Chapter 5
“Lara doesn’t live at Fairlight Mansion anymore, but she’s just too used to acting like a princess and can’t change her ways anymore. It’s carved into her bones at this point.
“When she was younger, Dad liked me a lot more than he liked her, so she kept disappearing on her own so that Dad would pay more attention to her. She felt happy whenever she saw everyone anxiously looking for her while she was hiding away, all safe and sound.
“Over time, it became a habit for her. She would disappear as soon as she got upset. But she would always return a few days later as if nothing had happened. People would be scared for her safety, but she would pretend as though nothing had happened.
“I’m sure that she’s just acting out again this time. She just wants Hansel to look for her. I’m sure of it.”
Violet squeezed Hansel’s hand as she spoke, as if she thought that his biggest mistake was getting involved with me because he’d suffered so much at my hands.
Hansel remained glum. He didn’t show any other expressions on his face.
Meanwhile, I was so mad that I nearly imploded on the spot. I wanted nothing more than to slap that filthy bitch until she begged for mercy. Just how shameless did she have to be to frame me like this without even blinking an eye?
The Fairlights were all blind to have been fooled by her all this while!
The officer didn’t seem to believe her. “Is that really so?”
Violet responded, “You hadn’t found any other clues besides the phone, right?”
The officer replied, “Not at the moment.”
“That sounds about right. She purposely dropped her phone as a clue so that people would fret about her.”
Violet then sighed and said, “I never thought that Lara would still play such stupid, childish games even though we’re already grown-ups. She hasn’t changed a bit. But I’m sure that she’ll be back.”
The officer frowned. “Why are you so sure?”
Violet chuckled and said, “Because it’s Great-Grandpa’s 90th birthday in a few days, and the Fairlights are throwing a huge banquet to celebrate it. Great-Grandpa is the most fond of Lara, so she would definitely turn up even if she’s in the middle of a temper tantrum.”
I suddenly felt tears trickling down my cheek.
Violet wasn’t wrong. My great-grandpa, John Fairlight, was the only family member who still loved me.
This bitch had taken away everything that once belonged to me, but she could never replace me in Great-Grandpa’s heart. It was a pity that he was too old and advanced in age, though.
Even if he still loved me, he would sometimes turn senile before returning to normal, and there wasn’t much he could do about the younger generation anymore.
A few days ago, he was back to his usual self. He had called me up about his upcoming birthday banquet.
“Lara, I’m not going to have much longer to live. I think that this will be the last time I’ll be celebrating my birthday. You must come back and celebrate it with me, understand?”
“Of course, Great-Grandpa! I’ll be there to celebrate with you no matter what!” I immediately promised.
But now, I had to break that promise.
I was already dead. I couldn’t possibly go back and celebrate his birthday with him anymore.
“She’s probably just hiding in a random corner, enjoying how everyone is getting anxious about finding her. She loves it when this happens,” Violet added, her eyes glinting evilly.
After hearing Violet’s words, Hansel stood up and slammed his fist against the table. “Countless murders are happening around us, officer. So, I hope that you will stop wasting your time trying to find a childish ex-heiress who’s just playing hide-and-seek with us.
“My time is very precious as well. As I said before, this Fairlight woman has absolutely nothing to do with me at all, and that’s final!”
After seeing how cold and heartless Hansel was being, the officer didn’t bother pushing the topic further. He simply responded, “Alright. Then we will investigate the rest of the Fairlights to rule out any suspicion of foul play.”
“Don’t worry. Lara will be back during Great-Grandpa’s birthday banquet. I’m very sure of that!” Violet said once more to Hansel in an attempt to comfort him after they left the police station.
But after Hansel sent Violet home that day, he remained inside his car and went into a daze by himself for a long time.
He kept reaching for his phone multiple times. In the end, he narrowed his eyes and said cruelly, “Elara Fairlight, you had better not show yourself at the banquet.”
His sudden fierce expression was like a warning to me. If I showed up, that would mean his worry and concern would have been for naught, and he would not hesitate to choke me to death.
Fortunately, I wasn’t going to let him down this time.
I was dead! I could not show myself at Great-Grandpa’s banquet two days later anyway.
…
I suddenly woke up and found myself floating around at Fairlight Manor, where the birthday banquet was held two days later. Maybe the deities had had mercy on me, allowing me to see Great-Grandpa and celebrate his birthday one last time.
The manor was decorated with colorful balloons, streamers, and other decorations. Many other guests were also invited to celebrate Great-Grandpa’s birthday. After all, it was a huge deal for anyone to turn 90 years old, so the Fairlights made it a grand celebration.
I floated in the air as I watched the manor buzzing with activity. I saw Great-Grandpa, looking absolutely kind and stunning in his suit, and felt a wave of warmth wash over me. However, I also felt sad. I never thought that the last phone call he made to me would be the last time I ever spoke to him again.
He sat on a grand chair, almost akin to a throne, in the center of the courtyard, as the younger generation each went up to him to wish him well and give him their birthday gifts and blessings.
When it was time for my generation’s turn, Violet once again replaced me as the representative and went up to Great-Grandpa with her gift.
Hansel was with her, too. And since he was well-known in Allerton as the wealthiest and most influential bachelor, Violet was naturally glowing as she basked in his glory. The pigeon egg-sized diamond ring on her finger sparkled brilliantly under the evening sun, dazzling the onlookers.
“That ring is so pretty! I’ve never seen a diamond that size before!”
“Mr. Frost is so generous with Violet!”
