“Please, no matter what, you must help me find my father, Josie pleaded as she pulled out a check from her bag and handed it to the man sitting across from her.
“Could you please… make a trip to Rivodia?”
Since she wasn’t in Sumanthova, it was most likely that she was in Rivodia. Even if there was only a glimmer of hope, she would never give up
“Ms. Warren, this…”
“I still have some matters to attend to at the moment, so I’m unable to return to my homeland for now. However, I will be back soon. I trust you with my father’s affairs.”
The man responded softly, “Ms. Warren, rest assured. I will do my best.”
After pocketing the check, the man stood up. “Ms. Warren, I’ll take my leave now. Until we meet again in Rivodia.”
“Okay.”
Once the man left, Josie sat alone, her gaze fixed on the window, but she couldn’t concentrate.
After a while, Josie finally stood up, taking her bag with her as she left.
Josie wandered aimlessly through the streets… Passersby hurried past her. In this unfamiliar land, Josie felt out of place and alone.
And yet, driven by her deep obsession, she persevered in this city for two years.
“Pop, where are you?”
Suddenly…
Josie stopped in her tracks, her eyes landing on a boy playing music not far away on the street corner. The boy seemed to be around seventeen or eighteen, holding a worn wooden guitar. His voice was deep and melodious as he passionately sang an Uprian song.
Despite the lack of attention from the people passing by, Josie stood still, listening to two complete songs. Finally, she took out several banknotes from her bag and placed them in the cardboard box in front of the boy.
She spoke to him in Uprian, saying, “All the best…”
Upon seeing this, the boy stopped playing his guitar. His eyes were fixed on Josie. Finally, he spoke in Uprian. “Thank you for your encouragement, beautiful lady. May all the good fortune in the world be with you…”
Josie left with a smile, leaving behind a striking silhouette.
When Josie arrived home, she pushed open the door. Instead of seeing Dexter as she expected, her eyes immediately landed on Mallory, who was holding Grape while engaged in a video call.
On the other end of the phone, half of Calvin’s face was visible, as he attentively observed Grape through the video. “Where did this child come from?”
Mallory kept him in suspense.
“Seeing how adorable this child is, I thought I’d let you have a look. What do you think… Isn’t she truly adorable? Come on, baby, say Mr. Barrett…”
Grape followed suit, murmuring, “Mr. Barrett…”
Calvin agreed with a hum. He thought the child was indeed very cute. However, the more he looked, the more he felt a sense of familiarity with the child.
It seemed as if…
“Little one, what’s your name? How old are you? Who are your parents?” Calvin asked a series of questions, and doubt began to grow in his heart.
Upon hearing this, Josie couldn’t help but chuckle.
Mallory, however, spoke without hesitation. “Stop prying. I’m afraid you’ll be shocked if I tell you.”
Calvin became even more curious.
“What is this child’s background? Why do I feel she resembles Dexter more and more as I look at her?” As soon as these words left his mouth, Calvin himself was taken aback.
He was completely unaware that he had unintentionally uncovered the truth.
“Haha… Can you guess?” Mallory’s enigmatic reply left Calvin’s heart yearning to uncover the answer.
“Mallory, please be direct. Inform me. What is the situation?”
