Chapter 31
Chapter 31
They kept to their own business, which worked fine for me.
I knew Martha’s temperament well. Unless Kimberly made a igre first, she wouldn’t stir up any
trouble.
I gently stroked Martha’s back and rested my head on her shoulder. “Don’t worry, Mom. I’ll make sure you get better.”
“You silly girl,” she sighed. “All I want is for you and Clara to be happy. That’s all I need to feel at peace.”
“Mom, what about the inheritance Dad left behind?” I asked.
She sighed again, “That’s not what I meant.” I raised my head and looked her straight in the eyes, speaking seriously. “From now on, no matter who asks you about the inheritance–unless it’s me–you need to say you don’t know. Even if it’s Dexter. Do you understand?”
a little heavier this time. “In the end, everything will be split evenly between you two sisters.”
Martha was silent for a few seconds. When she looked at me, I could see she finally understood. She nodded slowly. After giving Martha that warning, I headed to the kitchen. Just as I was finishing up dinner, Dexter returned with Juno. The moment I saw Juno, all my exhaustion and worries seemed to disappear.
Juno had learned how to draw in kindergarten today and proudly showed me a doodle he made. I couldn’t help but shower him with praise, which made his cheeks turn bright red.
“Mom, this is the picture Ms. Santos helped me with. Isn’t it pretty?” he said, beaming with pride. “Ms. Santos said I’m the best artist in the class!”
“Really? Ms. Santos must have great taste,” I said, squatting down to hug my little treasure.
Dexter chuckled from the side. “Teaching kindergarten isn’t easy these days. They have to keep coming up with ways to keep the kids happy
I shrugged. “Well, that’s her job.”
Dexter’s expression darkened slightly. “True. By the way… doesno want to stay in Ms. Santos’s class next semester? If so, we’ll need to prepare some gifts for her in advance.”
“Well, I’ll take care of it,” I said.
I didn’t trust Dexter to pick out gifts for the teacher–not because I worried about anything between them, but because t didn’t think he’d choose the right things and might end up offending her.
Rhea Santos was one of the top educators at this prestigious kindergarten, and Juno had made a lot of progress since joining her class.
I already had a plan for her gift this year: a set of skincare products, a nice makeup set, and a bottle of perfume. No woman, could resist gifts like those.
The first two would be easy to get, but I still hadn’t decided on the perfume… I put the thought aside for now. There was no rush–gift–giving could wait. I had more important things on in mind.
16:29 Sun, Feb 16 GU
Chapter 31
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That night, everything was unusually calm. The only excitement came when Dexter caught Kimberly coming home late, and he gave her a good scolding.
The next morning, I acted like I was going to work, heading out the door as usual.
I quietly hid across the street in another building and watched Dexter leave for work. Afterward, I saw Kimberly head out to buy groceries. That was when I went back inside.
Martha was still asleep. Her body was still weak, and after breakfast, she liked to take a nap, so I didn’t disturb her.
I quietly entered the room and opened the bedside drawer. I searched through it carefully, and soon my hand brushed against a small hidden mechanism. I pressed it gently, and with a soft click, a secret compartment opened.
Inside, I found the familiar pink phone case… Just as I reached for it, I heard the sound of the front door opening. I wondered. ‘Who could it be?‘
