Chapter 639: Is Cousin in Trouble?
Chapter 639: Chapter 639: Is Cousin in Trouble?
Michelle Fuller sat in the car, growing more upset the more she thought about it. "If anything happens to Ginny, I’ll never forgive myself."
Renee Jennings handed her a tissue to wipe her tears, comforting her, "Don’t jump to conclusions yet. It’s probably something minor."
Michelle Fuller sniffled, her voice choked with sobs. "I hope so."
The three of them rushed back to the Fullers’ house.
The moment they walked in, Ginny, who had been lying listlessly on the floor, suddenly raised his head and ran excitedly toward them.
"WOOF WOOF WOOF~~ WHIMPER... You’re finally back!"
Mrs. Fuller added from the side, "Ginny was this excited when I first got home, too. But after a little while, he lost all his energy and just lay there. No matter what I said, he wouldn’t make a sound or move."
"Let me have a chat with Ginny." Renee Jennings crouched in front of him, reached out to rub his head, and asked in a gentle voice, "Ginny, I heard you haven’t wanted to eat these past two days. Can you tell me why?"
Ginny replied pitifully, "WOOF~ Because my sister hasn’t come to see me for so many days! I thought she didn’t want me anymore!"
Ever since Michelle Fuller had gotten Ginny, she was rarely away from home.
The few times she had left before, she had always told Ginny what she was doing and when she would be back.
This time, because Sean Fuller had run away from home to impose on Renee Jennings, she had left in such a hurry that she hadn’t even had a chance to say goodbye to Ginny.
Ginny thought that, like before, Michelle Fuller would be home soon.
But he waited and waited. Several sunrises and sunsets passed, and Michelle Fuller still hadn’t returned.
He grew more and more worried, afraid that Michelle Fuller, like his previous owner, would leave and never come back.
The thought was enough to make him lose his appetite.
’But I should still try to eat a little,’ he had told himself. ’What if my sister does come back?’
Renee Jennings’s heart warmed when she heard Ginny’s words, and she turned to tell Michelle Fuller.
Just as she’d expected, upon hearing the truth, Michelle Fuller immediately hugged Ginny and burst into tears, sobbing, "I’m so sorry, Ginny. It’s all my fault. It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have left you at home without saying anything..."
Sean Fuller was moved as well. Wiping away tears, he tried to save face, "This is so touching. It’s even made a stone-hearted man like me cry."
Mrs. Fuller found the scene both touching and hilarious.
Seeing Michelle Fuller cry, Ginny felt terrible and nuzzled her with his big, fluffy head, trying his best to comfort her. "WOOF WOOF WOOF! Don’t be sad, sister! It’s not your fault, sister! Don’t cry!"
Renee Jennings stood to the side, dutifully translating.
Michelle Fuller was even more moved. "WAHHH, Ginny, you’re my real little brother! You’re so much more thoughtful than Hank!"
Sean Fuller: "???"
Suddenly, he didn’t feel like crying anymore.
"Renee." Mrs. Fuller looked at Renee Jennings with a gentle gaze. "I’m so glad you’re here. Are you free right now? There’s something I’d like to ask for your help with."
Hearing this, Renee Jennings smiled and nodded. "I’m free, Mrs. Fuller."
"Let’s talk over there." Mrs. Fuller led her to the tea lounge. "Are you hungry? I can have the kitchen make a late-night snack."
"I’m not hungry, Mrs. Fuller." Renee Jennings shook her head and smiled. "Please, don’t stand on ceremony with me. If there’s anything I can help with, just tell me directly."
"Alright." Mrs. Fuller nodded, the smile on her face deepening. "In that case, I’ll be direct."
"Please, go ahead," Renee Jennings said, adopting an attentive posture.
A helpless look crossed Mrs. Fuller’s face. "It’s actually about my side of the family. My niece’s problem."
"Michelle’s cousin?" Renee Jennings asked.
"Yes." Mrs. Fuller nodded and explained, "Michelle and this cousin never got along, even as kids, so I didn’t ask her to get you involved."
"Has this cousin run into some trouble?"
Mrs. Fuller sighed. "You could say that. Michelle’s cousin is named Serena Summers. It’s quite a poetic name, but she’s not the poetic type at all. She’s out fooling around with a bad crowd every day."
"Her parents have warned her many times, but it’s no use. The more they talk, the more rebellious she becomes."
Renee Jennings nodded from time to time, showing she was listening intently.
"Why are you two hiding over here?" After comforting Ginny, Michelle Fuller noticed that her mom and her best friend were gone.
Mrs. Fuller said hesitantly, "Serena ran into a little trouble. I want to ask Renee for help."
Michelle Fuller wrinkled her nose in disgust, then asked gossipily, "What happened? Did someone scam her out of money, or scam her into bed?"
"It’s hard to say." Mrs. Fuller sighed again. "She blacked out from drinking that night. She doesn’t know what happened after she got home, only that when she woke up, she wasn’t wearing any clothes."
Michelle Fuller’s expression was one of pure shock. "So she really was taken advantage of?"
"We don’t know yet." Mrs. Fuller shook her head. "She went to the hospital for an examination, and it doesn’t look like she was... you know..."
With two unmarried young women in front of her, she couldn’t bring herself to be too blunt.
"Wait a minute!" Michelle Fuller suddenly stared at her mother with a serious expression. "Ms. Summers, are you telling me you came home not because you missed me and Hank, but to help Serena Summers figure out if she was raped?"
Mrs. Fuller: "..."
Her daughter had no problem blurting out the words she herself couldn’t say.
"That’s not entirely it," Mrs. Fuller explained. "Of course I missed you and Hank! What mother doesn’t miss her children? Look, even Ginny missed you so much."
Michelle Fuller: "Hmph. I’m not Ginny’s child."
"So, Serena Summers wants to find out if she was raped or not, is that right?" Renee Jennings brought the conversation back on track.
Mrs. Fuller: "..."
She nodded awkwardly. "Yes. Serena has two cats at home."
"If you want Renee to help, that’s fine, but make Serena Summers pay for it." Michelle Fuller thought for a moment and named a shocking figure. "At least ten million."
Mrs. Fuller: "..."
"Can we get a discount?"
Michelle Fuller scoffed. "The Summers Family doesn’t have ten million? This is about Serena Summers’s reputation. Isn’t that worth more than ten million?"
Mrs. Fuller knew her daughter was taking advantage of the situation, but she said resignedly, "Fine. Ten million it is."
Michelle Fuller: "Are you planning to pay for your niece out of your own pocket?"
Mrs. Fuller: "..."
’This child... how did she get so sharp?’
’Ten million isn’t necessary.’ Michelle could get away with asking her mother for that much, but Renee couldn’t actually charge it. "Since she’s your niece, Mrs. Fuller, I’m more than happy to help."
Michelle Fuller was not happy. "Renee, that’s ten million! How can you just turn it down like that?"
Renee Jennings looked at her and feigned a serious expression. "Michelle, don’t mess around."
"Fine." Michelle Fuller pouted.
"Thank goodness Renee is here to handle you," Mrs. Fuller said with a laugh, then turned back to Renee Jennings. "When would be convenient for you? I can arrange for Serena to bring her two cats to meet you."
Renee Jennings: "How about tomorrow morning?"
Michelle Fuller: "Morning’s no good. I have to take Ginny for a bath."
Renee Jennings: "The afternoon, then."
Michelle Fuller: "Afternoon’s no good. I have to take Ginny to the dog park."