Dumbfounded, Susanne continued staring at Arielle wordlessly. She raised a trembling finger and pointed at Arielle. Her lips parted as if she were about to speak but only managed to croak out a single syllable, “You…” Arielle nodded calmly. “Yes. I’m Arielle Moore, Maureen’s daughter.” Susanne felt her head spinning. She had interrogated the butler for every detail about Arielle except for her name. If Susanne had known that this woman shared the same last name as Maureen, she would have been able to deduce her identity more accurately.
It took Susanne a long while to recover from the shock. Gulping, she asked doubtfully, “Weren’t you kidnapped ten years ago by those traffickers?” Susanne felt a wave of regret wash over her. When Maureen died and her only daughter had vanished, Susanne had done her best to look for the daughter. However, the chaos in Susanne’s own home fully absorbed her attention for a long while. The missing person’s case had grown cold since then. Arielle nodded slightly. “I was, but a kind soul rescued me. I had a high fever then and lost my memory, so I never came home. I only reunited with the Southalls recently.
There were too many things to deal with, so I was only able to meet with you now.” Thoughts clamored in Susanne’s mind. She felt ashamed for having cursed Arielle privately just moments before. However, Susanne had never expected that Arielle, her dear friend’s long-lost daughter, would ever appear before her eyes again. From the troubled expression on Susanne’s face, Arielle guessed at what she was thinking and said earnestly, “Please don’t feel bad. You had no idea who I was, so I understand why you reacted the way you did.
Besides, you thought that I was Vinson’s one-night stand. Let me explain everything. That night was a complete accident, and nothing happened between Vinson and me. We’re just friends that intend to stay that way. Please don’t think that I’m trying to marry into the Nightshire family to improve my social status.” Susanne felt her face grow hot with embarrassment. She felt thoroughly put to shame by Arielle’s maturity.
As an older woman, Susanne could not be certain that she had behaved with equal magnanimity. Susanne bit her lip, then said, “I’m sorry for being rude to you earlier. You mentioned that you had three questions you wanted to ask me. What were they? Go ahead with them.” The tone with which Susanne addressed Arielle had transformed completely into a meeker, kinder one. Arielle twisted her hands together nervously.
“Was my mom’s death really due to suicide?” Susanne stared at Arielle, her eyes darkening. She examined Arielle, then said cautiously, “Are you suspecting that your dad…?” Arielle nodded firmly. “That’s right.” Susanne sighed heavily. “At first, I suspected that as well, so I conducted a private investigation of my own.
I didn’t manage to uncover anything. They either managed to cover up their tracks completely, or it wasn’t done by them at all.” Arielle’s brow furrowed. “If it wasn’t them, I can’t think of anyone else who would hurt my mom. I can tell that you know this, just as well as I do. Mom’s not the sort who would kill herself.”
