Chapter 403: CHAPTER 403

Chapter 403

It was as if I hadn’t heard him, I mused to myself, “It’s not just her who doesn’t like me. You seem to have a pretty low opinion of me too, right? But then again, I know you’re my biological father. Why would a father dislike his own child? Is it something to do with my mother… did she have some kind of grudge against you?”

“Enough!”

Richard’s voice was low but fierce, his face turning red, “You’ve been back in River City for two years. How come you’ve turned back into that rebellious kid, always pushing boundaries?!”

“Oh.”

I had my answer, “Seems like my mother really is someone else.”

That’s something a psychologist in France had once told me. The more people dodge your questions or get angry when you ask something, the more likely it is that you’re onto something. I was only about seventy to eighty percent sure before, but now I was completely certain.

Richard was usually quite a refined man, but now when he looked at me, there was a hint of disgust in his eyes, “Get lost!”

“Sure thing.”

I smiled slightly, turning on my heel before he could blow up at me.

“Wait!”

He suddenly called out, “Did you just speak with Grandma?”

I turned back, “Yeah.”

“Did she mention anything about… a will?”

“A will? Did Grandma make a will?” I feigned confusion in response.

He seemed slightly relieved, then pressed on, “What about… how the estate’s

going to be divided?”

“You’re a bit too eager, aren’t you?”

09:04

I frowned, pretending to be upset, “Grandma’s not in her right mind to discuss estate division or anything of that sort. I’d advise you not to bother her about it, lest you upset her and she ends up getting sick!”

I paused, then added as if it were an afterthought, “After all, no one knows what’s in the will. As long as Grandma’s alive, everyone still has a chance to fight for what they want.”

Back in River City, Christine had ordered some takeout, waiting for me to join her for a late–night snack. We sat on the patio, and as I recounted the afternoon’s events, she took a sip of wine, thought for a moment, then asked, “But if it was Gregory, why would he say he doesn’t know you?”

“Not sure yet.”

I popped open a can of beer, taking a swig. The cold, bitter liquid rolled down. my throat, easing the summer night’s heat.

Christine was peeling crawfish when she suddenly frowned, “He couldn’t have amnesia, could he?”

“No.”

I shook my head, “He’s been visiting Grandma, and it’s not his first time.”

She suggested, “Maybe it’s selective amnesia, like, he remembers everything except you?”

“…Sis, do you think this is a soap opera?”

I tossed a peeled crawfish into her bowl, “I feel like he’s changed from two

years ago.”

Christine remarked, “No kidding, he’s in a wheelchair now. How could he be the same?”

That comment made me go silent. Before I left the hospital, I had confirmed with the nurse. From the moment he entered the room till he left, he had been

in that wheelchair…

Perhaps noticing my mood, Christine swiftly changed the subject, “But considering how severe the explosion was, being alive is already a miracle.”

09.04

“You’re right.”

I was being too greedy.

Christine then asked, “But what if he really doesn’t recognize you, what will you do?”

“If he doesn’t recognize me, I’ll just have to make him,” I said.

Two years ago, when I hadn’t regained my memory and didn’t recognize him, he didn’t give up on me. I needed to find out what was really going on with

him now.

I chuckled, “You’re getting along well with those high society ladies from Vista Town, right? Can you ask them to help me dig up some dirt?”

“Sure thing,” Christine readily agreed, “And once you find him, what then?”