This wasn’t the first time Toby heard Sonia saying she didn’t love him. However, he had never taken it to heart—he had always assumed that she only said those words out of anger. He knew how much she cared for him in the past few years, after all. But Toby only came to a realization when he saw Sonia talking to Rose in a calm and civil manner—he realized that Sonia hadn’t said those words to infuriate him after all. She told Rose that she no longer loved him because that was the truth.
At that moment, Toby felt a sharp and distinct ache in his heart, followed by a hollow sensation in his chest. He felt as if someone had taken something important away from him right then.
Rose caught sight of his rather pale expression from the corner of her eye, and she shook her head as she let out a sigh. “I thought that I could do something to bring you two back together if you still had feelings for Toby, but… Ah, I guess this isn’t all bad.” The married couple’s relationship used to be distant and cold in the past because Toby didn’t have feelings for Sonia back then. Now, Sonia’s the one who doesn’t have feelings for Toby. History would repeat itself if they got back together now, Rose thought.
“I appreciate your thoughtfulness, Grandma. But I know that things between President Fuller and me will never work out,” Sonia uttered as she held onto the old woman’s hand. “I’m sorry for disappointing you, Grandma.”
“What are you talking about, you silly girl? I’d rather see you happy than force you to be together with Toby. Look at your petite little face! You look so energetic nowadays. You used to look so worn out in the past—you didn’t even look like a young woman in your twenties back then. I think you’re doing a lot better now.” Rose cackled at the end of her sentence.
Sonia laughed along with Rose—the tension and worry in Sonia’s heart disappeared when she saw that Rose didn’t blame her for anything. A while later, she pulled out the necklace that had been lying under her shirt—she recalled something that she had wanted to do. “I forgot to mention that I paid a visit to the old house recently, Grandma. I found a necklace there. Look—is this the necklace you were talking about?”
A necklace? Toby’s eyes narrowed when he overheard their conversation from the balcony. What necklace?
Rose lifted Sonia’s necklace and took a look at it. “I’m not sure if this is the right one. Your dad was in a rush back then; he didn’t tell me what the necklace looked like specifically. I’m not too sure either.”
“This was the only necklace I found in the house. There weren’t any other necklaces,” Sonia said as she lowered the pendant onto her chest.
“I guess this is the right one, then,” Rose replied with a nod.
Sonia bit on her lower lip before she spoke. “This necklace looks really similar to the one that Julia wears around her neck. I went to the store and asked about it—they said that our necklaces were made as a pair for both mother and daughter. Julia’s necklace is the mother’s one, while the one I’m holding onto is the daughter’s necklace. I just don’t understand why Tina’s necklace would show up in my house.”
“Did you say that this necklace belongs to the Gray Family?” Rose was stunned upon hearing Sonia’s words.
Sonia nodded. “Yeah. Titus was the one who got someone to design the necklaces a little more than 20 years ago. It was made as a gift for Julia and their newborn child, Tina.”
“I remember now,” Rose said with a smile. “If the necklaces are really meant for the Grays, then the one with you isn’t for Tina. It was supposed to be for Rina.”
“Rina?” Sonia tilted her head puzzledly. For some reason, she felt an inexplicable sensation bubbling in her chest once she heard that name. However, the feeling didn’t last for long—it disappeared almost immediately.
“That’s right. The necklace belonged to Rina, who’s the Grays’ eldest daughter. The whole Seafield was talking about it when Titus bought the necklaces—everyone was envious of Julia. However, Titus didn’t do anything similar when they had Tina, so this necklace must belong to the eldest daughter.”
Upon hearing Rose’s story, Sonia lowered her head to glance at the necklace. “So the Gray Family has more than one daughter, huh. Why haven’t I ever heard them talking about their eldest daughter?”
“Their eldest daughter died at a very young age,” Toby said as he pushed the door to let himself back into the room.
Sonia widened her eyes in shock. “She died?”
Rose nodded. “Yeah.”
“Well, what’s this necklace doing in my house then?” Sonia couldn’t understand the situation.
Toby shot her a glance. “Do you want to know the answer?” he asked.
“Do you know the answer?” Sonia met his gaze.
He didn’t give her a direct answer to that question. “I did some research on Rina when I first heard that Tina had an elder sister. Rina’s death is related to your father.”
“My father?” Sonia leaped to her feet as she was too surprised.
Rose shook her head slowly. “All of this is due to the grudges held across the generations,” she muttered.
Sonia’s lips trembled when she next spoke. “The incident that happened between the Grays and the Reeds all those years ago… Does that have something to do with Rina’s death?”
“Hm?” Toby looked at her.
Sonia merely ignored him as she grabbed Rose’s arm and continued to speak. “Apart from paying you a visit, I’m also here to ask if something had happened between the Grays and the Reeds in the past. That’s the only explanation for how the necklace showed up at the Reeds’ place.” Sonia made her guess according to the information she had so far.
“Judging by what you said earlier, it seems like you might know something about this, Grandma. Please tell me about it. What happened between the two families? How is Rina’s death related to my father? My father talked about a secret underlying the necklaces; was this what he was referring to?” Sonia eyed Rose with a pleading look in her eyes.
Rose reached a hand out to stroke Sonia’s head. “Fine, I’ll tell you about it. I know that you’d find other ways to get to the bottom of the story, even if I refuse to tell you right now. I’d rather be the one to tell you about it. But I have to say, I hadn’t expected the necklace that your father was talking about to belong to the Grays.”
“Thank you, Grandma.” Tears of joy welled up in Sonia’s eyes. She had been worried that the old lady would refuse to tell her about it.
Toby felt his insides twisting when he saw Sonia’s tears, and he immediately reached into his coat pocket to pull out a handkerchief for her. “Here, wipe your tears off.”
Sonia looked dumbfounded for a moment before she shook her head. “It’s fine. I have my own.” She proceeded to pull out a packet of tissue from her bag without looking at his handkerchief at all.
Toby shifted his gaze downward as his expression darkened. He tightened his fingers around his handkerchief before he kept it away.
Serves him right, Rose thought when she saw the look on his face.
“Okay, Grandma. You can start telling me now.” Sonia tugged her lips into a smile once she dried her tears.
After Rose cleared her throat, she began with her story. “More than 20 years ago, Paradigm Co. invented a brand-new machine that had the ability to increase the quality of production. Your father was elated when he found out about it as he knew that Paradigm Co. finally had a chance to launch this product. But one day before that happened…”
“What happened one day before that?” Sonia clasped her palms together as she looked at the old woman anxiously.
Rose patted Sonia’s hands sympathetically. “Titus somehow found out about the existence of this machine, and he ordered someone to steal the data away. Needless to say, Paradigm Co. failed to launch the product, and the main researcher committed suicide as he was too disappointed.”
“What?” Sonia’s pupils shrank. “Did something like that happen?”
Even Toby furrowed his brows—he clearly hadn’t heard this part of the story. Toby knew that Titus used unethical tactics in his business, but Toby had never thought much about it. The enterprising field was a harsh place, after all—it was normal for people to employ some immoral tactics. The government wouldn’t interfere as long as these entrepreneurs didn’t go out of line with their actions. However, no one had expected Titus to commit such an evil deed. He stole another company’s confidential information, and he even indirectly murdered someone!
“Your father became a public target after this incident. After the loss of the machine’s data and the suicide of his main researcher, your father didn’t just need to comfort the people in Paradigm Co.; he also had to handle the huge compensation amounts. Your father lost his temper when he couldn’t fork out the money for compensation, so he decided to kidnap Titus’s eldest daughter,” Rose uttered before heaving a sigh.
