Chapter 3
I shook my head and crouched down to negotiate with Ada: “This utility knife is too sharp. Let me ́ask if they have another one that looks the same but is safer, okay?”
Ada looked at me with such pure eyes that in that moment, my heart softened.
With the store clerk’s help, I bought Ada a utility knife that looked identical but had no sharp edge.
Ada happily held her new school supplies and gave me a sweet smile: “Thank you, Mommy. You’re the best to me.‘
I thought to myself: “Maybe in my past life, I didn’t buy her the things she liked, which is why she treated me that way. Now that I’ve fulfilled her wish, she’ll surely grow closer to me gradually.”
Seeing Ada behave normally the whole way, I felt relieved.
But as soon as we reached a crowded area, she broke free from my hand and shouted: “Help! She’s a human trafficker trying to kidnap me!”
In that moment, my heart went completely cold.
I had countless times thought that Ada calling me a human trafficker in my past life was just a moment of anger. Since she had lived in the countryside with Charles’s mother, Bonnie
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Hunter, from a young age, maybe Bonnie had casually used “human trafficker” to scare her into behaving, so Ada remembered those words.
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But now, even after I’d fulfilled her wish, she was still doing this…
Upon hearing “human trafficker,” everyone turned to look.
Soon people approached cautiously, asking what was happening.
“She’s a human trafficker trying to kidnap me! Save me!” Before I could answer, Ada sat on the ground crying and shouting.
Ada was so young that hearing her cries, many people believed her words.
One man said: “How could such a small child lie? Who exactly
are you?”
A woman said: “Don’t even think about running. We’ve already called the police. When they get here, you can wait to be locked up.”
Several men even wanted to rush forward and restrain me.
Just then, a figure appeared in the crowd. I shouted excitedly: “Honey, come explain to everyone!”
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Instantly, everyone’s eyes fell on Charles.
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When Ada was picking out school supplies, I had texted Charles asking him to buy us honey lemon tea,
Now that Charles appeared, everyone assumed he was my accomplice and surrounded him too.
Seeing this, Ada’s crying suddenly quieted down, and she looked somewhat at a loss.
Faced with this situation, Charles was even more anxious than I was, explaining to the people around us that we were a family.
But in the end, we were still taken to the police station by the officers who rushed over.
After leaving the police station, Charles’s face remained terrifyingly dark. The moment he walked through the front door, he was ready to hit Ada.
He roared, “Have you lost your mind? Why did you tell everyone outside that we’re human traffickers?”
Charles was livid, his face turning ashen as he delivered a harsh slap to Ada’s bottom. Ada screamed in pain and immediately burst into tears.
Watching this scene unfold, I felt secretly pleased, thinking to myself: “Didn’t he always criticize me for scolding Ada? Now it’s
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his turn. How come he doesn’t understand his own logic?”
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I quickly pulled Ada into my arms, gently stroking her hair to comfort her.
I said, “Honey, she’s still young and doesn’t know any better. She was just acting up. Why are you getting so angry? What if you hurt Ada?”
Charles pointed at Ada, his hands trembling as he said, “Do you know what consequences her lies have caused? One of my important clients happened to be there too. After seeing that situation, he immediately wanted to terminate our partnership. How am I supposed to explain this to my boss? And you’re still protecting her. She’ll definitely cause even bigger problems in the future.”
So his work had been affected. No wonder he was so furious when he came home today.
I dismissively interrupted Charles: “It’s just one client. We finally brought Ada home. Don’t be so harsh with her. And why are you speaking so nastily? She’s just a child who doesn’t understand yet. There’s no need to talk like that.”
Then I held Ada tightly and looked at Charles with contempt: “Are you trying to blame Ada because you didn’t do your job well?”
Didn’t Charles think five–year–olds couldn’t lie?
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In my past life, before I could even explain, he had pushed all the blame onto me.
These were the exact words he had said to me in my previous life. Now I was giving them right back to him.
This time, he would also taste what it felt like to be wrongfully accused.
Charles’s eyes burned with fury: “You spoil her too much.” With that, he left directly.
I gently stroked Ada’s hair, comforting her tenderly: “It’s okay. I’ll take you to school tomorrow.”
Ada looked at me with eyes full of fear. Clearly, she was afraid of
- me.
I felt somewhat puzzled. I hadn’t done anything to her, so why was she so scared of me?
Charles must have been truly upset with me, as he didn’t come home even after dark.
After coaxing Ada to sleep, I began searching throughout the house.
In my past life, when I went to take Ada to school, Mila had found those photos.
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Those photos must have been taken beforehand and were definitely hidden somewhere in the house right now.
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I searched through every room and finally found a metal box with a combination lock under Ada’s bed.
I entered Ada’s birthday, but the lock didn’t open.
I tried Charles’s birthday, and the lock opened.
The moment I opened the box, I was stunned.
This mystery that had plagued me for two lifetimes finally had an answer at this moment.
I finally understood why Ada wanted me dead.
