Chapter 3

The next day, as soon as I walked into work, something felt off.

Mr. Henderson, the manager, was behind the counter, wiping sweat, his face pale.

Eleanor Vance sat on a lounge chair in the middle of the lobby. An unopened coffee sat in front of her.

Her assistant, David, stood behind her, holding a file bag.

The manager saw me, his eyes looking like he'd seen a lifeline.

"Autumn, Ms. Vance said the milk she bought yesterday was bad, and her daughter got sick."

"You, you come over and explain to Ms. Vance..."

I glanced at him.

"Explain what? If it's not past its expiration date, it's not our problem."

Then I walked towards Eleanor Vance.

Her gaze was already fixed on me.

"Ms. Vance, what exactly do you want?"

She looked up.

"The milk yesterday had a quality issue. Lily drank it and threw up all night. Her dad isn't happy."

I scoffed.

"So? Are you here to complain? Or are you looking for an excuse to drag me in front of Caleb Blackwood and make me apologize to him?"

Her face changed.

I continued.

"Isn't that what you did three years ago? My dad and I were always the ones apologizing first, kneeling first, making amends first."

Her brows furrowed.

"My business with your dad is not for a child to judge."

"I'm not a child anymore."

I stared at her.

"The year you threw my dad and me out when I was sixteen, that's when I grew up."

"Threw you out?"

Her voice rose.

"Your dad dragged you out himself! He knew what he did!"

I looked at her, unsure whether to be angry or laugh.

"What did he do? What he did was get framed by your precious husband."

"It's been three years. Did you ever once look into the truth?"

She slammed her hand on the armrest of the chair.

"Did you learn to lie through your teeth from your dad? When has Caleb ever harmed you? He's a thousand times better to Lily and me than your dad ever was!"

I retorted coldly.

"Better? Better enough to stomp on your own daughter's hand? Better enough to press my dad's face to the ground where you couldn't see?"

She opened her mouth, but no words came out.

I didn't want to waste any more time with her.

"Ms. Vance, I advise you to leave now. You and I have nothing to do with each other anymore."

She finally stood up.

"I want to see your dad. Let him explain it himself."

That sentence made my whole body stiffen.

Several customers in the store were watching.

I stared at her.

"See him? You lived in the same house with him for seventeen years, did you ever really know him?"

She was too angry to answer for a moment.

She threw down a business card and left.

Gold embossed: Eleanor Vance.

My colleague came over.

"Autumn... Are you okay?"

I tore the business card in half.

"Help me get a few more shifts. I'm still three hundred short on rent this month."

She looked at the shredded paper in my hand and didn't dare to ask anything else.

After work that day, I went home and looked at my dad's photo.

"Dad, she's looking for you."

"She said you know what you did."

I buried my face in my knees.

"But you didn't do anything wrong."