Chapter 15
The maid shook her head. “No. Miss Parrish hasn’t been
back.”
Ruben frowned. “It’s been more than a week; the New Year is around the corner. How come she hasn’t been back?”
The maid had worked for the Parrish family for years and secretly felt sorry for Grace.
She replied, her voice cold, “I don’t know.”
Ruben was about to ask something more.
Just then, Lacey rolled her eyes impatiently when he wasn’t looking and then wrapped her arm around his, pouting.
“She’ll be back sooner or later, Ruben.
“Don’t worry about her.
“Why don’t you go and take a look at the new storybook I bought? You can read it to me tonight,” she said, acting coquettishly.
All of a sudden, Ruben felt annoyed.
It occurred to him that when in Northbeech, Lacey said Grace’s name disdainfully.
And apparently, she didn’t give a damn even though Grace hadn’t been back for days.
Chapter 15
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She acted like she cared about Grace, her “sister” so much; but really, did she care about Grace at all?
The maid turned to the kitchen, muttering, “Mr. Parrish, you don’t care about Miss Parrish anyway.
“Why bother asking about her?”
Her words were like a knife, stabbing Ruben’s heart hard.
Displeased, Lacey mumbled, “She’s perfectly capable of taking care of herself. What will happen to her anyway?”
Ruben felt a surge of anger, and he swung Lacey’s hand away with great force.
Puttingonalongface, he went upstairs.
Behind him, Lacey screamed in a broken voice, “Did I say something wrong, Ruben?
“You’re not gonna read me the storybook?”
He said coldly without looking back, “You’re a sixth grader already. Can’t you read?”
She cried pitifully, feeling aggrieved.
Normally, he would have turned back to comfort her.
Whenever she cried, he’d meet every demand she had.
He had always felt that if he didn’t treat Lacey nicely, he’d fail his parents as well as the student whom his parents valued
most.
But it had been four years.
For four entire years, he had been attentive to Lacey, giving her whatever she wanted. No matter how he thought about it, he didn’t fail that student who died in the fire with his parents.
But how had he been treating Grace, his biological sister?
He went upstairs and stood in front of the door to Grace’s bedroom.
Pushing open the door, he saw no one inside; the room seemed so big.
He went in and looked around. Only then did he realize she had taken so many things with her.
All of a sudden, he felt uneasy.
The uneasiness slowly climbed his neck like an invisible, fine vine, suffocating him.
He sat down on the couch, turned on his phone, and clicked on it a few times, but there were no missed calls or texts from
Grace.
And there was no post on her Instagram. Nothing.
How come she hadn’t come home yet?
Scrolling back and forth in his contacts, he finally couldn’t help but call John.
John soon picked up the phone and said, his voice steady, exclusive to that of a middle–aged professor, “Hello?”
Ruben beat around the bush for a long time.
Finally, he got to the point. “Grace hasn’t caused you any
Chapter 15
trouble, has she?”
John was stunned. “Grace? How could she cause me any trouble?”
For some reason, Ruben’s heart sank.
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He asked, “She’s out of town with you for something, right? She hasn’t been back, right?”
After a long silence, John said, his voice deeper and sadder this time, “This isn’t funny, Mr. Parrish.
“I sent Grace over, which is the fact.
“But how could she possibly come back with me?”
Chapter 16
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Chapter 16
