The day after the wedding, when Madilyn woke up, she instinctively thought she was at home and was about to go outside in her pajamas.
Fortunately, Jonathan managed to bring her back inside right when she opened the door. Finally waking up from her daze, Madilyn suddenly realized her new identity as the daughter-in-law of the Queen family.
The man circled her in his embrace, and his hands began to explore her body. Madilyn was stunned, for they had only been intimate mere hours ago.
She suddenly became flustered, and she could feel her breathing turning erratic again. “Are there any other customs or rituals that we haven’t completed yet? Does your family need us to greet the elders on the first day of our marriage?”
She quickly tried to change the subject so that the man wouldn’t continue to tease her. If they were to make any noise this early in the morning, it would be really embarrassing. Jonathan shook his head, and he suddenly leaned closer. Madilyn quickly covered his mouth with her hand. “No, I haven’t washed up yet. Honey, don’t do this.”
Jonathan’s mouth curved into a playful smile. “Hmm… Who was the one who took advantage of me while I was drunk back then?”
Madilyn was rendered speechless. She shot a glare at the man. “Honey, let’s wait until tonight. There must be things that we have to do today. I’m going to wash up!”
With that, she ran into the bathroom in a hurry. Roxanne was getting impatient, and after checking the time, she immediately called her best friend at eight-thirty in the morning. Madilyn wakes up at about this hour.
She started off by asking Madilyn about the wedding. Madilyn said that everything was going well, and she was not uncomfortable living with the Queens. Only after that did Roxanne ask Madilyn about some details regarding her purchase of the Jarvis residence.
“Madilyn, who did you make the deal with? Why did they move abroad right after buying it?”
“Roxanne, do you remember Ms. Vasque? She was your mother’s best friend. She bought the place from Grant and didn’t live in it. In fact, she was just waiting for you to buy the house when you’re back. Ms. Vasque was only willing to sell the place to me after I made my intentions known to her,” Madilyn explained. Roxanne’s face froze..
How could I forget Ms. Vasque? Rachel Vasque used to be Roxanne’s neighbor and had a very good relationship with her mother. After her mother became ill, Rachel would visit her several times and even give Roxanne some pocket money. However, Rachel seemed to have moved away from Horington because of her husband’s work transfer.
If it’s her, then everything makes sense. Although Ms. Vasque bought it, she didn’t need to settle down, so she left the country with her family.
“Madilyn, can you still contact her now? I have something very important to ask her.” Roxanne grew anxious, thinking that her mother might have left clues about her heirloom with Rachel..
The secret would be safely guarded by Rachel, waiting for the day when Roxanne would finally come to look for the truth.
Sensing the urgency in her friend’s voice, Madilyn immediately nodded and said she would search for the contact number that Rachel had left behind during the transaction.
After a short while, Madilyn obtained the number from the agent and quickly passed it to Roxanne. Excited to have the number, Roxanne immediately called and waited anxiously on the line for Rachel to answer.
The line rang for quite some time before Rachel finally picked up.
“Hello, Ms. Vasque. I’m Roxanne Jarvis. Do you still remember me?” The hint of anxiousness in Roxanne’s voice was palpable.
There was a momentary pause on the other end of the line. Then, a soft voice answered, “Roxanne, have you finally returned to Horington? How are you doing now?”
Upon hearing that voice, Roxanne felt as though the memories that had been sealed away in her mind had been unearthed. A scene from the past appeared in her mind.
In that scene, her mother and Rachel were chatting with each other while eating cakes under a tree. As the sun dipped into the horizon, she appeared from the corner where her kindergarten was located and rushed home. The journey was less than a hundred meters. Then, upon arriving at her home, she’d shout, “Mommy, I’m home!”
Back then, her mother was healthy, angelically beautiful, and always smiling. During that period, Rachel was still young as well. She had just married not too long ago and hadn’t given birth to any children yet. She often sought guidance from Roxanne’s mother about domestic issues.
It’d be nice if our life back then could continue forever, but Grant destroyed everything. After a long while, Roxanne returned to her senses and told Rachel everything had been going well since she returned to Horington.
Rachel asked, “When you married the son of the Farwell family, I was happy for you. After I heard you divorced him from someone, I wanted to find you, but I couldn’t contact you. Many years have passed since then. Roxanne, it’s a pity what happened to your mother.””
Her caring voice warmed Roxanne’s heart. Roxanne told the older woman what happened during the years after her divorce. She also mentioned how she remarried Lucian, her children, and unborn babies.
Her intention was to put Rachel at ease. Of course, Rachel was happy for the younger woman. “Your mother must be watching over and protecting you from the heavens.”
Roxanne believed that as well. “If you have time, you should come to Horington for vacation, Ms. Vasque. Or, if I have time, I’ll visit you. Right now, there’s an important thing I need your help with.” I almost forgot why I called her!
She asked the older woman about the object her mother left behind. Rachel went into deep thought before asking, “Is the tree in the courtyard still there?”
“I thought about it too, but the tree died many years ago. Even after digging up the ground around the tree, I found nothing.”
“In that case, I have an idea, but I don’t know if you’ll find anything there. Is the wedding photo still around?”
Roxanne nodded. “It is, but I searched through it, too. There’s nothing in the frame.” Even if I didn’t, Winnie would’ve searched through places like that, including the television cabinet, ceiling light, and fan.
“Is that so? Then I’ll try to recall where it might be to the best of my abilities. Your mother treated me very well back then. We were like sisters. I really hate Grant!”
“Take your time with it, Ms. Vasque. There’s no need to rush. When you do remember where it is, call me. Here’s my number…”
After that, the two women continued their sentimental conversation. At the side, Lucian furrowed his eyebrows. Before Roxanne could react, he pulled her hand, brought her downstairs, and drove to the Jarvis residence.
He abruptly thought about a crucial detail when the wedding photo was brought up. The picture frame wasn’t made of ordinary wood. Instead, it was mahogany, and the frame itself was very thick..
If one were to empty the frame, one could hide a tiny item inside.
Lucian, who was often composed, was surprisingly anxious as he hit the accelerator. He didn’t want to wait any longer to discover if his mother-in-law’s heirloom was hidden in the photo frame.
A grim expression was set on Roxanne’s countenance. Her heart was racing. Winnie cares so much about the object Mom left behind that she’s still searching for it after failing for more than a decade. Whatever it is, it must be important. Perhaps it’s evidence that she killed Mom. I really want to know how she inflicted a slow-acting poison on Mom because they didn’t interact with each other directly back then!
Ten minutes later, they arrived at the Jarvis residence. It was morning, but Bill was still searching around with the bodyguards. They knocked on the walls, trying to locate a hidden storage space.
When he saw the couple rushing in, he asked, “Did something happen?” Lucian shook his head, zipped through the living room, and entered his mother-in-law’s room. Seeing that the wedding photo was still affixed on the wall, he became more at ease.
The picture was hung relatively high, so Roxanne grabbed a chair for Lucian to stand on before he carefully lowered the picture frame. This is heavy! The mahogany frame must be expensive.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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