Norton through a contact, but by randomly scrolling through online videos. She had seen a video of a young homeless man who she thought looked a lot like Norton, so she contacted the vlogger who posted it.
The vlogger gave her the address, and Mrs. Stapleton then sent people to that location to search.
When Mrs. Stapleton played the video, Penelope glanced at it. The so-called young homeless man was more like a beggar, dressed in tattered clothes, covered in dirt his face masked by a layer of grime. At first glance, she had to admit, he did bear a slight resemblance to Norton.
“Actually, I don’t think he looks that much like him,” she said, afraid of upsetting Mrs. Stapleton, so she phrased it cautiously.
“It has to be him p>
“How can you be so sure p>
“He’s my son. Of course I’d recognize him at a glance p>
Penelope took a slow breath. She was the one who had disowned Norton back then, and now she was claiming him as her son. This long-overdue maternal affection had come too late.
“Norton is deliberately making himself sloppy just to spite me, to embarrass me. That boy has always been like this, so thoughtless,” Mrs. Stapleton said, her tone laced with blame.
“Norton Just saying his name made Penelope’s throat tighten. “He’s a good kid – warm, kind, with a strong sense of right and wrong. Famil means everything to him, and he really wants your approval. It’s okay if you feel you’ve let him down, but dont try to ease your own guilt by pinning the blame on Norton. He didn’t do anything wrong p>
Penelope knew Mrs. Stapleton couldn’t handle being provoked and had tried to hold her tongue, but she just couldn’t.
She would not allow anyone to tarnish the memory of the wonderful boy Norton was.
She expected Mrs. Stapleton to get angry after her outburst, but instead, she fell silent.
“I could never move on from
Lorraine’s death. I did a lot of crazy things, and one of them was giving birth to Norton hated him, but was really hating” myself. I failed to protect my daughter, and IO destroyed my own family. But that child was innocent. It’s only in the last two years that I’ve finally understood that p>
Too late.
Penelope wanted to say those two words, but for Theodore’s sake, she held them back.
“When I find him, I’ll make it up to him p>