Chapter 9
Although her wound had been treated, Ruby still couldn’t sleep at night due to the pain.
Unable to fall asleep, she decided to get up and pack her belongings.
That night, she cleared out everything related to Henry–dozens of gifts that she had sent but were returned, the scarf she had knitted by hand, the medicine she had bought for
him…
She put them all in a cardboard box and threw them out.
Henry came back just then. When he saw the box, he froze. “What are you doing now?”
Ruby wiped the sweat from her brow. “Just throwing out things that I don’t need,” she said, her voice weak.
Henry’s expression changed, a sudden irritation rising in his heart.
He attributed this emotion to his anger at Ruby for causing Cecelia to faint. His voice turned even colder. “This is my last warning. Don’t ever hurt Cecelia again, or you’ll face the consequences!”
Consequences? What consequences?
Being thrown into prison and tortured to death?
She’d already faced that once.
Lowering her head, Ruby looked at the wounds on her body and forced out her answer softly, “I won’t do that ever again.”
With that, she turned to go back to her room, but Henry stopped her.
“Wait. Do you have a birthmark?”
Ruby paused. She turned and stared at him quietly for a moment before answering coldly, “No.”
That birthmark was the last proof of her connection with the Daltons.
It had been burned off in the fire.
Hearing this, Henry let out a sigh of relief.
He knew it he must have been mistaken last night.
How could Ruby be lan’s long–lost sister?
It would’ve been too coincidental.
The next day, Ruby was awoken by noises downstairs.
As soon as she opened the door, she heard the butler, Matthew Heath, lecturing the household staff. “Today is not an ordinary day. Be mindful of what you do if you don’t want to get in trouble.”
One of the new housekeepers, Mary Smith, asked curiously, “What’s so special about today?”
“Today is the anniversary of the day young Ms. Dalton went missing. Mr. Spencer and Mr. Dalton are always in a bad mood every day on this day.”
Hearing that, Mary was even more confused. “Then what’s with all these presents?”
“Young Ms. Dalton has been missing for over ten years. Mr. Spencer and Mr. Dalton haven’t gotten over her disappearance yet. They prepare gifts for her on every special occasion and send them to the old Dalton residence on this day.”
“The old Dalton residence?”
“Yes. Ever since they lost their daughter, the Daltons were so heartbroken that they moved out, unable to bear seeing traces of her all over the mansion. Now, only everything related to the young Ms. Dalton is left in the mansion. They’re all waiting for her return so that they can make it up to her.”
Hearing this, everyone sighed, moved by the Daltons‘ love for their lost daughter and Henry’s unwavering devotion.
Ruby just listened to the conversation quietly, mockery flashing in her eyes.
After her morning ablutions, she went to the laboratory. On her way home, she bought herself a birthday cake.
When she returned, she got some candles and stuck them into the cake. Just as she closed her eyes to make a wish, an angry voice sounded behind her.
“Didn’t I say that no celebrations are allowed in this house today?” Henry demanded. “How dare you celebrate your birthday?”
lan strode forward, picked up the cake, and threw it at her. “How could you throw a party on the day my sister went missing, Ruby Lynch? How could you be so despicable?” he asked coldly.
Ruby’s mind churned with memories as she stared at the ruined cake.
When she was seven, she had gotten lost and was taken in by Emma Lynch.
Traumatized, she had developed a high fever and forgotten everything–her name, her family, and even her birthday.
Because of that, Emma chose the day she found her as her birthday.
14 years passed. Until now, she still didn’t know when her real birthday was.
And now, even the only day she could commemorate her existence was taken from her.
Ruby smiled silently and raised her hand to wipe off the frosting on her face, her expression blank.
Without a word, she turned and went back to her room.
Before she closed the door, she heard Ian’s vnice, slightly choked with emotion. “If my sister were still here, she would have turned at this year too.”
Henry’s eyes dimmed. “We will find her.”
Ruby couldn’t help curling her lips in a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.
Chapter 9
No, they wouldn’t.
Soon, they would find out that the person they had spent years yearning for was right in front of them.
But they would never find her again.
From this moment on, she would disappear from their world for good.
Right before Henry and lan lett with their gifts, Ruby came out of her room with the suitcase she had finished packing long ago.
She placed the DNA test report on the table. “Ruby Lynch and Ian Dalton are confirmed to be biologically related” was written clearly on it.
Then, with her suitcase, she left the villa.
She never looked back.
