Ryan was depressed, so he opened the door and walked out. However, as soon as he opened the door, he heard the shutter, and a flash shone on his face. He quickly covered his face and asked angrily, “Hey! What are you doing?”
Then he noticed a man seated in the lobby on the ground floor. Although he knew the man could be a guest, he couldn’t remain polite anymore. He asked angrily, “Who are you? Why are you taking pictures here?”
The man was a tall 50-year-old man. He was wearing a black jumper and had a camera in his hand. He tilted his head, looked at Ryan suspiciously, and asked, “Can’t | take pictures here? No one has ever told 338 Time Flies Away me that, sorry. I’ll delete the pictures right away.”
Just then, Sally happened to come out of the guest room. When she spotted Ryan, she looked at the door behind him and asked, “Your mother still hasn’t eaten anything, has she?”
“No.”
Hearing that, Sally didn’t say anything else. When she noticed the man on the ground floor staring at them, she said, “By the way, Ryan, this is Mr. Davis. He’s our new guest. Mr. Davis, this is our young boss.”
Davis nodded, and then looked at Ryan suspiciously and asked, “Why do you call him that?”
“Because the owner of the hotel is his mother. So, he’s the young boss.”
Ryan didn’t stop her. He nodded and appeared to be in a bad mood. As he proceeded to his room, he added, “Sally, go entertain the guests. I’m returning to my room. Bye.”
The men gazed at his back till he shut the door behind him.
Sally then said, “Sir, I need you to check in here. Would you mind showing me your ID?”
Davis handed Sally his identification card. After taking the ID, She silently typed his name into the computer before saying, “Mr. William Davis, your room is number 205. If you need anything, you can call the front desk. There’s always someone here 24/7.”
Davis then took his room key and went upstairs.
The guests gradually returned at almost midnight when the festivities ended. They gathered in the hall to talk for a while, and then all went back to their rooms.
Meanwhile, Jennie played Billie Holiday’s music on the gramophone 338 Time Flies Away in her room, and the tune was gentle but sorrowful. Listening to the music,
Jennie got a photo album from the safe she hadn’t seen ina long time. She had kept i previously destroyed all of the stuff related to the Williams. She’d done it n the safe for the past 20 years. Furthermore, she had to say goodbye to the past and to make a clean break with the Wrights. And she had never shown Ryan that album
The first page of the album was a black and white photograph. In the photo, a young man was standing beside a young boy, and a woman was standing beside them, holding a baby in her arms. The woman was cheerfully smiling, but the man was expressionless.
That year, James, Peter’s only child, had just turned one year old, and Jennie had just been born. Jennie was abandoned at the door to a church shortly after she was born. At the time, it was winter. If Mrs. Wright had not gone to church and found her, she would have probably frozen to death.
The Wrights saved her life and raised her since then. They treated her like one of the Wrights, giving her the finest of everything, They even gave her James, a man who loved her deeply.
Recalling the past, Jennie couldn’t stop crying. She turned the page and saw another picture of a teenage boy and a girl. They were both only eighteen years old and smiling happily for the camera. At the bottom of the photo was a line written in blue pen, “At Jen’s eighteenth birthday party.”
She felt like she was eighteen again when she saw that name. She remembered a lot of things from the past. At that precise time, she heard a knock on the door.
Jennie came back to her senses, wiped her eyes, and then asked, “Who is it?”
The person at the door did not respond. Jennie froze and then repeated the question she had just asked. It had already been 1:30 a.m She initially assumed it was a guest. They would visit her if the receptionist could not solve their issue.
However, the person was clearly not a guest. Just when she thought she had heard wrong, she heard a knock on the door again. She then proceeded to move towards the door. Through the peephole on the door, she looked around but saw no one. Just as she was perplexed, she noticed a black shadow obscuring the peephole.
Taken aback, Jennie stumbled. Then, she heard another knock on the door. Seconds later, a piece of paper came in through the door and touched her toes. Jennie was frightened and almost screamed out as she saw a line on the paper: Jennie, how is our son doing now?
