Chapter 188 Mr. King, do you have any siblings?
Vincent had to head back to the nursing home, so Elsa snagged some limited edition game discs and took him to give them to Eric, bidding farewell to Jonathan and Eric.
The King family's house had a tropical vibe. Elsa followed Vincent through the lush plants, feeling like she was in a rainforest, soaking in the fresh air.
"Uncle Jonathan takes care of all these plants himself," Vincent said. "He's a total boss!"
Elsa grinned.
Vincent and Eric were about the same age, so calling Jonathan "Uncle" made sense. But Elsa, not much older than Vincent, couldn't see the young and handsome Mr. King as an elder.
"Eric!" Vincent hollered. Eric, in a gray hoodie and sweatpants, dashed out with a big grin.
Jonathan wasn't home, so Eric took Vincent upstairs to the gaming room to drop off the discs. Elsa chilled in the living room, checking out the family photo wall.
Most of the pics were of Eric, from when he was a kid to now. They had just moved here this year, and Jonathan had brought these photos, showing his love for Eric.
One photo had a woman with delicate features holding a chubby baby. The photo had a vintage vibe, matching the retro decor.
The familiar face made Elsa try to remember where she'd seen it before. She snapped a pic of it with her phone.
Just then, Eric and Vincent came downstairs.
"Is this your mom?" Elsa asked.
"It's my grandma holding my dad," Eric replied. "My dad says Elsa looks a lot like Grandma when she was young."
"Let me see!" Vincent leaned in, then looked at his sister. "Whoa, you really do!"
Their words clicked for Elsa.
What Vincent didn't know was that the photo looked more like Leslie's old photos than it did Elsa.
No wonder it felt familiar.
"Is your grandma still back home?" She asked.
"Yeah, Maplewood City is too cold in winter. My dad said he'll bring her over next spring," replied Eric.
Eric and Vincent stood together, with the same big eyes and smile, making Elsa feel a bit dazed.
She couldn't believe the coincidence.
Her bro and Eric looked so alike, and even in Eric's grandmother's photo from her youth, there were hints of her mother.
Even after taking Vincent to the nursing home, she couldn't shake off the morning's daze.
"Chloe, you free? I wanna look at my mom's stuff," she called Chloe.
Having returned the rented house, her mom's belongings were now stored in Chloe's vacant house, and Elsa would visit them from time to time.
Leslie had lived simply, and two large suitcases held all her things.
In the past, Elsa would tear up seeing them, but now she just hurriedly opened them.
"What are you looking for?" Chloe asked, watching her anxious expression.
Elsa didn't say anything. After a while, she found an old photo album.
"Chloe, do these two people look alike?" She showed Chloe a yellowed old photo from the album and the picture of Erics's grandmother from her phone.
"Isn't that Aunt Leslie?" Chloe looked puzzled.
Chloe's words shocked Elsa.
Leslie rarely talked about her background. She had lost her mom young and was raised by a nanny in her dad's villa.
When she came to Maplewood City for school, she lost contact with her family.
As a kid, Elsa had wondered why she didn't have grandparents. Her mom always gave vague answers, and as Elsa grew older, she realized it was a painful topic and stopped asking.
She knew her mom came from the South and wasn't a native of Maplewood City, but her ID had been changed to a Maplewood City address, and she never spoke of her past. Even during hard times, raising two kids alone, she never sought help from her family.
She didn't even have their contact info.
Could her mom be related to the King family?
The coincidence left Elsa stunned.
'Did Jonathan know something, which is why he was so kind to me and my bro?' Elsa thought.
Elsa couldn't believe it. She texted Jonathan with trembling hands.
Elsa: [Mr. King, do you have any siblings?]
Jonathan: [I have a half-brother, what's up?]
Elsa: [Nothing.]
'Jonathan only has a brother, no sister. Maybe it is really just a coincidence,' Elsa thought sadly.
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