Chapter 13
Three days after I landed in Southdale, I officially joined the secret institute.
The director of the institute Phil Adler took us to lunch.
We drank and all got tipsy.
Many people’s eyes reddened.
Phil asked us to call our family.
But he added in a stern voice, “If you’re afraid and can’t bear to leave your family, you can quit now!”
Some people began dialing. And repressed weeps could be heard.
I sat there silently for a long while. Eventually, I took out my phone and tapped Instagram.
There was a notification.
It turned out Ruben had posted updates.
They had arrived in Northbeech with Lacey.
In the photo Ruben released, colorful glaring lights reached into the sky like a giant palette.
Under the aurora, the night of the snowy land was as bright as the daytime.
Lacey wore a thick white down jacket and a red scarf.
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Chapter 13
Standing in the vast snow, she was looking back with a broad
smile.
Mason had knit that red scarf for me when I was ten.
Then, Lacey came to Bluewell. She said the cold was too much for her.
Mason asked me to give her the scarf. He promised he’d knit a bigger one for me.
Four years had passed. He had never mentioned knitting a scarf for me again.
Phil’s voice broke my reveries. “Grace, make a phone call.
“An opportunity like this may not come along in many years.”
I gripped my hands so tight the color drained from my knuckles.
After a long while, I called.
However, it was Lacey’s cheerful voice that I heard. “Grace, what’s up?”
I asked in a hoarse voice, “Where are they?”
Lacey said immediately, “You mean Ruben and Mason?
“They asked me to answer the phone. They said they didn’t have the time for it. If there’s something you wanna say, you can tell me.”
Ruben’s loud voice came, “Turn off the phone and come over.”
Chapter 13
I could hear Lacey smile.
She pretended to be innocent. But she was too young to conceal her aggression and gloating.
“Grace, what is it? I’ll relay your words.”
280 (Voucher.
Composure came to me. The last trace of familial affection was gone in my heart.
I replied coolly, “Nothing.”
I hung up.
Everyone made the phone call. After the meal, we returned to the institute.
The door to the building seemed to separate us from the outside world.
I removed the SIM card from my phone, broke it, and threw it into the dustbin.
Then, I walked into the building without looking back.
Chapter 14
12 Vouchers
Chapter 14
