Chapter 139
On the other hand, Grace and Selene had already returned to their place.
Selene casually flipped her hair, clearly pleased with the events of the evening.
She stretched out a hand in front of Grace. “I like your personality. How about we go shopping together sometime?”
Since waking up, Grace hadn’t made any new acquaintances besides her friend, Joanne. She shrugged off any reservations and shook Selene’s hand casually.
“Sure.”
Selene then waved her off. “Alright. I’ll head inside, then.”
The two went their separate ways.
…
Grace was drained from the day’s events, so after a quick shower, she collapsed into bed and fell asleep immediately.
The following day, while she was immersed in her tasks, she was told someone was downstairs asking for her.
When she went down, she saw Carmen and Liam waiting for her.
Liam was leaning against a nearby pillar with his arms crossed, avoiding eye contact with Grace. However, Carmen stormed up to her and immediately launched into a tirade.
“Why did you block everyone’s numbers? You didn’t even come home last night! We’ve been trying to find you everywhere! Alice had another incident! She was kidnapped! She’s traumatized, and everyone’s still talking about that audio recording.
“Grace, I won’t say much more, but you need to admit that you’re the one who doctored that recording.”
Grace slowly sat down on the couch in the lobby. “So, you came to see me just for this?”
Carmen quickly sat down across from her, her tone self-righteous. “This is the most urgent issue right now.”
“Mrs. Lambert, if you want me to admit to it, then you must already suspect that the voice in the recording belongs to Alice, right? It’s not a doctored recording. She was just simply trying to frame me, but it got exposed. Now, she can’t back out, and you, unwilling to see her get lambasted by everyone, came here to find
me.
“After all, as your eldest daughter, I’m expendable in your eyes. It won’t matter to you even if I get insulted.”
Carmen’s eyes flashed with guilt, but she remained silent for several seconds before saying, “You’ve already been criticized by everyone for so long, so adding this to the pile won’t change much.”
Without a word, Grace grabbed the cup that was still half filled with tea and splashed the contents directly at her.
Carmen’s hair was drenched, and she looked up at Grace in disbelief.
“Mrs. Lambert, I hope you’re beginning to come around,” Grace said coolly. “I’ve told you before not to talk to me while acting so high and mighty. I’m not obligated to cover for anyone, especially not for someone like Alice.
“If you don’t want her to suffer, just shift the blame to Liam. Or is it that you just can’t bring yourself to abandon your son?”
Carmen was trembling, her lips quivering as she tried to speak. “Grace, how… did you turn out like this?”
She couldn’t recognize her anymore. Was this really the obedient daughter she once knew?
Grace casually tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and shot her a glance. “Don’t come looking for me for this kind of thing again. It’s a waste of my time.”
Liam, who had been standing silently at the side, slowly turned to Carmen and asked, “Mom, is the recording really not doctored? Is it really Alice’s voice?” Carmen’s mind was in turmoil. She stared at Grace’s cold, unyielding back as she stood up, seemingly wanting to follow her. But she stopped herself after only a few steps and muttered under her breath, “Where did it all go wrong…”
Liam’s questions didn’t stop.
“Mom, answer me! Is what Grace said true? Did you already know that the recording wasn’t doctored? If that’s the case, why are you even here? Isn’t this just blatant favoritism?”
Before he could finish, a sharp slap landed across his face.
“Shut up!”
Liam held his face in shock. He had never been slapped by anyone except for Grace.
Carmen was also taken aback by her actions. Her heart ached as she lowered herself onto the couch and rubbed her forehead.
“Do
you think I want this to happen,
Liam? You have no idea what kind of
people Alice’s adoptive parents are You don’t know what she went through in those years and what kind of life she lived outside.O Everything she has suffered is all because of Grace. How am I supposed to look at her with a calm heart after everything that has happened?”
Carmen rubbed her temples, and the scent of tea lingered faintly in the air.
“Alice’s adoptive parents are scumbags. She was raised in an abusive household.
They adopted her to use her as a child bride for their idiot son.
“Alice started working at 12, giving every penny she earned to her adoptive parents while having to take care of her idiot brother every day. When I went to pick her up, her skin was so damaged, and she
couldn’t even look me in the eye.
Liam fell silent in an instant, his chest aching. He bit his lip and said, “But still…
That shouldn’t have happened…”
“What shouldn’t have happened?
The reason she was kidnapped was because Grace intentionally hid the matter and didn’t report it! Alice
saved her sister. After all Alice
years of suffering, shouldn’t Grace have treated her better when she came home? But no, she bullied Alice at every turn, never once regretting what happened back then.
“I’ve seen everything with my own eyes, so how could my heart not be biased? I
hate Grace now. How can she still sleep at night after everything?
“Liam, Alice has been seeing a therapist in secret. The doctor says she can’t handle any kind of stress. She’s desperately lacking love….”
Liam froze, his tone immediately turning urgent. “How long has she been seeing a therapist? Why didn’t I know about this?”
“She started seeing one the year she came back to the Lambert residence. Due
to her pride, she doesn’t want anyone to know, not even your father.”
The tragedy of her life was enough to pull at anyone’s heartstrings.
Her words quickly swayed the young and impressionable Liam. “Mom, what should we do now?”
“Our best bet is for Grace to admit to doctoring the recording. Otherwise, Alice’s marriage is done for. You could help out too. Try to convince Grace as she’s not as hostile toward you. When she looks at us, it’s like we’re enemies.”
Liam froze, the words hitting him hard. He stayed silent for a long moment before lowering his eyes. “I understand.”