“Violet is pretty and kind-hearted. She’s also someone who’s the most respected within her own generation, with the most influential man in town as her fiancé. They’re both just made for each other. And since they’re so compatible, it’s a no-brainer that he would spoil her and treat her well.”
“She may be a foster kid, but she’s so much better than the actual one.”
“What do you mean by that? She’s literally the actual heiress now! She’s the pride and joy of the entire Fairlight family! As for the actual kid… She’s nobody compared to her!”
The crowd continued gossiping and whispering among themselves, mostly praising Violet and dissing me.
The Fairlights were very polite and courteous with Hansel, treating him like their VVIP guest. One by one, each of them dropped by to shake his hand and refused to let go, especially Gaston. He smiled so hard at Hansel that his smile was literally frozen on his face.
“Mr. Frost, it’s our greatest honor that you’re here at Mr. Fairlight Senior’s birthday banquet today. We’re so glad to have you here!”
The Fairlights’ riches and societal status were like child’s play compared to Hansel’s background. So, it was a big deal for Violet to have been able to get engaged to him. The Fairlights had truly found themselves a huge benefactor this time.
“You speak too highly of myself, Mr. Fairlight,” Hansel said, exchanging casual pleasantries with Gaston. Then, he went up to Great-Grandpa and gave him a birthday gift.
“Happy birthday, Mr. Fairlight Senior! I wish that you’ll always stay happy and healthy for the rest of your life!”
“Thank you, Mr. Frost,” Great-Grandpa responded. He grinned happily.
Next, it was Violet’s turn.
She held out her gift to Great-Grandpa and lightly dipped her head. “Great-Grandpa, I wish you good health and happiness for as long as you shall live!”
Great-Grandpa had been smiling before, but as soon as he saw her, his smile froze at once. A surprised look replaced it instead.
“Why are you the one wishing me? Where’s Lara? She promised me that she’d attend my birthday banquet!”
He didn’t take the gift from Violet and simply continued scanning the rest of the crowd, trying to find me. When he couldn’t, his face immediately turned dark.
“Which one of you stopped Lara from attending?” he asked, his scowl fierce.
Although he wasn’t the head of the family anymore, he still held the highest position, and nobody dared to go against him.
When he flew into a rage, the entire place became noticeably quieter.
The old lady standing next to him was my grandmother, Sally Fischer. She frowned and said unhappily, “What, the police still haven’t found that stupid bitch yet?”
Her voice was laced with disgust. Anyone could tell that she hated me with a passion.
But I knew from her tone of voice that the police must have already questioned the Fairlights about my disappearance. Since Violet had told them that I was related to the Fairlights, it was only necessary that they followed protocol.
Still, I could tell from her attitude that nobody in the family cared about my disappearance in the slightest. It had been two days since the police last contacted them, yet nobody had even bothered following up with them to ask if I’d been found.
I had already been missing for five days at this point. My body had to have already started decomposing.
“What police?”
Great-Grandpa’s face fell as soon as he heard it. He turned to Gaston, standing next to him, and asked, “Gaston! What is the meaning of this?”
“Don’t fret, Grandpa. That punk is just being rebellious as usual,” Gaston replied casually as he briefly filled Great-Grandpa in about my disappearance.
He spoke about me as if he was just describing some random Tom, Dick, or Harry, completely unrelated to him.
“She’s just gone out to clear her mind. She’ll be back in a few days. Don’t worry about her, Grandpa.”
“That punk has always had a terrible temper. She went missing like this when she was younger, too, and only reappeared a few days later. We were all so anxious when she disappeared, but she just returned like it was nothing.”
That comment came from my aunt, Bonnie Fairlight.
It was bad enough that she was bad-mouthing me to Great-Grandpa, but she had to go on and continue praising Violet in my stead. “It was also then that she nearly cost Gaston a huge project! Fortunately, Violet was there to save the day. Otherwise, we’d have lost out on a huge business opportunity!
“Violet is really such a kind, smart, and talented person. If only Elara were half as good as Violet! We would still have been proud of her otherwise!”
“That’s putting it too nicely. Proud of her? It’s good enough that she’s not disgracing us any further. I heard that she’s been making appearances at those nightclubs lately…”
That was from my other aunt, Cathy Dawson. However, she hadn’t managed to finish her sentence when Grandma interrupted her. “Don’t talk about such shameful things in public! Don’t you know what day today is?”
It was Great-Grandpa’s birthday banquet. There were plenty of guests everywhere. But despite much Grandma hated me, she still didn’t want to air out dirty laundry in public, especially if it was a shameful family drama like this.
Aunt Cathy shut up at once.
However, Great-Grandpa heard her. “What nightclub?”
His voice turned grim at once. “What kind of nonsense are you all trying to frame Lara for?”
“Grandpa, we know that Lara’s your favorite great-grandchild. We wouldn’t dare to frame her for anything!” Aunt Bonnie quickly said. She saw that Violet was still standing awkwardly in front of him and said, “Look, Violet’s hands are trembling. Just take the gift from her.”
“That’s right. Just take the gift from her and accept her blessings. Elara’s just throwing her usual tantrum. She’s not worth wasting any time worrying over her,” my uncle and Aunt Cathy’s husband, Dylan Fairlight, said.
Great-Grandpa suddenly looked at Violet and raised his hand angrily before pointing at her with his walking stick.
“Violet Lovelace! Did you lock Elara up again?”
Hansel, who had remained silent all this while, cocked his eyebrow when he heard that.
