Chapter 3

Wendy looked up. Her lips moved, but she did not say a word.

Yvonne spoke first.

“Grandma, please don’t blame Dad. This is all my fault.

“I shouldn’t have asked to move back home. I only thought the dorm was too noisy. I didn’t think about how much pressure Dad has been under at work lately.”

She looked at me. Her eyes were slightly teary.

“Dad, I’m sorry. Please don’t divorce Mom. If you think I’m a burden, I’ll come home less often.

“After high school, I’ll find a part-time job. I won’t spend any more of the family’s money.

“But Mom has been married to you for six years. She really cares about you. Please don’t argue because of me, okay?”

Tears rolled down her cheeks as she spoke.

My mother’s eyes turned teary too.

“See? Do you hear how sensible this girl is? Why do you still want to kick her out?!

“If anyone’s leaving, it’s you! I’ve made up my mind. Yvonne is staying here!”

In my past life, this was exactly how she had won my mother over.

She praised Yvonne to everyone she met. “My granddaughter isn’t related to me by blood, but she’s closer to me than a real granddaughter.”

Later, Yvonne reported me to the police for touching her.

My mother had limped over to Yvonne and begged her to let me go.

Yvonne agreed to it in front of her.

But when we went to court, she produced an “AI recording” that used my mother’s voice.

The recording made it sound like my mother was threatening Yvonne.

She supposedly said that if Yvonne refused to change her statement, she would frame her for something and extort money from her. She even threatened to make sure Yvonne could never show her face again.

My mother never understood, even until the day she died, when she had supposedly said those things.

The thought made me clench my fists.

“Mom, there’s something I need to tell you—”

“Henry.”

My mother suddenly cut me off.

“I know you have your own way of doing things. You’ve always known your limits, ever since you were a kid. But Henry, I’m getting old.”

She took my hand.

Her hand was covered in age spots, and her knuckles were slightly deformed from arthritis.

“I’m seventy this year. I don’t know how many more years I have left.

“All I want in this life is to see you live well.

“Wendy has been with you for six years. Yvonne may not be your real daughter, but she’s called you Dad for six years.

“Please, do this for me. Let them come home.”

Her voice grew softer with every word. By the end, I could barely hear her.

I looked at her.

She was seventy years old, and her hair was completely white.

The wrinkles on her face were much deeper than I remembered.

I lowered my eyes.

“I understand.”

Yvonne’s eyes lit up. Wendy immediately looked up too.

“Dad! You’re not getting a divorce?! I… Can I come home?”

I gave a quiet hum of agreement.

Even if they came back to live here, I had ways to deal with them.

“Dad, thank you. I promise I won’t cause you any trouble.”

Yvonne paused. “Once I get into college, I’ll find a job after graduation and take good care of you.”

…

For the first month after Yvonne moved back in, she behaved perfectly.

She got up at 5.30 a.m. to make breakfast. She came home at exactly 9.30 p.m.. As soon as she put her backpack on her desk, she started working on her practice problems.

Wendy flaunted her daughter to everyone she met.

My mother came over twice. Yvonne called her “Grandma” every time, and she acted more affectionately with her than anyone else.

My mother took my hand and said, “See? Yvonne is actually a good girl.”

I smiled but said nothing. Instead, I booked my mother a two-month luxury tour of Skyhaven.

By the time she came back, everything would be over.

At the start of the second month, the security cameras finally caught something useful.

At 11.30 p.m., Jason Carter, Yvonne’s punk-looking boyfriend, climbed through the window into her room.

He did not leave until 2 a.m..

Harrison asked me if I wanted to release the footage right away.

I said no.

I was waiting for something bigger.

That day, I was working with my crew at a construction site on the east side of town when two police cars pulled up at the entrance.

Three officers got out and walked straight toward me.

“Henry Quinn, you have been suspected of touching your underage stepdaughter. You need to come with us to the police station for questioning.”