lody Sumrs frowned as she watched Nina Sumrs, who stood with her head bowed, looking as if she was on the verge of tears.
Back on the second basent level of The Crestview Hotel, she had vaguely overheard parts of a conversation between Joelle Lawson and Nina Sumrs.
Joelle Lawson had repeatedly ntioned "your dad’s new wife and kid" to Nina Sumrs, so lody had pieced together a rough idea of Nina’s current family situation—
Mindy Walsh was gone. Caleb Sumrs had remarried and had a new child, so he barely paid any attention to Nina Sumrs anymore.
lody Sumrs glanced outside. The sky was inky black. It was indeed too dangerous to let Nina Sumrs go ho by herself at this hour...
With that thought, lody Sumrs sighed in resignation and said, "Fine... I’ll take you ho."
Nina Sumrs let out a sigh of relief. At the sa ti, a deep sense of guilt washed over her. She couldn’t believe that even after she had tricked lody Sumrs into a dangerous situation, lody would still help her...
At that thought, tears finally stread from Nina Sumrs’s eyes.
She stepped forward and clutched the hem of lody Sumrs’s shirt, her face flushed crimson. Wiping her tears, she lowered her head and whispered, "Thank you, cousin. I’m sorry. I’m really, really sorry. It was all my fault before..."
Seeing her like this, lody Sumrs patted her shoulder with a sense of resignation and comforted her softly, "It’s alright. It’s all in the past. Let’s not bring it up again."
As the two of them walked out the front door of the police station, Winnie Sumrs and Colin Sumrs were already waiting outside.
Seeing lody Sumrs erge, they both rushed forward. Winnie Sumrs pulled lody into a tight hug and said, her voice laced with lingering fear, "You silly girl, how could you run off to such a dangerous place by yourself again? When I got the call from Officer Rhodes today, you nearly scared to death!"
lody Sumrs smiled and reassured her, "Mom, I’m fine. The police said I was a big help, thanks to the lead I gave them."
Colin Sumrs nodded. "As long as you’re okay. You scared the whole family. Co on, let’s go ho! I’ll whip up so of my specialties tonight to help you settle your nerves!"
Watching Winnie and Colin Sumrs dote on lody, Nina Sumrs stood off to the side by herself, feeling lost and out of place.
lody Sumrs wriggled out of Winnie’s embrace and pointed to Nina. "Mom, Uncle, let’s take Nina Walsh ho first."
Only then did Colin and Winnie notice Nina Sumrs standing awkwardly to the side.
Earlier, when Roman Rhodes had called the Sumrs family, he’d only said that lody had gone to The Crestview Hotel to et the runaway Nina Sumrs, where she had unintentionally stumbled upon the kidnapping plot and helped the police dismantle the entire criminal operation.
So Colin and Winnie weren’t surprised to see Nina Sumrs there.
Colin Sumrs snorted, clearly displeased. "And where’s Caleb Sumrs? What’s he doing? Has he completely abandoned his own daughter?"
Nina Sumrs froze at his words, and her eyes began to redden again. She lowered her head, not daring to speak.
lody quietly pulled Colin and Winnie aside to explain. "Mindy Walsh is dead. Caleb Sumrs remarried, and his new wife gave him a son, so he doesn’t pay much attention to Nina Walsh anymore..."
Colin and Winnie were stunned. Mindy Walsh was dead!
The Sumrs family had just seen Mindy Walsh last year. They couldn’t believe that soone so full of life could be gone in just a few short months.
No wonder Nina Sumrs ran away from ho. In just a single year, Caleb Sumrs’s household had been turned upside down...
It was dark out, and they both knew they couldn’t just leave Nina Sumrs there by herself. Winnie Sumrs sighed, casting a pitying glance at Nina. "Co on, Nina," she said. "We’ll take you ho."
Nina Sumrs quietly thanked Winnie and followed lody into the car with her head lowered.
Once they were settled in the car, Winnie eagerly produced a thermos filled with fragrant, creamy lotus seed congee.
The aroma of the lotus seed congee instantly filled the car, and Nina Sumrs couldn’t help but swallow.
Winnie first poured a bowl for lody, her expression full of concern. "You silly girl, you ran off right after lunch. You must be starving after everything that’s happened. Here, have so congee to tide you over. Don’t go hungry."
