Chapter 89 Won’t Be Able to Clear Their Names
Justin’s face strode toward the door. “Shouldn’t you leave for work soon, Julian? You should mind your own business,” he uttered just before he stepped out of the door.
“Caring for patients is my business,” Julian replied. Justin tightened his grip around the doorknob as his gaze dimmed. Bang! The whole house seemed to shake the moment he slammed the door shut.
Rachel’s body jolted with shock, and she flinched as Justin shut the door. “Don’t worry.” Justin comforted her by patting her gently, but his gaze seemed to turn serious as he did so.
“Breakfast is ready, Young Master Justin. Would you like to drink coffee or—” The maid greeted Justin the moment he got down to the living room, but he interrupted her before she could finish her sentence. “I don’t want anything.” Justin shot his maid a hostile glare. “You have a lot of free time, huh? You don’t need to come in for work anymore. We don’t need you since we have to get our own food anyway!”
Justin didn’t come back for a whole week after that. In the meantime, Rachel’s injuries were recovering well, and a new batch of maids had arrived to replace the previous batch. One morning, Mrs. Duncan was preparing joss papers in the backyard; she intended to burn them at the cemetery the next day. Rachel was standing by the window on the second floor, and she realized that Ancestors’ Day was coming soon when she saw what Mrs. Duncan was doing. She tightened her fists when Janice’s words rang in her mind all of a sudden.
That night, Julian placed some vegetables onto Rachel’s plate while they all had dinner together. Sue happened to notice this, and she questioned Julian in a rather puzzled tone. “Your brother has been away for nearly a week now, and we haven’t heard any news from him. Did you contact him in the past few days?”
“No. I’ve been busy in the hospital. I don’t have the time to fuss over his matters,” Julian replied.
“What about you?” Sue shifted her gaze toward Rachel. “Do you know where Justin went? When is he coming back?”
Rachel froze for a moment before she shook her head. Ever since Justin left home a week ago, they hadn’t contacted each other at all. “You don’t even know where your own husband is. How impressive! You don’t even work, and all you do is stay home and laze around. I don’t even know what you’re doing,” Sue mumbled.
“Stop talking, Mom,” Julian muttered.
“I’m in my own house. Why can’t I talk? I’m not the one who’s mute,” Sue hissed.
Rachel lowered her bowl. I’m done eating. After excusing herself from the table, Rachel walked off while Sue continued to nag and complain at the dining table.
As the night fell, a black MPV sped down the highway that led toward Riverdale’s airport. The driver asked, “Where are you headed, Mr. Burton? Home, or…”
“You can send Gloria back to the hotel, and then I’ll go back to the office,” Justin replied in a calm voice.
“Are you still going to the office at this time of the night? Isn’t your wife going to get worried if you stay out so late?” A woman’s crisp voice came from beside Justin. The reflection on the car window revealed a pretty young lady in her twenties. She didn’t have the most stunning facial features, but she had the youthful and energetic look of a young girl.
“She won’t,” Justin replied simply.
The young girl froze for a moment when she heard that, but he simply turned to glance out the window, and neon lights illuminated his skin, leaving spots of light on his face. There seemed to be a hint of loneliness beneath his stoic demeanor.
The next morning, Rachel drove out of the house on her own. She waited nearby the Hudson Residence, and she finally spotted Jefferey’s car leaving the house during noontime. Without any hesitation, she started her engine and trailed behind his car.
Jefferey drove all the way to West Magnolia Cemetery. It began to drizzle when he arrived, and black umbrellas could be seen moving around the burial grounds. Rachel put on her raincoat before she covered her face with a mask and sunglasses. Then, she continued to follow the man into the cemetery. There used to be a piece of private land in the West Magnolia Cemetery that was used as the Hudson Family’s ancestral grave. Later on, the government decided to expand the grounds and standardize the place. The Hudson’s ancestral grave was supposed to be removed, but the Hudsons managed to keep a spot just for their family since they had some connections back then.
