Chapter 91 A Useless Move
Nancy felt her heart ache as she watched Rachel walking off.
…
Amber was in her bedroom on a phone call with Tina later that night. “Tina, did you know how angry Justin was when he saw that mute girl earlier? If Julian hadn’t stepped forward to protect and clarify her side of the story, I’m sure that she would have gotten chased out of the house the very next day,” she uttered.
“What happened after that?” Tina asked.
“Justin found out that I was the one who was behind all of this in the end. However, he didn’t blame me for it at all. I told you, didn’t I? He never cared about that mute to start with!”
Tina let out a chuckle on the other end of the line. “I’ll have to congratulate you then. It looks like you’re one step closer to becoming my cousin-in-law.”
“To be honest—” Amber didn’t finish her words as she was shocked by the person who pushed her bedroom door open. “Dad,” she muttered before hastily ending the call.
Jefferey was clutching onto the doorknob, and his face appeared rather grim. “What have you been doing the whole day today?”
Amber’s expression stiffened. “N-Nothing much…”
“I heard everything that you said, and Tomas told me about it as well. That was too bold and risky of a move!” Jefferey cried.
“Dad…” Amber was so shocked that her face turned into the color of paper. “Please listen to me, Dad. I can explain—”
“You should think twice before doing such a thing in the future,” her father replied.
The fear in Amber’s expression was replaced by a look of confusion after she heard what Jefferey said. “Aren’t you… angry at me?” she asked him. Amber couldn’t believe it at all. She had expected her father to give her a huge scolding after finding out about her scheme against Rachel, and Julian’s involvement in it.
“Rachel’s practically one of those useless moves made in chess,” Jefferey uttered with the same blank expression on his face.
“What do you mean by that, Dad?” Amber asked.
“She has the guts to ignore my orders and words now that she’s in the Burton Family. I should have never allowed her to marry into that family from the very start,” he muttered.
“I told you to watch out for her since a long time ago. She’s a cunning one,” Amber replied.
“Well, that doesn’t mean that you should continue with such reckless plans on your own.” Jefferey shot Amber a glare. “Today’s incident could have taken a turn for the worse if Justin hadn’t decided to be a little more lenient and generous toward you.”
Amber beamed. “Justin does treat me pretty well, Dad. He didn’t blame me after what happened today, and he even bought me dinner after that. This shows that he doesn’t care about Rachel at all. She may as well be a decorative piece of furniture at home. I told you, Dad. It would have been much better if you had allowed me to get married into the Burton Family.”
There was a change in Jefferey’s expression as he knitted his brows a little. Hudson Pharmaceuticals had just undergone a spot check by the drug administration agency, and a good number of their medications had been confiscated. Thus, their company had no choice but to delay some of their client’s orders. On top of that, Jefferey had lost so much money after investing in property. With that thought in his mind, he gently patted the back of Amber’s hand. “I’m not against the idea of you dating Justin, but I want you to promise me one thing.”
Amber was delighted. “What is it?”
“I need you to get me some private and confidential files from Justin,” he uttered. Amber was stunned to hear his words.
…
The next day, Rachel headed out to meet Janice. They had agreed to meet up at their usual spot, and Janice ordered a pot of tea the way she always did.
Where’s Hans? Rachel asked after placing her bag aside.
“He has an important court case today, so I doubt he’ll be able to rush over in time,” Janice answered. Rachel nodded to show that she understood.
“You seemed really anxious to meet up with us. Was there some sort of development in the matter after what happened yesterday?” Janice asked.
Yeah. Although Rachel had fainted after getting hit in the head, she still had a distinct memory of the photo and name she had seen on the tombstone before passing out. She was surprised when she found out that the one person the Hudsons never spoke of in the family was related to her mother. After some contemplation, Rachel finally began to tell Janice about it. You told me that Lionel and Selena’s death was related to Jefferey somehow, right? Is that true?
“It is true, but such things are hard to prove since so much time has passed. Lionel died after his car flew off a cliff, and Selena disappeared in the ocean. Both of these incidents occurred around the same period of time, and there were a few puzzling details about it but no solid evidence. Why? Why are you talking about them all of a sudden?”
I stalked Jefferey and followed him to the cemetery yesterday.
Janice could tell that something was wrong when she saw how Rachel seemed to hesitate with her words. “What is it? Was there an issue?”
You said that he would visit my mother’s grave during Ancestor’s Day, but I finally saw the grave that he visited yesterday.
“Do you know that person that he’s visiting?” Janice asked.
Rachel nodded.
“Well, who is it?” Janice asked again.
A troubled look surfaced in Rachel’s eyes as she carefully drew a few strokes on the table with her finger. Janice froze and stared at the other girl with a look of disbelief. “Are you sure? How could it be her?”
Rachel gave Janice a firm nod. She had written the word ‘Selena’ on the table, for she was certain that the picture on the tombstone was the one that her grandmother had shown her. It was also the same picture that she had seen in the darkroom—the black and white image of a young girl with a broad grin.
Rachel’s hands were trembling as she held onto her cup of tea. Her thoughts were all over the place. It had been so many years, yet she had no idea that her mother was the child that the Hudsons had adopted all those years ago. Selena was her mother.
“Hold on. Let me make sense of this.” Janice placed her cup on the table. “When looking at Jefferey’s generation in the Hudson Family, the two eldest children are Jefferey and Lionel. Then, Old Mr. Hudson took Selena in, and Selena and Jefferey gave birth to you? But that doesn’t make sense. Selena’s just an adopted child, so the family would have no reason to disagree if she wished to be with Jefferey. Why would she have to leave Riverdale?”
I don’t know.
“Selena… Jefferey… Lionel…” Janice repeated those three names a few times before she abruptly lifted her head. “That’s not possible. Selena disappeared out in the ocean back then, so… Rachel, could your mother possibly have been pressured by someone else in the past?”
Rachel’s expression stiffened. What do you mean by that?
“Based on what I know, Selena used to be one of the highest achievers in pharmacology. There were only a few women who even had the opportunity to study overseas at that point, so Old Mr. Hudson was very fond of her. She was in charge of half of the Hudsons’ pharmaceutical business back then.”
Was my mother the person who was managing the business?
“Yeah. We’ve investigated this for a long while, but we still don’t know why the Hudsons chased Selena out. If we look at the timing, this happened when she got pregnant with you.”
That doesn’t make sense. If she were coerced to leave, the Hudsons would have no reason to chase my mother out after she was pregnant.
Janice knitted her brows. “It’s a shame that most of the people from back then are gone. Furthermore, you don’t remember much of your childhood. This is a tough case.”
Rachel thought of something then. I think there might be someone who can give us answers.
