Chapter 517 Out of Touch for Half a Month
"Ms. Woods said everything would be taken care of for us," Clarie nodded.
"That's amazing!" Daren jumped for joy.
Bettie, however, was staring at the floor plan, remarking, "Mom, the windows in this house look so big."
The house they used to live in was dark and cramped.
One time, when a classmate invited her over for a birthday party, she saw how spacious and comforting their house was with its large French windows bathing the interior in sunlight.
That's when she thought to herself, ‘She had to grow up fast, make a lot of money,and get her mother a house like that.’
"Yeah, Ms. Woods said that all the windows in the house face south," Clarie said with a smile while wiping away tears.
"That's wonderful!" Bettie exclaimed, jumping up.
Then, grabbing Daren's arm, she said, "Daren, we've got to study hard, earn a lot of money in the future, and pay Ms. Woods back."
"Yes." Daren, his eyes reddening, nodded vigorously.
His memory flashed back to a little over a month ago.
Back then, Bettie had been taken away by Steven, and Daren felt helpless to get him back.
He was about to confront Steven desperately.
However, when he found Steven, a few sharp-looked men in suits were talking to him.
Daren overheard them mentioning taking Steven to a hospital for a bone marrow match, and offering a million dollars if successful.
At that moment, Daren thought, since he and Steven were father and son, and he could possibly be a match too.
So, Daren got caught up in the moment, and decided to stealthily follow along.
Luckily, before they left, he overheard the men who came for Steven mention that the child needing the marrow was actually Charles, the Rhoads family heir and son of CEO Solomon.
After a quick online search, Daren realized how significant these people were.
His determination to go through with the matching strengthened.
Daren could have never imagined that a spur-of-the-moment decision would alter his life, as well as his sister's and mother's.
From that point forward, they no longer had to worry about their shabby door being kicked down by Steven, or fear that he would attack their mother in a drunken rage while Daren wasn't home.
Nor did they have to fear Bettie getting abducted on her way back home.
Those days of living in constant terror were truly coming to an end.
"Daren, why do you think Ms. Woods is helping us so much?" Bettie asked, coming down from her excitement while packing up, her mood tinged with worry again.
In the seventeen years of Bettie’s life, she and her brother had always followed their mother's advice to be kind and never to be greedy or harm others. Yet, it seemed that they were constantly surrounded by all kinds of bad people. When someone unexpectedly offered to help them, Bettie became rather uneasy.
"Didn't she tell Mom? Since I saved her Charles, and the little guy's making a great recovery, perhaps Ms. Woods isn't short on cash and decided to lend us a hand," Bettie mused.
Daren had checked the housing prices in that neighborhood. The place they were moving into was worth just over six million dollars - an astronomical sum for them, but probably just a drop in the bucket for Fiona.
"What if it's for something like... I don't know, harvesting your bone marrow?" Bettie whispered her conjecture.
Daren was taken aback, then he looked at his sister with a stern expression. "And what if it is?"
Bettie flinched. "I didn't mean anything bad by it, Daren."
"Even if that's the case, she's still saving us," Daren said gravely. "Bettie, just focus on your studies and don't fret. As long as we never have to return to those dark days, whatever happens is fine."
"Okay." Bettie nodded affirmatively.
The next day blessed them with fine weather. The Baker family moved into their new home. It was a cozy little house with a small balcony and sunshine in every room. Although it wasn't as spacious as the large flat they were used to, the new place felt very welcoming.
Daren and Bettie eagerly explored their rooms, while Clarie surveyed the entire house, took a seat on the couch, and despite the tears rolling down her cheeks, she wore a sincere smile.
The following day, Fiona took Thalassa with her to the construction site for some consultation. On the way, the conversation turned to Daren.
"So, they've settled in Bay City?" Fiona nodded repeatedly.
"I've been meaning to discuss this with you. Even though we all breathed easier after Charles's situation was resolved, we need to consider all the risks involved. That boy's father has ties to all sorts of vices, and if he just goes back, who knows if he'll end up dead one day. If something happens to Charles, we'll have to start looking for a match all over again."
"I hadn't thought about that." Fiona shrugged casually. "I just simply didn't want that family to go back to a bad situation."
"So, what is this then? An unintended good deed?" Thalassa teased.
"Maybe," Fiona replied with a laugh.
Just then, Thalassa's phone began to buzz. It was a call from a beauty salon. She had joined Maria there for a membership a while back. Hesitant for a moment, Thalassa answered the phone. It had been a good half a month since Maria had contacted her after that last text message.
"Is this Ms. Thalassa? This is Century Beauty Center speaking. I'm calling because your mother hasn't shown up for her last two sessions of our Pleasure Boost Injection. Our products have limited shelf life, and since we've been unable to reach her, we thought we'd get in touch with you."
Thalassa's money was being frivolously spent on these "Pleasure Boost Injections" – a dubious treatment costing a staggering seventy to eighty thousand each.
"Can't get in touch?" Thalassa frowned.
"Yes, she made an appointment two weeks ago and didn't show up. We've been trying to call her, but her phone seems to be out of service recently. We've been calling daily to no avail. Has Maria changed her number?"
"I'm not sure…" Thalassa’s heart raced for some unknown reason. "I'll try to reach her for you."
"Thank you, please remind her that if she doesn't show up in time, and the product expires, our center isn't responsible for any loss."
"Understood."
Thalassa ended the call.
"What's wrong?" Fiona asked, noticing her distress.
"The beauty center can’t reach Maria," Thalassa replied as she hurriedly dialed a number.
The few seconds before the call connected seemed unbearably long.
Then, an automated voice came in. "The number you’re trying to reach is currently out of the service area, please try again later."
She called again, receiving the same message.
"Two weeks ago…" A sudden thought flashed through Thalassa’s mind.
She looked through her messages, filtering out the spam, and found two messages from two months ago that she had ignored.
Maria: [My dear daughter, I’ve finally seen through Justin’s true colors, but it's too late. While I was blinded by his lies, you must have suffered a lot. I'm sorry, and this time, I'm determined to divorce him.
[About the assets you gave me that we discussed last time, how can I secure your interests before I divorce him? Please reply.]
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