Rachel moved straight back to Nancy’s place without bringing much with her. When Nancy saw her coming back with all her luggage, she immediately realized that something was wrong. “Why are you moving back suddenly, Rachel? Did something happen?”
However, Rachel gave her no response. She washed her hands as she stood in the bathroom, rubbing soap on her palms again and again as if to wash something away.
“Are you trying to worry me to death, Rachel? If you keep doing this, I’ll give Dr. Peters a call.”
Suddenly, the woman came to her senses and stopped Nancy. Let’s move away from Riverdale, Grandma.
Nancy looked dumbfounded and stunned upon hearing this.
The next day, Victor put the suitcases into the trunk before clapping the dust off his hands. “Remember to give me a call when you and Madam Tiller arrive at the new place, Rachel. Tell me your address, and I’ll go to visit you two when I’m free.”
Rachel forced a smile while pointing at his unkempt blond hair. A student should behave like a student. Dyeing your hair back to black would suit you better, you know.
Victor scratched his head. “I’ll keep that in mind.” As the car slowly drove away from the neighborhood, he ran after the car, waved his hand, and shouted, “You have to call me, Rachel! I’ll definitely dye my hair black when I see you next time!”
The car soon disappeared at the neighborhood’s entrance, and Victor walked back in dejection. There were still some belongings in Nancy’s apartment, all of which Rachel had given to him.
As soon as Victor reached the entrance to the apartment building, he bumped into someone in a moment of inattention. “Hey!” The lady’s shrill voice was somewhat harsh to the ear. He frowned in displeasure and looked back, only to see a young lady hopping backward on crutches. Turns out that she’s a cripple, he thought to himself.
The lady glared at Victor. “Are you blind? Why don’t you watch where you’re going?”
Victor was miffed in the first place, so the lady’s words enraged him even more. He snapped, “Who are you accusing of being blind? Don’t you know how to speak properly?”
“What’s wrong with you? You look like an undesirable person. Are you really a resident of this neighborhood? Are you here to steal things?” Gloria asked. Suddenly, she realized something and immediately reached into her pocket. “Where’s my cell phone?”
“Me? Steal things?” Victor’s face was livid with rage. “Are you here to fake an accident to blackmail me?”
“Just you wait! If I can’t find my cell phone, it means you’re the one who stole it! It was still here just now! Stay where you are!” Gloria fumbled about for a while before suddenly finding her cell phone in her trouser pocket.
Upon seeing the change in her expression, Victor let out a sneer. “Well? Aren’t you going to call the police? Do you want me to lend you my cell phone if you don’t have one?”
Gloria looked embarrassed.
Victor shot her a disdainful look before turning around and going upstairs. It just isn’t my day today! he thought to himself. After going upstairs, he took out his keys and unlocked the door. Just as he was about to close the door, an arm suddenly stopped him. “Hey! Wait a minute!”
Victor flew into a rage when he saw that it was the lady from just now. “Are you done yet? Why are you following me to my house?”
“Your house? Is this your house?”
“Surely this isn’t your house even if it isn’t mine, right?”
Gloria was startled for a moment. She then muttered, “I must have remembered it wrongly. Didn’t Frankie say that Rachel and her grandmother live in Unit 201?”
Victor was about to close the door at first, but he paused upon hearing Gloria’s words. “Are you looking for Rachel?”
“Do you know her?” Gloria’s eyes lit up.
Victor sized her up warily and asked, “What’s your relationship with her?”
“Me?” Gloria thought it over for a moment. “You may consider me her sister-in-law.”
“Are you Justin’s sister?” Victor blurted.
“Do you know me?”
Victor’s face hardened at once. “Get lost at once! Stay as far away from here as possible!” Then, he slammed the door shut right away with a loud bang. When he helped Rachel pack up her belongings, he saw her blood stained divorce agreement, and various news reports of domestic violence flashed before his eyes. Moreover, Justin had such a bad reputation, so it wasn’t difficult to imagine what Rachel had suffered.
The sound of someone banging the door could be heard outside. “Are you done yet?” Victor pulled the door open with an impatient expression.
Gloria nearly punched him in the face. “Why did you become so hostile all of a sudden? I’m here to look for Miss Rachel, not you! Where is she?”
“She isn’t here.”
“That’s impossible. She just moved here yesterday!” This time, Gloria was smart enough to prop the door open with her crutches, making Victor unable to close the door. Then, she hopped into his house and yelled as she entered, “Miss Rachel! I know you’re home, Miss Rachel!”
“Stop yelling! Were you a duck in your previous life?” Victor bellowed to stop Gloria as his head was throbbing because of the noise she made. “Can’t you see that yourself? Rachel has moved away.”
“Moved away?” Gloria hopped into the room inside to see the belongings packed neatly on the floor. There didn’t seem to be anyone living here. “Where has she moved to?”
“How would I know that? Rachel left in a hurry without telling me anything. She drove away by herself; anyway, she’s going to leave Riverdale.”
“What?” Gloria’s expression changed. “How could she drive by herself? She’s pregnant!”
“Pregnant?” Victor’s expression changed as well.
“When did she leave, and in which direction did she head off to?”
Victor was stupefied. “She left just a moment ago.”
Gloria immediately took out her cell phone and dialed a number. Victor wanted to make a dig at her about her cell phone at first, but he shut up upon seeing her expression.
“Justin, Miss Rachel has moved away!”
On the other end of the line, the person was at the Burton Group’s quarterly summary meeting. As he held his cell phone, Justin slowly clenched his large hand with veins pulsing on the back of it. He thought to himself,
She actually ran away just like that. Who gave her the nerve to do so?
The expressway was brightly lit with street lamps as night drew in. Rachel pulled up at a rest stop. I’m going to buy some stuff, Grandma. Wait for me inside the car.
Nancy nodded with a yawn. “Okay. How much longer will it take for us to get there, Rachel? You haven’t told me where we’re going yet.”
Soon. We’ll be there very soon.
It was easy for an old person to be fatigued by a long journey, and Rachel was worried that Nancy might not be able to bear it. Therefore, she hurried along the way and didn’t dare to waste too much time. She wanted to get off the expressway and find somewhere to take a rest as soon as possible. She didn’t know where she was going, nor did she dare to tell anyone about it. She feared that Justin would come after her for the baby’s sake, but she was even more afraid that someone with evil intentions might want to kill her to root her out. Without the protection offered by the title of Mrs. Burton, she couldn’t establish herself in Riverdale at all. Not only that, many wanted to kill the baby in her womb. Rachel shuddered at the thought of what Amber had said the other day.
“Welcome. Your total is 103 bucks.”
Rachel walked out of the convenience store with the shopping bags in her hands. Just then, the convenience
store worker suddenly called out to her from behind, “You forgot your sour plums, miss!”
Rachel was startled for a moment. As soon as she turned around, her head was suddenly covered from behind with a piece of black cloth. The next second, everything went pitch-black before her eyes. “Mmm-”
The large shopping bags containing all the stuff she had just bought dropped to the ground, scattering biscuits, milk, and some chocolates everywhere. Rachel struggled desperately while attempting to call for help, but she could only let out faint, hoarse cries. Then, as she felt a sharp pain in the back of her head, she saw stars and passed out.