This was the first time Rachel had ever set foot in West Magnolia Cemetery. Why would my mother’s grave be in the Hudson Family’s private burial grounds? Rachel felt her heart sinking as she watched Jefferey halting his footsteps in front of a tombstone. “I’m here to see you,” he said as he lowered his body and placed some daisies on the ground. “I brought your favorite flowers,” he added.
Rachel couldn’t hear everything that he said, for the sound of the rain was too distracting. However, she saw him kneeling in front of the tombstone for a long while, where he spoke to himself continuously; he even pulled out a bottle of alcohol.
“I’ll come to visit you again this time next year.” Jefferey poured the rest of his alcohol on the ground surrounding the tomb. “Enjoy your drink. Although you’ve been buried alone here, you wouldn’t be as lonely that way. We’ll all be reunited over here, and we’ll be together even a hundred years later, alright?”
Rachel only stepped out from behind a pine tree after Jefferey had walked off into the distance. That was when she carefully made her way over to the tombstone. The cemetery looked especially gloomy due to the cloudy weather. She glanced at the fresh daisies as she arrived at the tombstone. Fear seized her as she thought about pushing the daisies aside, for she expected to see her mother’s name engraved on the tombstone once she did so.
After standing around for a long while, Rachel finally reached her hand toward the flowers. Her pupils narrowed the moment she saw the name on the tombstone, and her expression faltered immediately. At that very moment, a black shadow towered over her head. Before she had the chance to respond, she felt a strong blow against the back of her head. She let out a groan before she collapsed head-first onto the ground. Just before she collapsed, she caught sight of the picture on the tombstone. It was the exact same picture as the one that she had seen in the darkroom, and it was the same one that Nancy had been secretly hiding. How could this be possible?
On the other side, the pitter-patter of the rain continued even after Julian came out from one of his surgeries. He checked his phone to find an unread message. ‘I’m in a bad mood, and I had a few drinks. Can you come and pick me up?’
Julian frowned. ‘Where are you now?’
‘Highland Hotel, Room 2318.’
After Amber sent the text with the room number, she turned around to glance at Rachel, who was unconscious. A cruel look surfaced in Amber’s eyes. Julian paid no attention to Amber regardless of how much she tried to attract him, and she felt a strong sense of hatred for Rachel whenever she thought about this. How could a mute like her get to marry Justin? How could she also get all of Julian’s care and attention?
All Amber had to do was snap a photo of both man and woman once they were in the hotel room together. That way, they wouldn’t be able to clear their names no matter how much they tried to. Amber was certain that Justin would no longer be able to accept Rachel once he saw such pictures of his wife.
Rachel finally woke up because of the pain she felt at the back of her head. She opened her eyes to find herself staring at the simple patterns that covered the ceiling of the room. Where am I? She held onto the sheets as she sat herself up, and she immediately felt a chilling sensation against her skin. Then, she looked down to find herself completely naked. There wasn’t a single piece of clothing on her under the sheets, and she panicked the moment she realized this.
Ding dong. Rachel’s face turned pale when she heard the doorbell. Right then, her cell phone began to vibrate at the bedside table. “Hello? Rachel? It’s me. Are you in there?”
Rachel froze for a moment, but she heaved a sigh of relief when she realized that the voice belonged to Julian. The only thing she had to wear in the room was a robe, so she wrapped it around her body before she rushed out to open the door.
“Are you okay?” Julian asked the moment he saw her.
Rachel’s head was still spinning, and she looked dazed and drowsy as she had just woken up. Julian frowned and sniffed a few times as he looked at her. “Did you really drink alcohol?”
She was stunned by his question. Moments later, she realized the strong scent of alcohol coming from her own robe. I don’t know.
“What exactly happened?” Julian asked.
Rachel shook her head. All she recalled was herself being struck in the head, and she woke up in the hotel room after that.
“Weren’t you the one who sent me a text message?” Julian stared at her.
