“Justin couldn’t recognize you?”
Jolly was stunned for a moment, then she suddenly laughed. “Isn’t that normal? You are completely different from who you were five years ago. If I hadn’t been with you all the while, I wouldn’t have recognized you too.”
“Is that so?”
“Of course. Besides, you were a mute five years ago. Even if you told him you are Rachel, would he even believe it?”
Rachel thought about it for a while.
With that, Jolly hugged her neck and continued, “That’s enough. Stop thinking too much. My parents have prepared a welcome-home banquet for you, and they’ve been urging me the whole day. Hurry up!”
Rachel didn’t have time to think any more; she was immediately pulled into the car by Jolly.
On the other side, a black commercial car was speeding on the expressway leaving the airport.
“Where did it hurt when you fell? Show me.”
“No!” The little girl looked upset. At once, she crossed her arms and stared at Justin. “Daddy, you lied to me again.”
“What? Why would you say so?”
“You told me that you would only be away for three days. Tell me-how many days have you been away this time?”
Justin was helpless.
“Five days!” The little girl raised her little hand, showing five fingers. “You have been away for five days.
“Charlotte, something came up, and I couldn’t just walk away. But I brought you your favorite chocolate.”
“You keep lying to me! Daddy, do you not want me anymore? I know you are going to marry that woman. When that happens, you will have children of your own, and you will leave me.”
Hearing this, Justin frowned slightly. “Charlotte, who told you all these?”
“Everyone says so.”
Justin’s expression sank. “Well, we’re going to have to get a new batch of servants in the family.”
However, Charlotte didn’t care one bit about what he said. “Daddy, why do you even need to change them out? It is not going to solve anything. Even if you don’t let them say it, they will still think so in their hearts.”
“Charlotte.”
“Daddy, I don’t like her. You can’t marry her.”
Justin replied, “This is a grown-up’s affair.”
“Auntie Tina told me that she is not a good person. If you marry her, I will ignore you forever! Bad
Daddy!”
The more Charlotte spoke, the angrier she became. Her cheeks were puffed up, as if there were two balls stuffed in her mouth.
Hearing that, Justin immediately felt a headache.
The car headed to the summer villa.
As soon as Justin got out of the car, Amber came out to greet him with smiles painted all over her face.
“Justin, you’re back! Your mother and grandpa are all waiting for you to eat.”
With that, she reached out to take Justin’s hand.
Seeing that, Charlotte immediately stretched out her arms toward Justin. “Daddy, carry me!”
Justin had always fulfilled his daughter’s wishes, so he immediately picked her up and even helped her pull the corners of her skirt; his cold eyes were now filled with doting love.
Amber lowered her hands disappointedly. “Charlotte, I didn’t know you would come too.”
Hearing that, Charlotte rolled her eyes at her. Her sweet voice was filled with anger. “Please, this is my house. Do you think it’s problematic that I’ve come home with my Daddy for dinner? Do you think I am the extra person here? Aunt Amber?”
Charlotte placed a lot of emphasis on the word ‘Aunt when she said it, as if she was deliberately hinting at something.
Even though she was only five years old, she was clever; just a few words from her could be just as maddening as an adult’s criticism.
Amber froze. “Of course I didn’t mean that, Charlotte. You misunderstood.”
“I didn’t. Aunt Amber, look at you-you already despise me so much now, so if you marry my daddy in the future, wouldn’t you throw me away in a heartbeat?”
Amber was shocked from hearing what Charlotte said. “Charlotte, who told you this? When your father was not at home, have I ever treated you badly? I gave you whatever you wanted, and I bought you so many dolls and dresses.”
“I didn’t ask you to buy anything for me. Besides, those dresses are so ugly-I threw them all away.”
“You threw them all away?” Amber was about to vomit blood as she stomped her feet while speaking to Justin. “Justin, how could she do this?”
Justin only replied lightly. “Why are you getting so hot and bothered with a child? Didn’t you say that everyone was waiting?”
After speaking, he walked into the house while holding Charlotte.
Charlotte leaned on his shoulders and stuck her tongue out at Amber.
Amber was about to pass out from the anger, but she couldn’t do anything about it, so she could only swallow her anger and follow behind as they walked into the house.
When Justin and I get married, I’ll send you away, you devil child. Just you wait.
On the other side, Rachel was sitting in Jolly’s car, looking at the night scene through the car window.
“Riverdale has changed a lot, huh?”
Jolly’s voice came from the driver’s seat.
“Yeah. I can’t even recognize many places here.”
“You’re exaggerating-only a few more buildings have been built here. The development is focused more around the area surrounding the airport, and the city center is almost the same. After all, it has only been five years.”
Listening to Jolly mumble along, Rachel leaned on her seat as she let her mind drift away.
In a mere five years, more high-rise buildings had been built, and more generations of people had flourished in this city.
There was no huge turmoil in her heart when she returned to Riverdale. The only thing she remembered was her daughter, whom she abandoned at birth.
“Damn it. I forgot that I shouldn’t take this road. There’s so much traffic on Green River Street. I was stuck here several times during the two weeks that I returned last time. I was so mad that I wanted to just abandon my car and walk my way back.”
Green River Street?
Hearing Jolly’s complaint, Rachel felt a thud in her heart. She turned her head to look out the window, and she saw the tallest building in the distance getting closer and closer to her.
The Burton Group’s logo gleamed under the night sky.
Rachel clenched her fists abruptly.
Jolly was busy driving. Not noticing Rachel’s reaction, she asked, “By the way, do you really want to accept the offer from the Burton Group?”
Rachel snapped back to her senses. “Yeah. I will start work in two days.”
Jolly said in a worried tone, “Are you not going to give it further thought? It was an accident that he didn’t recognize you at the airport, but if you really work in Burton Group, both of you will meet easily, and he will definitely recognize you then. What will you do if that happens?”
“One of the reasons I came back is to look for him anyway. I would have to get close to him no matter if he recognizes me or not. Didn’t Janice say that the evidence is most likely in his hands?”
“But it’s too dangerous. Julian told me that they barely managed to get you away from him back then. What if he-” Jolly caught herself and suddenly covered her mouth. “Forget it! Knock on wood!”
Rachel said, “Don’t worry. What happened in the past stays in the past. You should know how important Hans and grandma were to me. I won’t be at ease if I don’t find out who was behind all that. And I know for a fact that these two matters were definitely related to the Burtons.”
Jolly glanced at her. “Don’t worry. I will help you.”
Rachel nodded and smiled comfortingly at Jolly.
She didn’t expect Justin to not recognize her when she returned to the country. After all, she didn’t undergo any plastic surgery or change her identity, she was Chris, and she was Rachel as well.
Jolly asked, “Then what should we do as our first step?”
Rachel’s brows eased up, and she said lightly, “First off, we’ll meet some old friends.”
