Free Web NovelChapter 61: Chapter 61: Hello, Mrs. Shaw
The old house wasn’t far from The Lucky Spoon—only a ten-minute taxi ride away.
Yvonne Sutton got out of the taxi at the entrance to The Lucky Spoon’s alley. It was past lunchtime, so the street stalls had already packed up. The alley, once bustling, was now quiet. Accompanied by the falling autumn leaves, it presented a peaceful, everyday scene.
Yvonne walked at a leisurely pace, enjoying the afternoon tranquility.
A tall, drunk man was staggering down the street. Yvonne didn’t pay him any mind at first, but as they drew closer, the man suddenly lurched in front of her.
"Hey, beautiful. Wanna... wanna grab a drink?" the man slurred with a lecherous grin.
Yvonne frowned, sidestepped him, and kept walking.
"Hey, don’t go! Humor me a little."
The drunkard blocked her path again, even reaching out to grab her.
"Keep me company, and I’ll give you some money."
As he spoke, the man patted his pants pocket.
Yvonne clutched her coat tighter and hurried to get past him. The man continued to pursue her. Just as she was considering calling the police, she heard him scream in pain.
She turned around to see the man had been kicked to the ground, and the one who’d done it was David Sutton.
"So you get drunk and stop acting like a fucking human, is that it? Don’t let me see you at the freight yard again. I’ll beat your ass every time I do!" David Sutton growled, kicking the man again.
The man clearly knew David Sutton and immediately started begging for mercy, promising he’d never do it again.
David Sutton snorted, pulled out a cigarette, and lit it. Then he strode toward The Lucky Spoon without a single glance at Yvonne, as if he hadn’t gone out of his way to help her but had merely been righting an injustice he happened upon.
"Sutton, thank you," Yvonne said, taking a few quick steps to catch up.
David Sutton ignored her and kept walking briskly toward The Lucky Spoon.
’This is the second time we’ve met, and he’s seemed to hate me from the very beginning. But I’ve never done anything to him. Why?’
Yvonne trailed behind him, completely baffled. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
When they reached The Lucky Spoon, the lunch crowd had already left. Chad Miller and Mrs. Miller were cleaning up. Seeing the two arrive one after the other, Mrs. Miller ignored David Sutton and greeted Yvonne warmly.
David Sutton sat at an outdoor table. When Mrs. Miller didn’t come to take his order, he yelled inside, "Hey, boss! One order of egg fried rice."
Mrs. Miller shouted right back, "If the rooster doesn’t find a mate, the hen can’t hatch chicks by herself! No chicks means no more hens to lay eggs! Where am I supposed to get eggs for your fried rice?"
David Sutton stewed for a moment before forcing out, "I’ll have the beef fried rice, then."
"Even the ox knows to find a mate so they can lovingly plow the fields together! And then there’s you..."
"Mrs. Miller, I haven’t eaten lunch yet," Yvonne cut in.
The moment she heard that, Mrs. Miller forgot all about scolding David Sutton and pulled Yvonne inside.
"What would you like to eat? I’ll have Mr. Miller whip something up for you."
The first floor was greasy from the kitchen, so Mrs. Miller led Yvonne upstairs. Opening the door at the top of the stairs revealed a clean and bright three-bedroom apartment.
"Where’s Dottie?" Yvonne asked.
Mrs. Miller poured Yvonne a cup of hot water. "My mother-in-law is visiting from the countryside. She took Dottie to play in the little square outside Aethelgard U."
"That must make things a lot easier for you."
"You can say that again. I finally don’t have to serve customers with a baby on my back." At this, Mrs. Miller was reminded of David Sutton. "My mother-in-law ran into someone from her old village here, a woman who sells vegetables at the market up the road. She has a daughter who’s a teacher, same age as David—thirty-two. My mother-in-law offered to set them up, saying it didn’t matter if it went anywhere, they could at least meet up or add each other on WeChat. But David flat-out refused. Said that if there’s one thing he’s terrified of, it’s female teachers."
Yvonne couldn’t help but laugh. "He must have been a real troublemaker in school, the kind who gets ’special attention’ from the teachers."
