My Mute Bride Chapter 69
However, she shook her head after hesitating for a few seconds.
She didn’t want to know.
Her grandma had always told her that knowing many secrets wasn’t a good thing since she was young.
Still, Justin continued with his words, “It happened a long time ago.”
Rachel was slightly stunned.
His parents had passed away when he was a kid, so he had grown up with his aunt after that. It would have been fine if he came from a normal family, but he spent most of his life in the Burton Family where everyone was sly and cunning. She couldn’t fathom what he had endured while he was growing up.
Suddenly, she felt like he wasn’t as fearful as he was in the past and his scar wasn’t no longer intimidating.
Then, Justin asked, “I heard from your father that you were kidnapped as a child?”
Kidnapped?
Rachel froze for a moment before she cautiously shook her head. I don’t remember much about my childhood. Why are you suddenly asking this?
“It’s nothing.”
He looked away before he closed his eyes while she looked deep in thought.
As to the matter of her kidnapping, Rachel had heard two completely different versions ever since she was young. According to Jefferey and the servants in the Hudson Family, she was kidnapped at birth and taken away before being stranded for eight years.
However, her grandmother had told Rachel that she had been living with her in the mountains since young.
It was impossible for her grandmother to kidnap her in the mountains, wasn’t it?
Rachel suddenly thought of something.
The next day, she asked Janice to meet her at a cafe.
“One cup of latte and a cup of cappuccino, please.”
“Alright. Please wait a minute.”
As soon as the waiter left, Janice asked, “Hans has already told me about your plans to leave Riverdale. Have you thought things through?”
I can only leave.
“But, the risk of faking your own death is extremely high. It won’t be worth it if something really happens to you.”
I know, but there is no other way.
“Why exactly do you want to leave all of a sudden? Hans never said anything specifically on the phone.”
Justin wants me to find a prescription for him, but I couldn’t find it, so I gave him a fake one.
Rachel briefly explained to Janice about the prescription.
“Prescription?” Janice pondered. “Isn’t that considered a core secret of Hudson Pharmaceuticals?”
Yes. However, the core secret would be the dosage used since all of the ingredients in the herbal formula would be stated on the medicine box after all. What matters the most is the amount used.
“So, are you saying that even Jefferey doesn’t know the dosage?
That’s what I’m thinking as well.
“That’s weird.” A puzzled look appeared on Janice’s face. “Since this is the Hudson Family’s core secret as well as an heirloom, how could he not know about it? Didn’t you say that the prescription is in his hands?”
Rachel looked fairly stunned.
“Think about it carefully. How did the prescription that you‘ve seen look like?”
The paper is slightly yellowed and it looks like it’s generations old. It’s also written with traditional words.
Then, she thought for a moment again. Oh, the prescription is also written in a thin body with a brush.
“Are you sure that the exact dosage wasn’t stated?”
No. There weren’t even spaces for the dosage, so I’m sure that they didn’t fade over time either.
Nevertheless, Rachel couldn’t understand why Janice was suddenly concerned about the Hudson Family’s prescription. She signed in puzzlement, Why are you asking me this?
Janice immediately withdrew her serious gaze. “Hang on.”
While Rachel waited, she started to tap on her phone before she slowly pushed the device toward Rachel. “Look, do you know this person?”
The phone contained the personal information of a person with a black and white ID photo. It seemed like this file was created years ago.
The man in the file was in a military uniform. With extremely handsome features, he looked like he was in his early twenties.
Rachel shook her head in confusion. I don’t know him.
She had never seen this man or this photo before.
Janice frowned. “This man is Lionel Hudson.”
Rachel froze.
Lionel Hudson was Jefferey Hudson’s older brother; in short, Lionel was also her uncle.
“You must have never met Lionel since he had already passed on when you were born. His death was suspected as a homicide and the police were investigating his case for a long time back then.”
Rachel had heard about this case as the Hudson Family always talked about Lionel’s cause of death every time his name was mentioned. Apparently, he went hiking with his fiancée and she ended up pushing him off the cliff.
Did they catch the perpetrator after that?
Janice shook her head. “The police had investigated this case for a few years, but they could never discover where that woman went. It was like she had vanished into thin air. Most importantly, the Hudson Family had done all they could to stop the police from pursuing the woman.”
Why?
“You really don’t know?” The way Janice looked at Rachel was odd.
I don’t know.
“Lionel’s fiancée, Selena Hudson, is also the adopted daughter of Old Mr. Hudson.”
The Hudson Family had already lost a son and they refused to allow their family scandal to be publicized as they might not be able to suppress the news if the murderer was really Selena. The moment that the reporters were informed about this, the Hudson Family’s reputation would be tarnished if the incest relationship had made the headlines.
Janice continued, “It was rumored that Selena was already pregnant when she escaped and for the child’s sake, the Hudson Family only stopped pursuing after what happened. Back then, the Hudson Family was way more powerful than they currently ask, so they managed to suppress the case until now.”
Rachel looked helpless.
The Hudson Family indeed had lived a glorious life before Jefferey took over the Hudson Family.
I’ve never heard anyone mention Selena or the fact that my uncle had a child, though.
“Well, of course you never heard about it since they are both dead. After their attempt to track her for a few more years, the police finally found the bodies of Selena and her daughter.”
Three sentences into the story later, three people had already died.
Rachel only felt a gust of wind from the back of her head. Why are you suddenly talking about this?
Janice gave Rachel a meaningful look. “It’s because the police suspected Selena and her daughter to be the earliest kills of Gunny after tracing back to his case.”
Gunny again?
Why would Gunny kill them?
“Gunny works under Jefferey. To put it bluntly. Jefferey wanted them dead.”
Why?
“It’s simple.” Janice looked at Rachel before using her slender yet strong fingers to take the coffee that
the waiter brought over. Then, Janice took a sip from the mug with a calm demeanor.
Rachel gradually returned to her senses. Are you implying that it’s for the prescription?
After all, this topic had started because of the prescription.
“Lionel and Jefferey were the only children of the Hudson Family back then. According to my understanding, Lionel had always been Old Mr. Hudson’s favorite, so the inheritor of Hudson Pharmaceuticals would have been Lionel if there were no accidents.”
Are you suspecting that Jefferey murdered Lionel because of the ancestral prescription?
“It’s highly likely.”
However, the prescription that I saw didn’t even have anything on it, not even the dosage.
Upon hearing that, Janice looked conflicted. “Rachel, have you ever thought about how this issue might be related to you?”
Rachel was taken aback. What do you mean?
“Selena and her daughter died twenty years ago and you were taken back to the Hudson Family by Jefferey at around the same time as well. Back then, he instructed for you to be taken care of, but he’s now using you without any qualms…”
You’re saying that my father did all of these because of the prescription…
Rachel felt her heart sink.
