Chapter 55 The Reason for Staying
Hans replied firmly, “Of course!”
Without a doubt, he’d love to help her out so that she could live well. If not, he wouldn’t have decided to return to work in the country.
If so, you should just stay out of this.
“Why?” He frowned in utter disbelief.
If my guess is correct, the text was from Amber.
Amber’s warning was still fresh in her mind. If the Burtons and the Hudsons were a pool of mud, she was already knee-deep in it. She had no wish to get Hans involved in the mess.
“Amber Hudson?” His frown deepened. “Why would she do that?”
Back in high school, Amber was a grade lower since she was younger. Because of that, Hans did not interact with her much, and his only knowledge of her was her being Rachel’s sister.
Hans’ question took Rachel by surprise, and a bold guess popped up into her mind. She started to suspect that all the scheme was merely Amber’s plot to make her leave the Burtons.
I don’t know. Still, she kept the idea to herself.
“Rachel.” After calming down, Hans attempted to persuade her. “No matter who sent me the text, the content is a fact. Am I right? If the Burtons are unfair to you, you don’t have to stay with them and endure the sufferings.”
She shook her head.
I am not staying at the Burtons for their sake.
“Who are you doing this for?”
At this point, Hans did not get her at all.
Since Rachel’s grandmother had been discharged from the hospital after a successful surgery, as long as she agreed to it, she could totally leave the city that brought her sorrows with her grandma.
A short hesitation later, she finally confessed the real reason behind her insistence on staying put.
I need to look into my mom’s cause of death
Next, she told him about the incident at the Hudson Vineyard, to which he responded with shock. “Are you suspecting Jefferey for killing her?”
She gave him a heavy nod, and a stifling silence later, he composed himself and returned to the topic. “So, are you going to leave the Burton’s after you get to the bottom of your mom’s death?”
Yes.
With a grave expression, he vowed, “Great. I will help you with the investigation.”
To that, she reacted with a frown and a serious stare. Initially, he wanted to add something, but she was staring at his hand as she signed.
I will bring you to the hospital.
…
When dusk arrived, the skies of Riverdale that extended into the distant mountains were decorated with gorgeous colors.
Once Amber was home, she was immediately called to the study.
“Dad, did you call for me?”
She was in a great mood and had been smiling ear-to-ear since she stepped into the house. In contrast, Jefferey had a serious expression on his face as he interrogated her, asking, “Where were you last weekend?”
“Last weekend?” She went blank for a moment before answering, “I played golf with some friends. Why?”
“With whom?”
She was taken aback again, and guilt crept onto her face. At this point, she was talking in a cautious whisper. “My college mates.”
“That was Tina Burton! She is Justin’s cousin and Jason’s daughter!” Jefferey’s expression fell. “Jason and Justin have never seen eye-to-eye. Look, the Burtons have a very different family dynamic than ours—theirs are super complicated, and trust me, you can’t handle it. Don’t hang out too much with her.”
His warning earned her protest. “Oh, if I can’t handle their family dynamics, how is that mute going to handle it better?”
Jefferey raised his voice. “How could you compare yourself to Rachel? I only need her there as Mrs. Burton. As long as she is still Justin’s wife, we could borrow the prestige of the Burtons to run our business. As for the life she’s leading at the Burtons… That depends on her luck.”
Amber paid no attention to his words. “Dad, have you ever considered this? She isn’t even close to us. If she has firmly established herself as Mrs. Burton, do you seriously think she’d bother to help us out?”
Jefferey’s heart sank at the possibility, and the wrinkles around his eyes scrunched up.
“Before this, she had to listen to us because of Grandma. Now that Grandma’s out of the hospital, that is no longer an effective bargaining chip for us. If Rachel manages to capture Justin’s heart, do you really think she’d bat an eye at us?”
Jefferey fell into deep thoughts after the somber reminder from Amber.
Even after she left, her words were still echoing in his ears, prompting him to revisit Rachel’s unusual behavior lately. After some thought, he started to feel that something was wrong.
In Rachel’s twenty years of living at the Hudsons, she had never once brought up the past. Why did she suddenly bring up the topic of some herbal medicine formula after a mere few days of marrying into the Burtons?
His expression hardened as he walked around the sofa to pull out a drawer from a side dresser, from which he took out a brown-colored pill bottle.
He glared at it for some time before he made a call.
“Tomas, come over tomorrow morning. I need your help to deliver an item to the Burtons.”
During the night, Rachel prepared some tea and delivered it to the study for Justin.
Lately, he had gotten used to drinking the tea she made for him. In comparison, the tea prepared by Mrs. Duncan was too unrefined, according to his complaints. Therefore, if Rachel had the time, she would bring him a pot of tea at the same time every day.
The tea delivery was also one of the rare moments in the day when she would meet with him.
He looked up and rested his gaze on her right cheek. Then, an almost unnoticeable frown appeared on his face. “How’s your cheek?”
She reflexively touched her cheek.
The red marks and the swelling were basically gone, and thankfully, the scabs from the nail scratch were already falling off, leaving two pinkish scars that were jarring on her pale skin.
She shook her head at him.
Nothing serious.
He nodded and changed the topic. “Can you come with me to Old Mr. Burton’s summer villa tomorrow?”
She was taken aback and asked him cautiously.
Do I really have to go?
“Why? Are you busy?” He stared at her again. “There’s a family banquet tomorrow.”
She fell deeper into thoughts. Wait, is Justin attending the banquet with me? But I have agreed to meet up with Hans tomorrow.
When she met his inquisitive eyes, she quickly explained.
Oh, no, nothing important. I have agreed to spend the weekend with Grandma and make some gnocchi. That’s okay. I will update her and change the date.
Her uneasy expression reminded him of her conflict with Tina, and he interpreted her reluctance as her unwillingness to meet Tina. “Since you have agreed to meet your grandma, just go ahead with the plan. There’s no need to cancel.”
Surprised by his words, she stared at him blankly.
Can I?
He replied emotionlessly, “It’s a family banquet tomorrow. There will be a lot of attendees, and your absence won’t be felt. You’re not that important, anyway.”
Despite his icy tone, she felt relieved to be excused from the event and nodded in silence.
Indeed, she was a nobody to the Burtons. More precisely, her absence at the family banquet would be the best for everyone involved.
The next morning, the driver and assistant picked up Justin from the residence very early.
There was a shareholders meeting in the morning. After that, they would travel to the summer villa.
Arthur rarely visited Riverdale, and the only time he returned was during July or August when he’d enjoy a short stay at the summer villa. Therefore, the family decided to hold the banquet around that time.
“President Burton.” Frankie was waiting for him beside the car. When he saw Justin, he immediately went up with a package in his hands. “A delivery person stopped by just now and handed me a package for Miss Hudson, so I signed it for her.”
Justin took a quick glance and was surprised to find out that the sender was Hudson Pharmaceuticals. He frowned and questioned, “Who delivered this again?”
“Uh, he was just an ordinary delivery person.” Frankie quickly glanced in the direction in which the delivery person left. “There’s nothing odd about him.”
On the other hand, the look in Justin’s eyes hardened. He curtly ordered while eyeing the package, “Open this.”
