You Looked Down on Me Once, Now You Look Up. novel Chapter 94

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Howard noticed it too, and the realization hit him—maybe all of this was just another move in Patricia’s game. They were the ones stuck, scrambling for answers, while she’d already slipped away, living her life somewhere far from their mess.

He stood in the backyard, hands clasped behind his back, lost in thought as he stared out at nothing. “I’m going to need you to pay extra attention to things from now on.”

The lawyer hadn’t expected that. He paused, then nodded. “Of course. That’s what I’m here for.” As he drove away, the thought lingered—no one exaggerates when they say the rich have their own set of problems. With a life like this, you need nerves of steel just to get through the day.

That evening, Kelly came home to find Howard still in the yard. She wandered over, trying to lighten the mood.

“Tina invited us to dinner. She wants to celebrate the Martin family’s new winery opening.”

Howard almost laughed. The Emersons—always so calculating. “So, they think half a year of keeping their distance is enough? Now it’s safe to be friends again?”

Kelly hesitated, understanding exactly what was bothering him. “I can tell her we’re not coming.”

“Who has the Parsons’ number?”

“Grandma probably does.”

Howard didn’t say another word. He headed inside, walking fast and determined. In his mind, Patricia wasn’t dead—there was no way. If she was, Chelsea and Jackson wouldn’t have played nice for six months. If she were really gone, they’d have found a way to drag the Newtons down with them by now.

The fact that everyone was keeping things so civil meant only one thing: the situation was still under control.

So, Howard decided to reach out to the Parsons. But their answer was blunt—there was nothing to discuss.

“How’d it go?” Kelly asked as soon as he put down the phone.

Howard set his phone on the coffee table and let out a quiet sigh. “They said there’s nothing to talk about.”

“Then forget it. Once this blows over, it’s not like anyone will be desperate to be friends with them.”

Howard rolled his glass between his palms, his expression clouded. “You’re making it sound too simple. For most people, sure, public opinion fades. But for the Newtons, if they don’t handle this right, it’s like sitting on a ticking time bomb.”