Chapter 284 - Deep Wound
All the way to the hotel, Robert and Hannah Higgins didn't make a sound at all, as did Sophia who seemed to be quieter than before. Even her face looked very pale with sweat dripping down her forehead, after reading the handwriting given by the waitress in the restaurant.
"That poor girl… That can't be her, right? She can't be in England, can she?"
"How can that girl be in England now? She's poor. There's no way she can live in England."
"What if she leaks the secret, Mom, where will my good name go?"
Hannah, who was sitting in the front seat, immediately turned to the back seat looking at her daughter. "Calm down kid, as long as I'm alive, I won't let that happen. There's no way that poor kid can bother you, she's really not worth it compare to you. Just take it easy."
"But that note, only that poor girl knows that..."
"Don't worry, if she dares to do anything, I will help you. Don't be afraid." Robert Higgins cut Sophia's words loudly.
Sophia could only cry silently hearing her father's words. She was really afraid if her childhood friend, Marianne, appeared in front of everyone and exposed the secret that she had been keeping for so long. Because if that happened, then her good name as a pianist would be destroyed. Stealing a work from someone else was the most shameful disgrace. And Sophia didn't want that to happen. She didn't want her good name to be ruined because of it. Moreover, she had kept this secret for a very long time.
Seeing their daughter's silence, Robert and Hannah seemed to take a deep breath. They both looked confused and didn't know what to do because they were very surprised. The reason was that the husband and wife thought that the poor girl whose work they had stolen was dead, especially after finding out that their messenger had succeeded in killing Marianne's father.
Arriving at the hotel, Sophia went straight to her room and locked it from the inside. She didn't care about the words of her father and mother, who wanted to talk to her again. What Sophia wanted to do right now was to hide as far as possible. Her fear of Marianne was immense, especially when she remembered her last meeting with Marianne decades ago.
"Honey, open the door, Honey. Mommy wants to talk to you, child." Hannah kept banging on the door to Sophia's room which was locked from the inside.
"Stop it, Honey. Let Sophia calm down, I'm sure she must be very surprised at the moment," said Robert slowly, trying to stop his wife's actions.
"We can't be like this, Robert. You know Sophia is our only child. I don't want anything bad to happen to her, I'm really scared that something bad happens to her. Especially now she hasn't really recovered after what had happened to her last time," Hannah answered quietly.
Robert took a deep breath, then hugged his wife tightly. "Trust me, let Sophia rest. Meanwhile, let's find a way out first. I'm sure that poor girl must be dead. I'm sure it wasn't her who wrote that message ..."
"If not her, then who was it? Only you, Sophia, and I are the only ones who know about this!!" Hannah immediately cut off Robert's words with full of fire.
Realizing his wife was talking very loudly, Robert then quickly covered his wife's mouth. "Watch your words! Remember, the walls have ears too, Hannah!!!"
Hannah Higgins immediately locked her lips when she realized that she had made a big mistake. She then nodded her head slowly regretfully. Robert rushed to invite his wife into the room. He didn't want anyone to know the secret of Sophia's past. Robert was very sure that the poor girl who owned the song that made her daughter popular was dead.
* * *
Meanwhile, Anne was still sitting in the park beside the mall. Her legs were still very weak to walk. She still couldn't believe that she had just seen Selma and her proud parents. With her eyes closed, Anne recalled what Selma's parents had done to her.
"The kick you gave is still very strong, Mr. Robert, even the pain in my stomach is still very intense," said Anne softly, her hand touched her stomach which had been kicked by Robert Higgins, when she tried to talk to Selma, who had not changed her name to Sophia decades ago.
Seeing the song thieves family again after so many years, Anne was destroyed again. She was very sad right now. Anne did not care about the cold air outside at the moment. What she wanted to do was to be able to breathe calmly to release all the tightness in her chest. Anne continued to cry without knowing that her cell phone kept ringing. The incoming calls from Jack did not reach her at all. The evil treatment she received from the cruel Higgins family replayed in her memory, an 8-year-old child who had no power must surrender when her song was taken and claimed by a rich family who took advantage of her. Not to mention the physical violence that she also received at that time. Anne continued to cry regardless of the people passing by in front of her.
***
"Anne, where are you? It's almost dusk, why don't you go home?!"
"Erick, quickly find where Anne is. I can't stay calm, Erick!!!"
"Oh my God, Anne, where are you on this cold day."
Jack was talking to himself in the car, while trying to call Anne who never picked them up, while Erick was trying to find Anne's whereabouts using Anne's cell phone signal. Because Anne's cell phone signal was weak, it was a little difficult to find her, especially when the bad weather made it even more difficult to find Anne's whereabouts.
"Got it, Miss Anne is in Westfield, London. Even though the signal is weak, I'm sure she's there," Erick said loudly.
"What are you waiting for?! Hurry up to the mall, Anne never did this. She never ignored my calls. Anne couldn't have dared to ignore me."
"Yes sir." Erick quickly answered Jack's words. He then drove the car to Westfield, London, where he found the presence of Anne's cell phone signal.
After traveling for thirty minutes, Erick's car finally arrived at its destination. Jack immediately jumped out of the car and entered the mall to look for Anne's whereabouts. However, because there were many people in the mall, he finally decided to go to the CCTV room. He wanted to immediately ask the shy supervisors for help to find Anne's whereabouts.
Jack almost gave up because he couldn't find Anne. His eagle eyes stared intently at the monitor screen.
Thump!
"Stop, please go back to the garden with lots of chairs!!" Jack screamed loudly.
Without being asked twice, an officer who was in the surveillance room immediately did Jack's request, he turned back the recording he had just played.
"Okay, thanks for the help," Jack said loudly. He was sure that the girl who was crying in the garden was Anne.
Without a second thought, Jack immediately ran towards the garden. Although he was happy to know Anne's whereabouts, he was still very worried right now. Jack's steps stopped when he saw Anne, who was still looking down, covering her face with her hands.
Jack slowly moved his hand to Anne's shoulder. "Anne..."
Anne, who was lost in her feelings, then lifted her face slowly when she heard Jack's voice. Her pale lips trembled when she saw him. Her voice didn't come out when she said Jack's name, her tears were flowing even harder when she looked at him.
Jack's heart broke when he saw her like that. Without a word, he immediately knelt down and hugged Anne tightly.
"Don't talk, don't talk anymore, Anne."
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