Chapter 99
Ines turned away, knowing that no matter how much she held back in front of Emma, her words would inevitably affect her Her words may not be entirely trustworthy, but she spoke with such conviction that they must hold some truth.
If all these accusations held truth–if Beasley’s car accident bore any connection to her–how would she ever confront the Meyer family? They had treated her with nothing but kindness, had the means to probe into her past, yet refrained from doing so, honoring her with their respect.
Last time, she confessed her relationship with the Galeana family to her mother–in–law. Did her mother in law know that she might be linked to Beasley’s death?
And then there was Ethan. How was she supposed to face him? He may seem cold on the outside, but he wasn’t like that on the inside. His family meant everything to him.
He respected and loved his brother so much. If he found out she was the cause of everything, what would become of their relationship? Would he regret his hasty decision, regret proposing to a stranger?
She originally thought there were no feelings between them, that it would be easy to walk away. But why did the thought of them parting cause her heart to ache so much that she couldn’t breathe?
She felt as if a giant hand was squeezing her heart, leaving her breathless.
She suddenly realized, that man was like quicksand, and she had been sinking into him since the day she entered his life, unable to extricate herself.
Maybe her aunt knew the truth.
In a panic, Ines pulled out her cell phone and dialed Rita’s number. Her heart pounded as she listened to the dial tone.
After a few rings, Rita picked up. Her cheerful voice came through the phone, “Izzy, what’s up? Why are you calling me out of the blue?”
Listening to her aunt’s familiar voice, Ines trembled, her lips moved a few times but she couldn’t ask anything. She was terrified of knowing the truth.
“Izzy, Izzy?”
Rita called out a couple of times.
“What’s up with this kid, did she accidentally dial the wrong number?” Rita muttered to herself. After a pause and still no response, she had no choice but to hang up.
Ines covered her face with her hands, slid down and curled up against the wall. Tears slipped through her fingers.
She didn’t know how long she sat there until her legs went numb. She stood up and watched the traffic go by with a vacant expression. For the first time, she felt a sense of desolation, even more than when her biological father abandoned her.
She realized she was truly in love with Ethan, not just a casual liking.
In less than three months, she had fallen for a man.
If someone had told her this before, she would have denied it. But now, she had to face the fact.
Ines hailed a taxi to return to the firm. Emma’s revelation about the accident–making headlines initially only to be swiftly withdrawn–implied that the news piece had been released and there ought to be lingering traces of it.
Upon arriving, she headed straight for the dispatch room at the firm, which was responsible for collecting newspapers. However, it had been quite a while, and she was uncertain if they still had them.
“Sir, I am new to the firm. Could I check out all the newspapers from A City from five years ago?”
“Oh, it’s you. I’ve seen you around. We haven’t discarded the newspapers from five years ago. Just sign in here and you can find them over there, at the very bottom shelf, the dispatch worker sald cheerfully, pointing to a bookshelf not too far away
Ines signed her name in the register with trembling hands and began to leaf through the papers
The papers were layered with dust from the years. Ines didn’t care and continued to leaf through them, coughing as she did. She went through all the papers from the day of the accident but found nothing. Just as she was about to give up, a headline caught her eye.
Senous traffic accident on Elm Street.
Ines continued reading. The paper said: “Today at noon, a serious traffic accident occurred on Elm Street, resulting in one death and two injuries. The two injured women are reportedly the daughters of the Galeana Group. The identity of the male casualty is yet to be confirmed. Experts deduced from the scene that the two women were saved by the man from the car, who exhausted himself and died in the destroyed car. The preliminary cause of the accident is suspected to be a crime of passion, but the exact reason is still under further investigation.”
Ines was overcome by a wave of dizziness upon hearing the report. Her complexion turned ashen, her teeth tightly clenched, and her body trembled with unbridled intensity. Unaware of her actions, she unknowingly crumpled the newspaper in her hand. The realization struck her like a bolt of lightning–there had been another individual injured in the accident, yet no one had ever divulged this information to her. She had mistakenly believed it was solely her and Emma involved in the collision.
Could that person be Beasley?
“Miss, are you alright?”
The dispatch worker called out several times before Ines responded. She shook her head dazedly and stood up, almost falling as she did so. Thankfully, the worker caught her in time.
“Miss, are you sure you’re okay? You don’t look so good,” the worker asked with concern.
‘I’m fine. Are there any more reports on this accident?”
The worker took a look at the paper and scratched his head, a surprised expression appearing on his face after a few seconds, “Huh, how is there still a copy of this paper here? I remember all of them being recalled. The person in charge of the recall even repeatedly emphasized not to keep any private copies. It was quite serious, which is why I still remember it.” There are so many businesses in A City, not to mention some citizens still have the habit of reading newspapers. This recall was a big deal, he had been working here for many years and this was the first time he had encountered such a thing.
“Why was it recalled?” Ines asked, puzzled.
“I’m not exactly sure. This report was pulled not long after it was published. I guess the chairman of the Galeana Group felt embarrassed by his daughters‘ dispute and had it recalled. As for what really happened, I’m not sure,” the worker replied.
“So, do you remember what those folks who recalled the report looked like?”
“I have a vague memory of them; two young dudes, but I can’t say for sure who they were. They were pretty polite, but they spoke in a very serious tone.”
Ines realized that the staff here didn’t have much useful information to offer, so she thanked them and took off. She hopped straight into the elevator, took the contract she signed with the Galeana Group to Amelia Young, and asked for a week’s leave. Amelia just gave her a look, didn’t ask any questions, and approved it right away.
