As Luca listened to Luke, who sat beside her, she unconsciously furrowed her brows.
Luke was quite adept. When he chose to speak, every word seemed to strike at Sarah's heartstrings.
She knew he was pushing Sarah to reveal what she knew. It was not for their benefit but for the relevant authorities' benefit.
That was the real way to help Marcos.
"I understand..." Despite Luke's words, Sarah did not seem to blame him for meddling.
After all, this was all for Marcos' good.
"Ms. Poplar, let me say one last thing. Marcos is no longer a child. He has the ability to protect himself and those he cares about. So, you should trust him instead of trying to protect him in other ways."
Luke finished his sentence, held Luca's hand, and rose to his feet.
"Ms. Poplar, we have a dinner appointment to attend. We won't disturb you further for now. Please take your time to think it over."
Sarah watched them leave and nodded.
They had come today because Marcos had promised to visit her.
Was what Luke said also on behalf of Marcos?
However, Sarah knew that was not important.
Perhaps she should really consider Luke's words...
Sarah stood up and saw them off as they left the apartment.
After Luke and Luca left the apartment, they entered the elevator.
Luca looked up at him.
"What's on your mind?" Luke met her eyes and put on a gentle smile.
"You seem to know a lot," said Luca.
"Not really. Among all of us, Ms. Poplar knows the most," replied Luke.
"So, with this family legacy spanning a century across three generations, there must be quite a tale to tell. And now, with your family stretching into the fourth generation, is there anything I'm not aware of?" asked Luca.
Starting from Old Master Crawford and up until Lanie and Tommy's generation, it was already the fourth generation
She did not intend to pry but added a touch of humor to her tone.
"Well, there might be some, but the environment here in A City is different from that in Russia. So, whatever you don't know isn't anything major," replied Luke.
Luca became interested. "What kind of things?"
"How much property Grandpa actually owns, for example. Even I don't know the answer to that," answered Luke.
Old Master Crawford happened to invest in real estate and land when it was most profitable. The properties and land were quite cheap back then, and nobody knew exactly how much the old master had accumulated.
According to Mr. Griffin, Old Master Crawford's favorite hobby when he was young was purchasing real estate.
However, as for the exact number, he probably never bothered to count, so he did not even know himself.
Luca could not help but let out a chuckle. "That's hardly a secret."
"It is a secret because Grandpa himself doesn't keep track. Now, all his properties are managed by professionals, so he doesn't worry about them. Naturally, he doesn't remember too clearly," explained Luke.
Whenever Old Master Crawford bought a property or shop when he was young, he would hand it over to a real estate agency to manage.
The real estate agency was responsible for renting out properties and taking a commission while Old Master Crawford was in charge of collecting the rent.
However, Old Master Crawford did not really pay much attention to his rental income. He did not even bother managing it, leaving it in the bank in a savings
account.
"Money truly does give one the freedom to do as they please." Luca let out a sigh.
Luke shook his head. "If only that were true."
"But isn't your grandfather able to do whatever he wants now?" countered Luca.
"If money could truly grant unlimited freedom, then our family would've been reunited by now," replied Luke. If he could exchange Abel for the freedom of his wife and daughter, he would do it without hesitation.
However, Abel would never agree to such a deal. Therefore, he had to plan step by step to rescue his daughter.
"Alright, let's not dwell on that. Everything is getting better anyway." Luca held Luke's hand and walked toward where the car was parked.
Lliam had been waiting by the car the whole time. When he saw them approaching hand in hand, he smiled and opened the car door for them.
"Boss, are we heading to the Blue Coast Restaurant now?" asked Lliam.
"Yes," replied Luke. Once they got into the car, he took out his phone to message
Marcos.
Marcos had asked him to visit Sarah today, and the things he said were also at Marcos' request.
Now, Luke wanted to update Marcos on the situation today to assure him that Sarah was not in any danger.
At the same time, he informed Marcos that he was fairly certain Sarah knew about many things from back then, which was why the Russian side had been continuously searching for her. They were afraid that she might reveal sensitive information.
After a while, Marcos replied to his message: [Thank you for letting me know.]
Luca did not look at his phone screen, but she knew what he was doing. She asked, "Are you messaging Mr. Marcos?"
"Yes. He's worried about Ms. Poplar," answered Luke.
"Of course. They've acknowledged each other as mother and son, but they can't even have a simple phone call, let alone meet regularly." Luca heaved a sigh.
Sarah was worried that she might drag Marcos into danger, so she endured the longing for her son and kept her distance.
Marcos, too, feared that his actions might expose Sarah's whereabouts. That was why he did not come to visit her after she was discharged from the hospital.
It was hard for them to acknowledge each other, and it seemed that even after that, their relationship remained difficult. They were unable to interact like other
mother-son pairs.
"After Matysh's matter is resolved, Marcos will return to Russia. Then, the mother and son will be separated by different countries with even fewer chances to
meet," added Luke.
Luke's situation was different from Marcos'.
Luke was treated as a tool for Allison's pursuit of the Crawford family's wealth.
Thus, with each of Allison's schemes, the bond between him and Allison as
mother and son diminished with every passing day.
However, things were different for Marcos and Sarah.
They were separated against their will, and neither of them wanted to be a
burden to the other. It was especially so for Sarah, who feared she might hinder
Marcos' future.
Even though she knew Marcos was in Russia and managing M Group, she had no intention of going back to see him.
Besides fearing the family, she believed Marcos would have a better life without her interference. That was why she never disturbed him.
Even though there had been over 20 years of separation between them, the
mother and son had always been concerned about each other. That was why their bond was deep.
"I hope Mr. Marcos can resolve those troubles soon. That way, Ms. Poplar can move back to Russia and spend time with him." Luca knew that a mother, under ideal circumstances, would never leave her child.
In fact, Sarah was just like her in this aspect. If it were for the good of their children, they would endure their longing and stop themselves from contacting them to prevent their presence from causing any harm to their children. Such feelings could not be generalized to all mothers, but most mothers felt this
way.