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Gordon sighed and said, “Never mind. I’ll hire the best doctor to treat you.”
Rather than feeling love or pity for the daughter who suddenly appeared, Gordon did not
know what to feel about her.
However, that did not mean he was willing to have his feelings manipulated.
He had a hunch that… something smelled fishy.
Gordon opened a door to a room. When Leah saw that, she said, “That’s Charlie’s room.
He never let me go inside.”
“How does Charlie treat you?” Gordon asked as he pushed the door and went inside.
Leah was silent for a while. “… So-so, I guess.”
The truth was that Charlie Parridge had always mistreated Leah.
The man had a violent temper. Ever since his wife’s death, he numbed himself with
alcohol. Whenever he got home drunk, he would beat or abuse Leah.
However, that was already in the past.
That painful episode ended with Charlie’s death.
The furnishings in Charlie’s room were simple. There was only a bed and a cabinet.
Gordon walked up next to the bed. There was a photo frame placed there.
In the frame was a family photo. A young man was carrying a little girl with twin ponytails.
Gordon picked up the photo frame to take a closer look and immediately gasped in shock.
The faces of the three people in the photo had been blanked out!
“What’s the matter with this?” Gordon frowned and asked.
Leah also frowned when she saw the photo. She shook her head and said, “I don’t know.
I’ve never seen this photo before.”
The voice of an old woman was heard at the door. “Oh, is the Parridge girl back?”
Leah and Gordon looked at each other and exited the room. They saw an old woman with
a walking stick standing in the front yard.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtLeah recognized her immediately. “Why are you here, Mrs. Konigsburg?”
“I was told someone is here at Charlie’s house, and I guessed it’s you,” Mrs. Konigsburg
said while walking toward Leah.
Leah introduced the old woman to Gordon. “This is Mrs. Konigsburg. I’ve known her since I
was a child. She gave me food whenever I had to starve.”
“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Konigsburg,” Gordon said. He thought for a while and continued, “I
have something to ask.”
“What is it?”
“Do you remember what happened to Charlie Parridge’s daughter when she was twelve?”
The news would have traveled quickly in a small village, especially if it was something
major.
Mrs. Konigsburg thought for a long time. Her clouded eyes were transfixed on Leah’s face.
“Nothing important as far as I can tell. Charlie did bring his daughter out for a trip once,
but when they came back, the girl’s personality changed.”
“His daughter’s personality changed?”
“That’s right. That girl used to be arrogant and naughty, and no one in the village could
stop her. After she returned from the trip, she became soft-spoken and well-mannered like
a girl from a noble family. I bet she learned a lot on her trip to the big city!” Mrs.
Konigsburg said.
Gordon and Leah looked at each other.
Charlie and her daughter went away when she was twelve, and her personality changed
when she returned… All that could only point to a singular truth: It was very likely that
Charlie knew Leah was not his birth daughter.
However, if that were the case, why did Charlie raise her under the lie that she was his
daughter and tell her about what happened back then?
Neither Gordon nor Leah could figure out why. Perhaps only Charlie knew the real answer.
Now that Charlie was dead, there was no one left to ask.
As they left the village, Gordon’s brows were tightly knotted. He seemed to be thinking of
something.
“What do we do now?” Leah said with a sigh.
Gordon looked at her and said sternly, “I’ll continue the investigation. I’ll do whatever I
can to find the truth.”
“But…” Leah said but stopped herself.
She wanted to tell Gordon she might have seen Charlie in contact with Sasha.
What if she was wrong though? Could that man coincidentally have a scar at the same
place?
She had watched Charlie die in the fire with her own eyes.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I hope you won’t tire yourself,” Leah said.
Charlie smiled warmly when he heard that. “I’m not tired. I want to get to the bottom of
this. You deserve to know the truth.”
…
Shyanne heard her phone ring as she stepped out of the bathroom.
She looked at the screen. It was an unknown number.
Frowning, she rejected the call.
The phone rang again a few seconds later. Impatiently, Shyanne answered the call and
said, “Who is it?”
“You don’t have to know who I am. All you have to do is follow what I tell you to do.” The
voice on the other end of the call was heavily distorted.
Shyanne frowned. “What is it?”
The mechanical voice spoke again. “Leah is not dead. She is still alive and using the
identity of Sarah White.”
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm“What did you say?” Shyanne exclaimed. Realizing she might have been too loud, she
dropped her voice to a whisper and asked, “Who are you? Why do you say that? Do you
have any evidence? The Howard and White families won’t forgive you if you are lying.”
“I can’t be lying, my dear Ms. Howard,” the voice said. It paused for a moment before
continuing, “Sasha White is the only daughter of the White family. Sarah White is Leah
Murray after plastic surgery, and she has conspired with Ian Sanders to deceive the White
family. As for the evidence, I’ve sent it to you in an email.”
Shyanne felt a chill course down her spine.
If Sarah is really Leah… and Han knows about it…
Shyanne’s grip on the phone became tighter. “Why are you telling me this instead of my
brother? He’s more influential than I am.”
“Heh. Your brother can’t bear to kill Leah Murray,” the voice chuckled and said. “Not only
that, he will protect her. It’s up to you if you want to tell your brother.”
The call ended after that.
Shyanne tried to call the number again, but it was not in service.
With trembling fingers, Shyanne took a deep breath and opened her mailbox on her
computer. There was indeed a new mail!
Her eyes widened as soon as she clicked on the link.
All the documents and the photos attached in the mail proved that Sarah White was
indeed Leah Murray.
No. Someone could have forged this. I’ll have to investigate this myself. Also, I can’t let
Han know about this. The mysterious voice is right… Han has indeed become soft-hearted.
If Shyanne told Han about it, she would not be able to do anything to Leah.
Arriving at that thought, Shyanne gave a call to Molly. “Hey, Molly! Your birthday is coming
soon, right?”
“Mm, yes. What’s up?” Molly was very friendly toward her future sister-in-law.
“You’ll be inviting the White family to your party, won’t you? Can you do me a favor?”
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