Laura sat still and answered emotionlessly, “He ran off.”
Josie recalled that Laura’s father looked like ant elegant gentleman. ‘He ran off?”
Laura laughed and looked heart-wrenchingly pitiful. “What do you expect? He has always been an irresponsible man. He abandoned my mother and me once. What’s stopping him from abandoning us again?”
It felt cruel that her family secrets were exposed at this moment.
“What about your grandfather? I remember he…”
“He’s hospitalized for cerebral hemorrhage. No one knows whether he will survive.” Laura’s tone remained indifferent as if she was merely a bystander.
Josie was stunned. She did not expect Laura to be going through such severe matters. “How did the family go bankrupt?”
Laura no longer had the patience to answer her question. She pushed herself to stand up. “Why are you here?”
“What do you think?” Josie’s tone was also impatient. Her predicament was not enough reason for Josie to forgive her.
She stared at Josie before breaking out in laughter. “I don’t have time to play a guessing game with you. You better get straight to the point.”
Josie observed Laura. Her gaze seemed calm and open. There was not a hint of quilt from having done something wrong.
“What is it, Josie? Are you here to laugh at me?” Laura continued through gritted teeth. She seemed on the verge of a mental breakdown.
Josie took a deep breath and sensed something was wrong. “You haven’t been to work for many days. As the supervisor, I have to check if something is wrong.”
Those words seemed to calm Laura’s mood considerably. She looked away and said, “I’ve been absent from work for so long. Dex must be angry with me.”
He’s not angry with you at all. In fact, he even got mad at me because of you. Josie thought to herself. Then, she said, “He’s not angry, but I am.”,
“You…”
‘Let’s have lunch.”
Laura stood still and did not move.
“You still have to eat even though your family is bankrupt. Josie glanced at the surrounding. “Or perhaps you have something valuable to guard in this house?”
Laura flushed red before turning pale. In the end, she followed Josie out of the house.. Josie brought her to a nearby restaurant. As expected, everything was expensive in the wealthy neighborhood. Josie felt the pain in her wallet as she ordered food.
“I’m not hungry.” Laura remained uncooperative.
“But I’m hungry.” Josie picked up a toast and munched on it. “Can you tell me when did it happen?”
“It was two days after Russell Group’s tenth anniversary.”
Josie calculated in her mind and realized it was quite some time ago. She narrowed her eyes and asked, “Was it due to poor management?”
“Yes.” Laura took a deep breath and continued, “He was interested in a project and invested all the family’s wealth into it.”
It was clear who was the ‘he’ Laura referred to. She probably did not expect to lose her status overnight and become an ordinary company employee.
Josie suddenly understood why Dexter insisted on taking away the recording device. It was so that Laura would not be left destitute. Josie wondered if he knew about the bankruptcy in advance.
She focused on cutting her steak. “Apart from this, do you have anything else to tell me?”
Laura finally looked straight at her. “Josie, what nonsense is this? I don’t owe you anything. You must be happy seeing me in this state.”
“Oh, by the way, congratulations on winning the first prize. Did you come here to get me to congratulate you? Isn’t that petty?”
Her tone was sarcastic. However, it further confirmed Josie’s suspicion that it was not her who peeked at her drawing.
Since it wasn’t her, why was Dexter so protective of her?
