Chapter 136
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“It’s not about being stubborn,” Jeffrey said, fully aware of everything he had done. “Some things just have to be done. I have to prove to them that I could actually keep the promises I made.”
“And then what?” Riley asked. “You may wreck your whole family just for that promise.”
Jeffrey’s eyes darkened slowly. He didn’t say another word. “You don’t have to prove anything to anyone. Someone who doesn’t care about promises won’t think it’s impressive, even if you keep it,” Riley said, seeing right through him. “They’ll just think you’re stupid and inflexible.”
“I think you handled it wrong, too,” Stanley said, taking a risk and speaking what he usually kept inside. “Your family should come first.”
Jeffrey scanned their faces. “If you love preaching that much, why not get a new job?”
Stanley was speechless. Riley clicked his tongue. Jeffrey picked up the untouched glass of wine on the table and downed it in one go. He set the glass down, stood up, and said, “I’ve got things to do. I’ll leave first. Charge
it to me.”
He grabbed his phone and suit jacket and left the private room. Watching him go, Stanley rubbed his glass and looked at Riley. “Aren’t you gonna say anything more?”
“No use,” Riley said. “What happened back then hurt him too much. He has an obsession with promises that no one else can understand. You could say a thousand things, and he still wouldn’t listen.”
Stanley’s expression darkened with complicated thoughts. “Are you sure Andrea is really his lifesaver from childhood?” Riley asked. Something about it didn’t feel right.
“I’m sure,” Stanley said. “When he found out, he had it checked multiple times. Andrea has the scar from saving him, and she really was at the scene back then.”
Riley thought for a moment, her handsome face impossibly striking. “Can someone’s personality really change that much?”
As a child, she could risk herself for others. As an adult, she became selfish. No matter how much the environment influenced her, it shouldn’t have changed her that drastically.
“Jeffrey had thought about it, too,” Stanley said as he leaned back on the sofa. “He had even looked into Andrea’s childhood. The neighbors all said she had been sensible and obedient when she was little, a truly good child.”
“Did he check her whole background?” Riley asked again.
“They weren’t planning to marry, so why check her life?” Stanley said, knowing Jeffrey’s ways. “He just confirmed the details about her saving him.”
Riley stood up. Stanley looked puzzled. “What are you doing?”
“Going back to check something.” Riley clinked the last of her drink against his glass, finished it in one gulp, and then finally spoke. “Remember to pay the bill later.”
12:27 Fri, Sep 26
Chapter 136
Stanley was speechless. He was still hung up on it. “Didn’t Jeffrey say it would go on his tab?”
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Riley didn’t answer. She went back to her own place. She turned on the computer and started digging in detail. She didn’t believe that someone capable of doing such a thing would have the courage as a child to rescue someone from the river.
Half an hour later, she looked through all of Andrea’s records and couldn’t help but furrow her brows. Based on the information, aside from Andrea’s questionable character, there didn’t seem to be any real problems.
In the end, her attention locked onto the fact that Andrea and Rebecca had gone to the same university. After some thought, she shut down the computer and stood up to find Rebecca.
At that moment, Rebecca was dealing with an uninvited guest. Seeing Richard sitting in her living room, she grew impatient. “What are you doing here?”
She had not expected to see Richard outside her door when she came home, and she was even more surprised that he shamelessly refused to leave. Even when she said she would call the police, he didn’t care at all.
And she knew she couldn’t really call the police. Richard was her father. When the police arrived, she could not say much against him.
“I came to have a heart–to–heart with you,” Richard said, trying to look fatherly. “You’ve been working, taking care of your mom, and watching Samuel all this time. It’s been rough on you.”
Rebecca didn’t believe a word of it. Richard pressed on. “Don’t you want to know why I left you and your mom back then?”
Rebecca stared at him, waiting for him to give an explanation. Of course, he wasn’t going to spill it that easily
“I can tell you,” he said calmly, though there was a barely hidden ambition in his eyes. “But before I do, you need to come with me somewhere and get something.”
Rebecca shook her head immediately. “I’m not going.”
“It was your mom’s place before she got married. Some of her things are still there,” Richard said.
Rebecca frowned, pushing down her emotions. “Then why didn’t I ever know about it?”
“Because all you ever did was goof off. What would you know?” Richard said bluntly. “That place only opens if you go yourself.”
“I don’t have a key,” Rebecca said,
Richard’s tone softened just a bit. “Your mom set it up with facial recognition and an iris scan. You have to press once, and the door opens automatically.”
Rebecca felt genuinely confused. Logic said it sounded unlikely, but what May had told her made it seem at least a little plausible. She felt torn.
“If you don’t believe me, ask May. She knows, too,” Richard added.
12:27 Fri, Sep 26
Chapter 136
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Right in front of him, Rebecca pulled out her phone and sent May a message, keeping an eye on her dad the whole time. He had no reaction and no flinch. Could this really be true? the wondered.
As the thought crossed her mind, the message went out: [May, do you know if my mom had a property before marriage set up with my facial recognition?]
May saw it and called her immediately. She answered all of Rebecca’s questions without hesitation. Of course I know. Why are you asking all of a sudden?”
“Where is it?” Rebecca asked carefully.
“Next to Section 3 of Jelasburg Avenue, about three to four miles from Rebecca’s Manor, May replied. Then she asked in surprise, “Wait… you didn’t know?”
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