Chapter 725: Do You Want to Find Out the Truth
Chapter 725: Chapter 725: Do You Want to Find Out the Truth
As Lucy Summers listened to Sheryl Sawyer, a certain image seemed to flash through her mind.
It was like she remembered something...
"Then... then how was I taken by the traffickers back then?" Lucy Summers asked, confused.
At the mention of this, a look of self-blame instantly appeared on Sheryl Sawyer’s face. "It’s all my fault. I was too stupid, and it’s because of me that you suffered..."
She recounted the story of how Sweetie had been snatched by traffickers, keeping her head down, too afraid to look at Lucy Summers’s reaction.
’She was afraid Sweetie would blame her.’
Seeing Sheryl Sawyer’s guilty and self-reproachful expression, Lucy Summers’s gaze softened. She spoke slowly, "Sister Sheryl, you don’t have to blame yourself. This wasn’t your fault. You were just a kid back then, too. If there’s anyone to blame, it’s the traffickers for being so despicable."
Mindy Lynn nodded in vehement agreement. "Right, it wasn’t her fault."
Sheryl Sawyer cautiously raised her head and met Lucy Summers’s concerned gaze. In that instant, the shackles that had bound her heart for sixteen years quietly loosened.
"You... you don’t blame me?"
Lucy Summers shook her head and said softly, "Why would I blame you? You didn’t do it on purpose. Besides, you never gave up on me all these years."
Sheryl Sawyer suddenly felt a weight lift from her heart, as if a heavy stone had finally been set down.
She opened her mouth, but in the end, only managed to say two words: "Thank you."
’Thank you for not blaming me.’
"By the way, Lulu, what city do you work in?" Renee Jennings asked.
Lucy Summers looked at her. "I’m working in Lynfell right now."
"Lynfell?" Michelle Fuller said with a pleasant surprise. "That’s really close to Zenvia! We can see each other often from now on."
Lucy Summers nodded with a shy smile. "Sure, but I only get one day off a week."
She was only able to come out this time because her company was closing for a week for renovations.
"What kind of crappy company only gives you one day off a week?" Michelle Fuller pouted. "You should fire your boss."
Lucy Summers didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "I’d love to quit, actually, but my situation doesn’t allow it."
Her family needed the money. Her younger brother was an art student, and his training camps and art supplies were very expensive.
"Lulu, let me ask you something a bit personal," Renee Jennings said, looking at her with a serious expression in her clear eyes. "Where is your hometown?"
"My hometown is Soridia," Lucy Summers replied.
Renee Jennings gave a slight nod and continued asking, "I remember you said yesterday that your parents often talk about the circumstances of your birth."
"Yes." Lucy Summers nodded, her expression turning sour. "They often say that my mother had a difficult birth with me, with heavy bleeding, and almost died..."
"Well, that’s weird," Michelle Fuller said instinctively. "You’re not her biological daughter, so how could she have had ’heavy bleeding’ when giving birth to you? Did she give birth to you in a dream? They must be lying to you."
Mindy Lynn stared at Michelle Fuller in astonishment, probably not expecting her to be so blunt.
Lucy Summers was also taken aback for a moment before replying, "It is pretty weird."
Renee Jennings continued, "You said your family wasn’t well off and couldn’t afford to send two children to college, so you gave up on university and got a job, is that right?"
"Yes," Lucy Summers said.
Michelle Fuller couldn’t hold back any longer. "Why did you have to give it up? Are you stupid? Either both of you don’t go, or neither does. Why should you have to be the one to sacrifice? If the family could afford to send one kid to school, they could have scraped by and sent two."
Lucy Summers blinked and quickly explained, "No, that’s not it. My dad was laid off from his company, and our family lost its income all of a sudden. That’s when my mom asked if I could get a job to ease the pressure, but I refused!"
"But you still ended up getting a job. Why?" Renee Jennings asked, frowning at her.
Lucy Summers then explained how her parents, in order to send her to college, had started working on a construction site. They left early every morning and came back late at night, so exhausted they could barely stand up straight, their hands always covered in cuts and bruises.
After hearing her story, Renee Jennings pressed her lips together and fell silent.
This time, Michelle Fuller didn’t blurt anything out. Instead, she typed a message on her phone and sent it to Renee Jennings.
[I’m getting the feeling Lucy’s being totally manipulated by her fake parents.]
Renee Jennings actually had the same thought.
’If they had truly wanted Lucy to go to college, they would never have brought up the idea of her helping ease the family’s financial pressure in the first place.’
Seeing that no one was speaking, Lucy Summers blinked helplessly. "I’m done explaining."
For once, Michelle Fuller asked tactfully, "Lulu, do you have any pets at home?"
Lucy Summers was about to say no, but after a moment’s thought, she said, "There’s a cat that’s not exactly ours, but it comes by to freeload for food every now and then."
Renee Jennings raised her eyebrows slightly and smiled. "Lulu, do you have any plans to go home soon?"
"No." Lucy Summers shook her head. "I just left home after the New Year. I was originally planning to go back during the May Day holiday."
That was her previous plan, but now she wasn’t so sure.
"May Day is a bit far off," Renee Jennings mused. "Do you want to find out the truth?"
Lucy Summers’s eyelashes fluttered, and she murmured, "Find out the truth?"
"Yes. You’re not their biological daughter, yet your parents are always talking about your birth. Don’t you want to get to the bottom of it?" Renee Jennings felt that Lucy’s parents were not as simple as they seemed; she hoped Lucy would see the light sooner rather than later.
Lucy Summers’s lips moved. She lowered her gaze and asked, "Renee, can I... can I think about it tonight?"
"Of course," Renee Jennings nodded with a bright smile. "Which hotel are you staying at? I’ll book a room there too."
Hearing this, Lucy Summers quickly looked up. "Let me book it for you! I have a coupon."
She took out her phone. "How many rooms do you girls need?"
Renee Jennings didn’t refuse her kind offer. "Okay, thank you! We just need one room with a king-sized bed."
Around ten-thirty, everyone decided to head back to the hotel to rest. Renee Jennings and Michelle Fuller were about to call a taxi when they heard Lucy Summers and Mindy Lynn looking up subway routes. They quietly swallowed the words on the tips of their tongues and leaned in to look at the route map too.
The five girls took the subway together in a lively group and soon arrived at the hotel.
Lucy Summers and Mindy Lynn were staying in a budget chain hotel. It was the first time Renee Jennings and Michelle Fuller had stayed in such a place, so it was a new experience for them.
Michelle Fuller hadn’t brought any luggage, so as soon as she entered the room, she started ordering disposable toiletries online.
As for clothes, she would have to wait until tomorrow to buy them, as all the clothing stores were closed at this hour.
「Meanwhile.」
Lucy Summers and Mindy Lynn lay in bed after their showers. They didn’t turn off the lights right away, instead staring up at the ceiling with their eyes wide open.
"Lucy, your biological sister is a police officer! That’s so cool," Mindy Lynn exclaimed. "And the coolest part is, she became a cop just to find you!"
Lucy Summers pressed her lips together and said softly, "I never imagined I had a sister either."
"She must really love you!" Mindy Lynn said, rolling over to face her. "Did you notice? Your sister kept stealing glances at you tonight. Her eyes were always glistening with tears, like they were filled with so much emotion."
Lucy Summers blinked blankly. "I... I didn’t know."
She hadn’t dared to look at Sheryl Sawyer.