Mackie carried a bag full of books for her cousins. They went to the thirteenth floor, where the two suites with connecting doors were located.
Mackie held Mommy's hand tightly as they stood in front of the door. The little girl was nervous and excited because it had been a long while since she last met with her cousins. She wondered if her cousins still remembered her or if they had already forgotten about her.
Chloe smiled at her daughter and said, "Don't worry, your cousins are excited to meet you again. They've been asking to meet you many times."
Chloe pressed the bell twice until someone opened the door from the inside. As the door was opened, Mackie was met with the sight of her older cousin. They looked at each other in shock before Mackie's eyes brightened, and she jumped to hug him.
"AARON!"
Aaron was stunned. He didn't react for a while until he heard his little brother's voice chirping behind him.
"Is that Boss Mackie?"
"Hey, it's Boss Mackie!"
"Boss Mackie! Boss Mackie!"
The other boys rushed to circle their only cousin and hugged her tight. Aaron finally realized this was the real Boss Mackie, the female cousin they could lean on because Mackie was strong yet also loving at the same time. She has the same warmth as Aunt Chloe but is more relatable because they were around the same age.
Thus, Aaron opened his hand and hugged Mackie back. He felt comfort and safety as he hugged Mackie, as if things would be fine as long as she was with them. He looked up at Aunt Chloe, who stood right behind Mackie, and Chloe smiled at him.
She put her index over her lips, signaling Aaron to keep the murder a secret because Mackie didn't know about that yet.
Aaron nodded. Of course, he didn't want to make his cousin sad because of what his mother did to their Gran.
Chloe was a little sad seeing how easily Aaron could understand her instruction. He was far too mature for his age, but she could do nothing right now except send all of the kids to the child psychologist later.
"Now, now, you guys can play inside," Dorothea said as she approached them. "It's not good to be noisy outside."
"Granny!" Mackie smiled at Granny Dorothea, who looked healthy as always. She was so happy that at least one of her grandmothers was still alive and well.
Mackie and Aaron finally stopped hugging, and Mackie said, "I bring my books with me, let's read together!"
"Whoo! Reading!"
"I want to read by myself!"
"Boss, can you read it for me?"
Mackie led the pack as they entered the room.
Chloe told them that they could go to the next room to play all by themselves, which they did. Thus, Chloe and Dorothea had time to be alone.
Dorothea served tea to Chloe as they sat on the long sofa. She looked at Chloe worriedly and asked, "What's wrong with you today, Chloe?"
"Hm? There is nothing wrong with me," Chloe said as she sipped the tea. "I just asked for Vernon's permission to bring Mackie here, so she can play with her cousins. She's on a long winter break, so she's very lonely in her room."
"Besides, I think the boys want to play with Mackie. She is like the leader of the group," Chloe said.
Dorothea knew that Chloe was trying to hide something nefarious, but the exhaustion in her eyes was too obvious to fool Dorothea.
"Just be honest with me, Chloe. Did something happen? Did Vernon hurt you?"
Chloe was surprised by Dorothea's accusation. She shook her head immediately, "No, no! It's not about Vernon!"
"Then something really happened, right?"
Chloe zipped her mouth. She didn't want to tell Dorothea about what happened in the hospital because she didn't want to replay the moment when she had to be violent just to fight against those ambushers who tried to take her daughter away from her.
But looking at Dorothea's seriousness, Chloe knew that she wouldn't let her off until Chloe told her something.
Chloe sighed deeply, "We got ambushed today in the hospital."
"We?"
"Yes, Mackie and I visited the hospital where my mother's corpse was stored in the morgue. I want to show Mackie because I know that eventually she has to know about the death of her Gran," Chloe said. "Vernon sent four bodyguards for us, but when we entered that morgue, we got ambushed by Maria and six men."
"Maria?!" Dorothea's eyes widened before they turned sharp. There was a hint of hostility in her eyes as Chloe mentioned that name. "That bitch is still trying to ruin my family after so long, huh?"
Chloe didn't really know the relationship between Maria and Dorothea. She thought everything was alright between them because Maria had been Vaughn's assistant for decades until his death.
"What's wrong? Do you have bad blood against her?" Chloe asked.
"Hah, bad blood is an understatement," Dorothea said coldly. "That which has a weird obsession with my trashy dead husband. She is a regular woman hired by Vaughn when she was young, then Vaughn simply brainwashed her with his crazy way, just like how he tried to brainwash Vincent and Vernon to be a degenerate bastard just like him."
"She treated Vaughn like God, and validated every degeneracy he did. I tried to get rid of her from the Gray family, but Vaughn always kept her around," Dorothea said. "After Vaughn's death, I tried to kick her again, but by that time, Vincent already took her in and I have no more power against her. She has become a thorn in my eyes."
"Where is she now?" Dorothea asked. "Since you came back with Mackie, does that mean she failed to do anything to you? Did she run away after that?"
"No, she didn't run away," Chloe replied. She paused for a moment and continued, "She's dead now."
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