Chapter 25
The wind was cold and unpleasant during winter.
Jolene stood alone on a deserted rooftop with a dazed look on her face. She had no idea how she ended up there or why she was seeing the three people she did not want to see the most there in just the blink of an eye
Simone was holding a boy’s hand with her left hand. Cedric was holding her right hand, sticking it into his pocket. The three of them stepped toward Jolene haughtily.
“Where’s your precious daughter?”
“Where’s your precious daughter?”
Those words haunted Jolene like a nightmare.
She looked around anxiously, trying to search for signs of her daughter. Yet, there was no one else besides them.
When Jolene lifted her gaze, she saw a silver necklace that emanated a cold light. The light stung her eyes. Jolene closed her eyes reflexively.
When she opened her eyes again, she had exited the realm of her dreams and came back to reality.
She could see the sky was slowly getting brighter through the window. The light from the night lamp beside her bed shone on the calendar. It was December 7th.
On the same day in her previous lite, the kidnapper had pushed Jolene’s daughter from the rooftop.
Jolene dreamt of that scene again in the early hours of this morning. She gasped for air and tried to wipe away the sweat on her forehead.
As soon as she lifted her hand, her slight movement woke Cedric up from his sleep. He slowly opened his eyes. Cedric still sounded very sleepy. “Did you have a nightmare?”
Jolene did not want to worry him, so she slowly shook her head.
“It’s a bit warm in the room. I’ll adjust the temperature for the air–conditioning. You should go back to sleep. It’s still early.”
“Mhm.” The person beside her drifted back to sleep soon after giving that response.
However, Jolene had trouble going back to sleep afterward. She kept rewinding the scenes of her dream in her head over and over again.
Yet, the memories of what happened in the dream quickly slipped away from her consciousness. By the time it was bright outside, the only thing Jolene could remember was that necklace.
“Necklace… The necklace… What does it mean?” she pondered.
Jolene subconsciously placed her hand on her neck as she thought about the necklace. Yet, the only thing she felt was her skin.
Jolene flinched as she felt that bare sensation. It helped her recall a past incident.
The reason why Jolene returned the necklace to Preston was because Simone wanted the necklace! Simone envied the life she had and tried to take away everything Jolene had. That must also include the necklace.
Jolene wondered if Preston was actually trying to tell her that Simone was the murderer by holding onto the necklace tightly before he died. Jolene shuddered as realization dawned on her. She also found answers to some of the questions that had been bothering her for a long time.
In her previous life, Simone and Preston were seeing each other. Simone faced two major obstacles in her plans to become Preston’s official wife.
One of them was Jolene and Clarissa, and the other was Cedric. The former held the official title of Preston’s wife and daughter, whereas the latter decided the fate of the Norwood family.
Therefore, Simone executed her plan ruthlessly. She orchestrated the car crash and the kidnapping to remove those two obstacles.
In this life, Jolene managed to gain the upper hand and changed how certain incidents had developed.
The 27–year–old Simone, who lost her parents and was sent to prison for six years, had her life completely ruined. With her personality and temperament, Simone would definitely get her revenge for what happened after she was released from prison.
Preston had died recently. Simone’s next target would be Jolene, Cedric, and their kids. Moreover, it was December 7th today. Everything seemed to fall in place just like what happened in Jolene’s previous life.
It turned out that everything was part of Simone’s schemes.
As the truth became clear to her, Jolene immediately shook Cedric’s arm and urged him to wake up. In the end, Cedric, who had just fallen asleep, was dragged along to the police station.
The couple found the police officer who was in charge of the case of the car crash, and Jolene told him the information she had regarding the necklace.
With the necklace as their lead, the police soon started tracking down Simone.
Cedric and Jolene stayed at home and watched over the kids that day. In the evening, they finally received a call from the police.
“Ms. Miller, we managed to capture Simone Baker and her accomplices outside the kindergarten by referring to the information you provided us. She had admitted to committing those crimes.”
The tremendous weight pressing on Jolene’s heart vanished instantly when she heard the news.
The guileless Clarissa and Jamie had only dared clung to Jolene after they noticed her expression had softened.
“Mommy, I’m hungry. I want to eat fried chicken!”
“Don’t make that for Jamie. She lost a tooth yesterday, so she couldn’t eat fried chicken. Why don’t we eat shrimp today?”
The kids seemed to only care about what food they would be eating every day.
Jolene was struck speechless. She poked Cedric’s arm and pointed her chin toward the kitchen.
“The kids are hungry. Shouldn’t you know what to do?”
Cedric stood up right away. Yet, the girls grabbed onto his hands the instant he tried to take a step forward.
“I’d rather eat outside if Daddy is cooking!”
“We can ask Mrs. Sawyer to cook us a meal instead. I don’t want to eat Daddy’s cooking. It’s too salty!”
The sounds of their laughter faded out as the lights in the nearby houses came on one after another. Tonight, the sky was clear and the view was magnificent. It was a good time for people to be with their famil