As lody took the bowl and began to sip at the congee, Winnie found a disposable paper cup, poured so for Nina Sumrs, and handed it to her.
She said softly, "You must be hungry too, Nina. Have so lotus seed congee. Grandma made it. Give it a try and see if you like it."
Nina Sumrs froze for a mont, then accepted it gratefully.
For the past few days, she had eaten nothing but sand vine cakes, and her stomach had long since gone numb with hunger.
Now, holding the warm congee, her numb stomach reawakened with a vengeance. A searing hunger pang struck, and Nina Sumrs quickly gulped down the congee.
The fragrance of lotus seeds mingled with the soft, gelatinous silver ear fungus. Nina felt like she hadn’t eaten anything this delicious in a very long ti.
Seeing Nina finish the cup in a few large gulps, Winnie poured her another, which Nina also downed ravenously.
Just like that, almost the entire thermos of lotus seed congee ended up in Nina Sumrs’s stomach.
After finishing the congee, Nina Sumrs rubbed her round belly and said shyly in a low voice, "Thank you, Auntie."
Winnie Sumrs smiled gently, sighing to herself. ’Compared to last year, Nina is visibly thinner. It’s obvious she hasn’t been doing well since Caleb remarried.’
Soon, the car pulled up to the main gate of Nina Sumrs’s residential community.
After Colin parked the car, Nina opened the door with a trembling hand. Staring out into the pitch-black night, she hesitated, not daring to step out.
The mory of her kidnapping flashed through her mind, and now she was terrified of walking alone in the dark...
Seeing her hesitation, lody said, "We’ll walk you up."
Colin and Winnie nodded in agreent. "That’s right. It’s pitch black, and your community doesn’t even have its lights on. We wouldn’t feel right letting you go ho alone. We’ll take you."
Nina’s eyes reddened again. She looked at the three of them, then lowered her head and said in a small, choked voice, "Thank you, cousin... Thank you, Auntie, Uncle."
The four of them got out of the car. Colin switched on the high-powered flashlight lody had bought earlier, and together they walked Nina toward her apartnt.
lody observed their surroundings as they walked. Caleb Sumrs had clearly done well for himself over the years. This was a high-end community with expensive-looking properties, and they passed several patrolling security guards on the way.
If Nina hadn’t run away from ho and left the safety of the community, she likely would never have been kidnapped.
Soon, they arrived at the door to Nina’s ho. After they knocked, the door was opened by a young woman lody didn’t recognize.
Zoe Kane opened the door, her eyes landing first on Nina Sumrs standing in the doorway.
She froze for a second before a weary smile appeared on her face. "Well, well, you’re finally back. Honestly, a girl your age, still throwing tantrums and running away from ho. You really gave your father a scare! When he gets back, make sure you give him a proper apology."
Nina bit her lower lip and stared at her coldly, saying nothing.
She had narrowly escaped with her life, only to return ho to cold, cutting words instead of comfort or concern.
Zoe Kane paid Nina no further mind. Her gaze shifted to the three people standing behind her. "And you are...?" she asked, a hint of confusion in her voice.
Colin spoke up. "We’re Nina’s aunt and uncle."
Winnie, however, frowned slightly. "Nina has been through a lot these past few days. Now that she’s finally ho, you shouldn’t be too hard on her."
At these words, Zoe Kane subtly sized Winnie up from head to toe.
She had only been married for a year and had been too busy trying to secure Caleb Sumrs’s affection and giving him a child to have ti to get to know his relatives.
Now, seeing Winnie and Colin Sumrs—dressed so neatly in their fine coats, with healthy, rosy complexions—she could tell at a glance that they were well-off.
’To be living so comfortably during a year of cataclysm,’ Zoe Kane concluded, ’these two relatives of Caleb’s must be either rich or powerful!’
With that, Zoe Kane’s expression shifted to a warm, friendly smile. She turned to the side, gesturing for them to enter. "Oh, so you’re his family! Please, co in and have a seat! Our son, Chester, wasn’t feeling well today, so Caleb drove him to the hospital. He’s not ho at the mont, but you’re welco to wait for him!"
Winnie shook her head. "We were just dropping Nina off. We won’t co in."
Winnie then turned to Nina. "Get so rest, Nina. We’ll be going now."
Nina nodded. Then, under Zoe Kane’s puzzled gaze, lody and her family turned and left.
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