Chapter 9

As soon as Allison walked into the living room, she was stopped by Christopher who was sitting on the sofa.

Allison bowed apologetically. “Mr. Flanagan, I’m really sorry. I’ll be more careful next time. Can you please not kick me out?”

Christopher waved his hand, signaling her to sit down on the sofa. His tone wasn’t as sharp as Leah’s, “Allison, you’re like a daughter to me, and this place is your home. It’s not your fault today.”

“Thank you, Mr. Flanagan.”

A smile appeared on Allison’s face at the thought of not being kicked out. Then she heard Christopher ask, “How’s your mom doing lately?”

“She’s been recovering quite well. The doctors said her condition has been good recently.” She paused, not mentioning her mother’s need for a kidney transplant.

Christopher was a close friend of her late father, Joshua, and had been looking after her and her mother since Joshua’s death. She didn’t want to burden him with the knowledge of Leah and her daughter’s actions towards them.

Upon hearing this, Christopher nodded, handing her a bank card, “That’s good to hear, take this money for now. I’ll visit her in a few days.”

“Dad!” Penelope cried out from the side, trying to stop him.

She thought her father was going to scold Allison, but instead, he was giving her money. However, Christopher seemed to ignore her, firmly pushing the bank card into Allison’s hand.

Allison hesitated for a moment, then took the card, “Thank you, Mr. Flanagan. If there’s nothing else, I should head to the hospital now.” With that, she turned and left.

Once Allison was gone, Penelope complained, “Dad, Allison has messed up more than once.”

The subtext was, why are you still keeping her?

Leah tried to speak, but Christopher cut her off, “Allison’s father died because of me. Her mother is severely ill, how can I possibly kick her out? This topic is off–limits from now on.”

Before going upstairs, he gave Leah a warning look, “Penelope is still naive, but are you too? Don’t you know how Joshua died?”

Leah froze, watching Christopher go upstairs.

With no support from her father, Penelope directed all her resentment toward Allison, crying out, “Mom!”

“Enough, your priority now is to prepare for your engagement with Lucian. Can you act more mature and stop worrying about the maid?”

Penelope was unable to vent her frustration, as she dared not tell Leah about her plan to use Allison as a stand–in. If Leah found out she wasn’t a virgin, she would be in big trouble!

Once her engagement was settled, she would make sure to kick Allison out.

For a while, Allison kept busy between school and the hospital. She tried to avoid the Flanagan family until the night of Lucian and Penelope’s engagement.

The engagement party was held at the biggest and most luxurious hotel in Northfield, with all the guests being local celebrities. The lavish event, which rivaled a formal wedding, gave the Flanagan family enough dignity.

But at this moment, Christopher and Leah were frantic at the hospital!

Last night, Penelope had a few drinks with friends and had an allergic reaction to alcohol. She was still unconscious in the hospital bed!

However, the engagement ceremony was about to start.

Today was a very important day for the Flanagan family, and they couldn’t afford any mistakes.

Looking at her unconscious daughter, Leah felt helpless, “What can we do…”

Christopher was not pleased, “This is all because you didn’t discipline her properly!”

Leah was equally distressed, “What’s the use of blaming me now? We can only wait for Penelope to wake up. The engagement ceremony starts in an hour!”

The Lindberg family were nobles of Northfield, and Penelope’s engagement to Lucian was an opportunity that all girls in town would dream of!

If the Lindberg family found out that Penelope was hospitalized because she got drunk, the marriage could be called off!

Leah was pacing anxiously in the hospital room.

Suddenly, she stopped and said, “Wait, where’s Allison? Where’s Allison! Get her to stand in for Penelope for now, and we’ll sort out the engagement ceremony first!”