Nelson wouldn’t let her leave.
Somehow, he managed to deal with Jamir, who bombarded her with messages.
Callie stayed in the room Nelson arranged for her, replying word by word: “I’m fine, not dying.”
Jamir called directly, but Callie didn’t answer. She just asked, “How is Charlotte?”
A voice message came through with a cold laugh, “Lying in the hospital getting nutrient infusions, Sienna is with her.”
Charlotte had been unconscious for three hours. When she woke up, she stared blankly at the ceiling, unwilling to speak.
When Sienna arrived at the hospital room, a servant nervously brought the gift list for her to review. She glanced at it and said, “Take it away.”
“Yes.”
Suddenly, a thought crossed Sienna’s mind. She frowned and raised her hand, “Let me see it again.”
The servant handed it back to her.
She scrolled down and saw Callie’s name. The gift she sent was a piece of porcelain, a tri-coloured glazed pottery.
Sienna looked at the girl in the hospital room and sighed softly. She didn’t go in and said, “Take me to see it.”
The servant led the way to the storage room.
Callie’s gift was quietly placed under the light, dust particles floating in the air.
Sienna took out the porcelain and examined it carefully, frowning, “A fake.”
From what she knew about Callie, she wasn’t someone who would be careless in this regard, nor would she send a fake gift.
But she was certain that this piece of porcelain was indeed a fake.
Sienna couldn’t figure out the reason. After a long time, she realized that she knew Callie better than she knew Maevelyn.
Just like today, she never expected Maevelyn to plagiarize and bring such disgrace to the Ellison family.
She sighed softly and walked out of the storage room, heading to the study.
Inside, the light was dim. Ahmad sat under a huge bookshelf, smoking one cigarette after another.
Sienna approached quietly and took the cigarette from his mouth, “It’s bad for your health.”
Ahmad’s dry eyes were extremely tired. He leaned against her and sighed heavily, “Sienna, is this child our punishment?”
After a moment of silence, Sienna stroked his hunched back, “We didn’t educate her well; it’s our responsibility.”
Ahmad adjusted his refined glasses, “Even Marilyn was never so reckless…”
So disgraceful!
The Ellison family’s reputation was utterly ruined today!
“She’s our child; we need to pay more attention to her, don’t you think?” she comforted softly, “Let’s take it slow. I won’t go to the temple for a while; I’ll stay home.”
…
Thanks to Nelson, Callie discovered that behind the art gallery was a large estate. Opening the door of her room, she could see crisscrossing streets.
It was said that it used to be an ancient village that was later abandoned and turned into an art gallery. But the area was vast, and a large part of it was converted into a resort by investors.
The autumn rain drizzled down with cold winds, adding to the desolation.
Callie saw Nelson again two days later. The swelling on her face had gone down a bit.
They sat on a boat drifting on the lake. The boatman assumed they were tourists on vacation and enthusiastically introduced the scenery. Nelson stared at the lake surface, seemingly lost in thought.
Callie, on the other hand, was intrigued. “Is it really that magical? Can that tree grant wishes?”
In the middle of the lake stood a century-old tree covered with red ribbons tied by wishing tourists.
“Of course,” said the boatman. “Otherwise, why would so many people come here every year?”