Chapter 2 A Life-Saving Cup of Tea

My breath got stuck in my throat as my gaze landed on the rusty circular tin.

Jacintha couldn't help but smirk at my telling lack of response. She passed the box to Eleanor. "Hold this, Elle. We need to teach this stubborn girl a lesson. Otherwise, she'll never learn that family comes first."

Eleanor took the box and knocked on the lid.

"Millie, I don't want things to get ugly between families. Pack your stuff and scram. Then and only then, will you have the useless box back."

I straightened and cleaned my hands with a tissue. "There are only waste papers inside the box. You can keep them if you so please."

Eleanor's smug grin slipped from her face.

Jacintha's high-pitched scream was so piercing that it was fit to burst eardrums. "Drop the act! Don't you remember who lent you 200 for your mother to visit the doctor? You would've starved to death as a homeless girl without us!"

I crumpled the tissue and tossed it into the bin. "And I've paid it back tenfold, including the interest. Meanwhile, you've taken over my mother's house and have been collecting $3,000 a month in rent without giving me a cent."

I met her eyes calmly. "How about paying me back first before trying and failing to blackmail me?"

She shook in anger as she lifted her hand to slap me.

I grabbed her wrist and shoved her away. "Aunt Jacintha, you're on Mr. Cregger's territory. Do you want to keep making a scene and attract the security guard at the price of sabotaging your plan to have Eleanor playing the role of his darling savior?"

She cast a wary look at the door and let her hand fall as she gritted her teeth, hissing, "Fine. You've grown a backbone, haven't you? Let's see how long you can keep this up."

She then dragged Eleanor toward the door, shoving the cookie tin back into her bag, threatening, "Since you've decided to go against us, I'm going to burn them."

The door slammed shut behind them.

I slouched on the sofa and took a bite of the half-eaten apple.

It was supposed to be sweet, but I tasted nothing on my tongue.

…

The next morning, Luke visited us at 9:00 a.m. sharp to collect our notes.

We were taken to two different meeting rooms in order to prevent us from colluding with each other.

Different people interrogated me the entire morning.

They asked about the weather and time that day, Julian's outfit, his tone, and so on.

I wasn't quite confident with my answers.

After all, a long time had passed since I last saw him.

Back then, I was only 17. My mind was fully occupied with surviving. Frankly, I couldn't spare extra effort to memorize what a stranger wore.

Luke took me to the top-floor office at noon.

…

When I entered the room, I found Eleanor and Jacintha were already sitting inside.

Julian waited behind a sprawling office table, perusing the two statements provided.

Eleanor adopted an elegant pose and held up a cup of coffee.

A flicker of undisguised mockery flashed across her face.

At that moment, Julian looked up and pushed the two notes toward us. "Ms. Wright's statement is more detailed than yours. She even remembered that I wore a watch with a cracked face."

My gaze fell upon the note.

I had written those details in my diary years ago.

She simply read my diary and memorized everything. Those details had nothing to do with her.

I glanced at Jacintha's bag. Sure enough, the corner of the cookie tin was peeking out.

They hadn't taken the tin just to threaten me. They had also used it to read my diaries.

"Ms. Murphy, is there anything else you wish to add?"

His voice snapped me out of my trance.

I looked at him.

"I had a high fever when I met you. I couldn't remember the watch you were wearing. All I remember is that you were shaking like a leaf."

The executives chuckled at the scene I described.

Jacintha immediately sprang to her feet and pointed at my nose. "Nonsense! Mr. Cregger might have struggled a little during hard times, but he was nothing like how you described him. You've clearly never met him and are just lying through your teeth!"

He paid no attention to her outburst.

Instead, he leaned forward slightly and looked into my eyes. "What about something else from that day?"

My heart skipped a beat at the question.

He tapped his finger on the desk. "Ms. Wright claimed that she also offered me a cup of hot tea besides lending me money. What about you? Do you remember doing that?"

I stared at him.

That was true. I didn't write it in the diary.

After all, I couldn't even afford a cup of tea back then.

"I didn't give you any tea." I forced the answer out of my throat.

Eleanor let out a stifled gasp behind her hands. "Millie, I can't believe you forgot such an important detail!"

She turned to Julian with a heartbroken look. "I still remember Mr. Cregger's pale lips to this day. He couldn't have made it without the cup of tea back then."

The air in the room shifted.