"Chad said he never passed a single exam from elementary through middle school." Mrs. Miller chuckled and couldn’t resist reminiscing. "Chad and David grew up together. They dropped out of middle school and came to Aethelgard to find work. That’s when they met Ethan Abbott."
At the mention of Ethan Abbott, Mrs. Miller sighed. "Back when Chad and I first got together, nothing had happened to Ethan yet. He was tall and handsome, with this cool-guy look, but he actually smiled a lot and was incredibly loyal. He was the one who first found Wyatt Shaw after he ran away from home, but since he had to rush to his night shift, he had Chad go pick him up instead."
As she said this, Mrs. Miller’s eyes grew red.
"Did none of you know his sister was sick at the time?" Yvonne asked.
"Sigh... Chad’s family was having a crisis around that time, so we had to rush back to our hometown. David Sutton had started an apprenticeship and was only back once every ten days or so. That just left Wyatt at the apartment, and he was only fifteen. Ethan probably figured there was nothing a kid like him could do to help, so he never mentioned it."
"That’s why when Ethan got into trouble later, Wyatt felt incredibly guilty and blamed himself, even if he never said so out loud. After all, if he had just gone home, there would have been money for Hannah Abbott’s surgery, and Ethan wouldn’t have had to resort to robbery."
"So after Ethan got into trouble, Wyatt went back to his family to pay for Hannah’s surgery?"
"Yes." Mrs. Miller sighed. "He grew up overnight after that. He matured and finally understood the difficulties his parents faced. Later, he covered all of Hannah’s tuition and living expenses. Even after he moved abroad, he would still come back often to visit her..."
Mrs. Miller suddenly trailed off. "Oh dear, I’ve just been rambling on, and you’re still hungry! I’ll go downstairs and check on your food."
With that, Mrs. Miller quickly stood up and headed downstairs.
Yvonne’s thoughts turned to the old piano at home. Wyatt had told her that he and his friends had pooled their money to buy it for Ethan Abbott’s sister. Yet, when she had asked what the sister’s name was, he claimed he didn’t know the girl well—that he couldn’t even remember her name.
’How is that possible? He came back to visit her so often, even after moving abroad. How could he possibly not remember her name?’ ƒreewebɳovel.com
’He was lying to me!’
’Why?’
A little while later, Mrs. Miller returned with a plate of beef dumplings.
Yvonne asked casually, as if it were an afterthought, "So where is Ethan Abbott’s sister now?"
"Her? Oh..." Mrs. Miller sighed. "She passed away in a car accident."
Yvonne was taken aback. She never imagined that Hannah Abbott had already passed away.
Yvonne had dinner at the Rhodes family estate. Afterward, she had planned to accompany Mr. Rhodes on a walk, but Silas Rhodes dragged her away for a game of mahjong.
"We need a fourth! It’s a mahjong emergency, Auntie Yvonne!"
They were playing in a sunroom with enormous glass windows that offered an unobstructed view of the autumn scenery outside.
"And this unearthly beauty here is my dear aunt, Yvonne Sutton," Silas Rhodes announced to the other two players.
Yvonne glanced at the other players. One was a man in a blue casual suit. He was remarkably fair-skinned, wearing makeup, and seemed a bit effeminate.
"A pleasure, Auntie. I’m Luke Summers, but you can just call me Summers." The man extended his hand with his pinky elegantly raised.
Yvonne reached out to shake it. "Hello."
The other player was a woman with long, curly hair, draped in a wool coat. Her makeup was exquisite and striking, and she was exceptionally beautiful, with a commanding presence.
"This is Jean Bell," Silas explained. "You may not have met her in person, but I’m sure you’ve heard of her."
’Jean Bell?’
Of course Yvonne had heard of her. Jean Bell was the queen of detective fiction, a bestselling author who had won countless national and international awards. However, the first thing that popped into Yvonne’s mind was something Monica Lynch had once said: ’Wyatt Shaw is the man who even turned down Jean Bell.’
Yvonne smiled and extended her hand toward Jean. "Miss Bell, it’s a pleasure to meet you."
Jean Bell gave her a long, searching look before leaning forward to shake her hand.
"A pleasure, Mrs. Shaw."