Her face turned pale quickly, and she didn’t return to her senses fora long time. In fear, she collapsed to the floor.
The knock on the door woke Ryan up. He was always a light sleeper and would wake up at the slightest sound. When he heard the sharp knock on the door, he became uneasy. He got out of bed and opened the door to his room, only to discover that no one was in the corridor.
The waiter sitting at the front desk had fallen asleep. The hotel door Was shut, and no one appeared to have come in. Ryan paused, walked to his mother’s room, knocked on the door, and asked, “Are you awake? Mom!” 339 How Is Our Son Doing?
Jennie was silent for a minute before asking, “What’s wrong?”
Ryan exhaled a relief before saying, “Oh, | just heard a knock on the door, but no one was there. Did you hear it?”
“No, | didn’t hear anything. You probably heard wrong.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. Good night, Mom.”
“Good night, sweetie.”
Then Jennie heard Ryan walk away. Still standing in the doorway, she looked back at the man sitting on the couch and frowned.
The weak light illuminated his features as he grimaced at her. He said, “What are you afraid of? | just spoke with him. It must have been difficult for you to raise our son alone for all those years, Jennie. How come you never called me?”
Jennie cut him off, “Shut up!” As she was afraid someone would hear her, she lowered her voice, “Ryan is not your son, William. He has nothing to do with you!”
William lifted an eyebrow, then locked his gaze on Jennie and said, “I knew it! He’s so young and not even twenty. So, Wayne is my son, | guess.”
Jennie clenched her teeth and said, “Stop talking! That has absolutely nothing to do with it. You’ve immigrated to America, haven’t you? Why are you here?”
William sighed and seemed to feel sorry for that. He said, “Jennie, you haven’t changed a bit. You won’t even give me the opportunity to talk to you. You’ve left me heartbroken, dear.”
“Why would | want to talk to you? I don’t want to have anything to do with you. Back then, you only went out with me because you wanted my money. You’ve been lying to me all the time, bastard!” 339 How Is Our Son Doing?
“No, you misunderstood me. How would you have known James adored you if it hadn’t been for me? When you were younger, you fantasized about a love story in which a man would die for you. I didn’t make it, but James did. You should be grateful to me for it”
When she heard him talk about the past, Jennie trembled with rage and said, “Stop talking! | know you planned the whole scheme and got James killed. How dare you say that to me?!”
James sneered and said, “Why wouldn’t I? It has been 20 years since the incident occurred, and the period of litigation is over. I don’t think you’d dare to sue me.”
“Ido!”
“Well, then you’d better sue me. You’d better let everyone know that Wayne is not a Wright but my son.”
Just as Jennie was about to yell at him, someone suddenly opened the door. In the corridor light, the extra key on the door glinted like moonlight. Ryan stormed in, yelling at the man, “Don’t you dare say it again!”
Jennie’s face immediately turned pale at that moment. She had forgotten that her son was a detective, so she hadn’t even just fooled him. And she knew that Ryan must’ve heard the conversation between them.
William rose up and made a scornful grimace, which made the wrinkles on his face even more obvious. He said, “Did you eavesdrop on our conversation? Then you must have heard everything just now! Do | need to say it again?”
Jennie scowled angrily at him, wishing he’d just leave them alone. “Get the hell out of here or I’l call the cops!” she snarled.
William inhaled deeply and snarled, “I don’t think you’d dare do that. 339 How Is Our Son Doing? You’d rather take this bastard and leave the Wrights* house to save their family’s reputation. You don’t have to threaten me Like that!”
Hearing that, Ryan said angrily, “My mother cares about the Wrights, but I don’t. Do you really think there are no police stations in our town?
With that, he instantly took out his phone and attempted to dial 911. Jennie stopped him and grabbed his phone. She was gasping for air as a result of her rage. She tried to calm down before saying, “Ryan, you can’t call the police. William, what do you want?”
William chuckled and said, “You’re smarter than | imagined. You should have asked me that question sooner so we wouldn’t have had to argue. | couldn’t have gone all this way only to catch up with you.”
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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