Chapter 39

My mom, with an annoyed expression, whispered, "Look at all these quests. We can't ignore them because of one person. The snowstorm might have delayed her flight. Let's just save her a slice of cake."

"Grandma, maybe Amanda wasn't planning on coming back at all," my older brother added.

Everyone urged Grandma to cut the cake, oblivious to the sadness welling in her eyes.

"Amanda promised she'd be here. She never breaks her promises. Something must have happened. We can't reach her. Did anyone check Cloudville?"

My parents exchanged awkward glances, clearly uncomfortable. They hadn't considered looking for me; I'd always returned after cooling off.

"If she vanished intentionally, searching would only encourage her, wouldn't it? If she turns off her phone and flies off whenever upset, how can we find her?"

"Exactly, she's grown and can take care of herself. She'll come back when she's had enough fun."

Grandma heard their indifference and felt a chill. Over the years, I rarely complained to her. She only heard snippets from staff and others. It wasn't until she saw how my family treated me that she realized how difficult things had been.

"You are so heartless. She's your daughter, and she's been missing for days. Not one of you cares…" Grandma was so upset she could barely breathe.

"Grandma, I found out where Amanda is!" Nicole shouted, waving her phone and capturing everyone's attention.

"Where?" Grandma paused her scolding to take Nicole's phone.

The screen showed a nightclub video; a woman resembling me danced energetically with a man. She was scantily clad and danced provocatively. The dim lighting and side view made identification difficult, but Nicole's claim quickly swayed everyone.

"I found this on a friend's Cloudville social media. She's partying at a bar. She probably forgot about your birthday. No wonder she got her gift ready early; she never planned to come back!"

Grandma's eyesight wasn't as sharp as it once was, but she refused to believe it was me. She asked a servant for her reading glasses.

Chase's face was like ice as he repeatedly watched the video, his eyes fixed on a black mole above the woman's chest—a more distinct feature than her face.

Grandma, with her glasses, scrutinized the video. "I don't think this is Amanda. The lighting is so bad…"

"Grandma, stop making excuses for her. She's always been like this, always mixed up with men. I didn't say anything before because I didn't want to upset Chase. This time, she left using Chase's elopement as an excuse. Whether it was revenge or another man, who knows?"

"You little brat! How dare you…"

Before Grandma could finish defending me, Chase coldly said, "It's Amanda. I'm sure of it."

His words created a stir. As my husband, his confirmation seemed definitive.

"So, there's more to Mr. Reyes's runaway story," someone murmured.

"I always said that if Amanda was innocent, why would Mr. Reyes elope? Maybe she'd been cheating all along."

"Poor Mr. Reyes."

"Amanda has no shame. She goes on about being Chase's childhood sweetheart. Maybe she's been fooling around this whole time."