Sunlight cascaded through the window, casting a golden glow that enveloped the woman lounging on the sofa.
Her shirt-dress shimmered, its soft yellow hue reflecting the sunlight as she lay half-reclined on the dark leather couch, eyes closed.
Curtis tiptoed closer, crouching before her.
She must have dozed off waiting for too long, in an uncomfortable position with her legs still on the ground, head resting on the arm of the sofa. Knowing she'd have a stiff neck from sleeping like this made Curtis want to wake her, yet he couldn't bear to disturb her slumber.
Stray strands of hair fell across her forehead, which Curtis gently brushed aside with his fingertips.
Leanne was a light sleeper. As Curtis touched her, she opened her eyes.
Her blurry and sleepy gaze fixed on him as she stretched her arms around his neck in a weary embrace.
"Why didn't you head home to rest if you were this tired?" Curtis asked.
"I missed you," she murmured, her voice lazy and heavy with sleep. She hadn't slept well in those brief moments, and her head was dizzy as she leaned against Curtis' shoulder.
Curtis, whose heart was usually as stoic as stone, felt it soften with tenderness. His palm supported her back as he leaned in to kiss her near her ear.
"There's a rest area inside. Want to go sleep there?"
"No, I don't." Leanne felt uncertain, but being with him seemed to stabilize her.
"Then I'll hold you while you sleep."
Curtis unbuttoned his suit jacket, took it off, and sat on the couch, pulling her onto his lap and slipping off her shoes.
Leanne found a comfortable position against him, her head resting on his shoulder. The subtle scent of woodsy cologne surrounded her, soothing the fluttering uncertainty in her chest.
The drowsiness that had gripped her had dissipated. She remained quiet in the crook of Curtis' neck before mentioning, "I just returned from visiting Mary and saw your Uncle Hanley there." "Uncle Hanley?" Curtis sounded as surprised as she had been, "He's back?"
"Yeah." Leanne played absentmindedly with the buttons on his shirt. "How come you never mentioned him before?"
"He's like a taboo in our family. No one's allowed to bring him up."
Not only was his existence not mentioned, but all traces of him had also been meticulously erased as if he had vanished into thin air. Those who had known him kept quiet, and the media never covered any news that Maddox, the Chairman of VectorVista Bank, once had a brother.
A living, breathing person, seemingly erased from existence.
"Why?" Leanne was full of questions.
The events from twenty years ago were a blur to Curtis, who was only seven or eight then. The adults had intentionally kept him in the dark, but he was clever enough to piece some of it together amidst the chaos that engulfed the Richardson family.
"Grandpa had a heart attack and died, which probably had something to do with Uncle Hanley."
"His sudden death with your parents' kidnapping that drew massive media attention threw Vector Vista through a period of instability. It was a time of turmoil. Dad was overwhelmed daily, and Mom, pregnant at the time, miscarried due to overexertion."
"Some say Grandma kicked him out, while others believe he cut ties with the family. After that, no one has ever seen him again."
Leanne hadn't expected Hanley's involvement in Charles' death, which explained why Mary was so emotional upon seeing him.
Could her previous fainting spell also have something to do with him? Was Mary's reticence merely due to holding a grudge for causing her husband's death, or was there more to it?
Considering the timing of Charles' passing and her parents' murder coincided, it was hard not to suspect a connection.
Sᴇarch the FindNovel.net website on G𝘰𝘰gle to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
If you find any errors (non-standard content, ads redirect, broken links, etc..), Please let us know so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report
