Chapter 52

In the morning, Melissa was awakened by the sound of cleaning. She reopened her eyes and found out that Alvina was already up, and Alvin was nowhere to be found. "Alvin? Alvina?" Melissa struggled to get out of bed. She had been hugging Alvina for too long last night, and it made her waist and back hurt. "Mommy, I'm here." Alvina came out of the bathroom with her little underpants in hand. Judging from Alvina's condition today, she seemed to be feeling better now. "Alvina, why aren't you wearing your shoes? Put them on right now." Melissa passed Alvina's fluffy slippers and blinked her eyes asking. "Where is your brother?" Alvina put on her shoes, pouted her small mouth and said "Brother is sunbathing in the amusement park with our great-grandmother. I wanted to go play too, but great-grandmother told me to wait for mommy to get done with breakfast before going to the amusement park. She also said not to wake mommy up and let you sleep in." "Oh, I see. Alvina, give mommy five more minutes to wash up, and we'll go downstairs to have breakfast." Melissa felt the care from Grandma Julia and it made her heart warm and happy. "Okay, mommy, but hurry up. I'm already hungry." Alvina had also been whining all night, and now her stomach was growling. After Melissa and Alvina had breakfast at the dinning. Tony brought a cup of translucent brown solution specifically for Melissa. Melissa curiously asked "Tony what is this?" "Miss Austin, it's a soup medicine prepared by the old lady to prevent you from getting a cold. She instructed me to heat it for you after breakfast." Tony replied fluently. Melissa always felt that this kid was very bright, giving people a sense of reliability and intelligence. "Alright, thank you." Melissa replied politely. She drank the soup which had a slightly bitter taste, yet it felt cool and comfortable in her throat. After finishing the soup, Melissa held Alvina's hand and went outside the castle. Melissa saw Alvin playing with the remote control airplane. The sound of laughter from the amusement park between Grandma Julia and Alvin could be heard, and Aunt Sarah was joining them. "Brother!" Alvina shouted excitedly, running lightly towards him like a small swallow. "Alvina, come here quickly! Given that you were brave enough to get an injection when you were sick yesterday, I'll lend you my remote control airplane to play for a while." Alvin said cheerfully, passing the remote control to Alvina. "Brother, how do you know that I bravely got an injection?" Alvina tilted her little face, inquiring while knitting her brows in confusion. "It was Uncle Joseph..." Before Alvin finished, he hastily corrected himself on spotting their great-grandmother seated nearby "Dad told me this morning. He said you didn't even cry when you got the injection last night." "Hmm, I am brave!" Alvina said with a proud face. Behind Alvina, Melissa entered the amusement park. She sat next to Grandma Julia, gratefully saying "Thank you, Grandma, for preparing the cold prevention soup for me. Tony just gave it to me to drink." Melissa wanted to take the initiative to inform her grandmother and didn't want her to worry. "Soup medicine? What soup medicine? Did you say Tony gave it to you?" Grandma Julia was a bit baffled. She had not instructed Tony to prepare a cold prevention soup for Melissa. Melissa also looked at Grandma Julia, stunned. Her grandmother didn't know? She hesitated and opened her mouth "Wasn't it... prepared by grandmother?" "No, I just had someone disinfect the room. I didn't ask anyone to prepare soup medicine for you. I don't like to drink bitter stuff, how could I let Tony..." As Grandma Julia said this, she suddenly had a realization. She covered her mouth and chuckled, gently patting Melissa's hand. "Since it was Tony who brought it to you, don't you understand? Who does Tony usually gets the most appreciation from?" Grandma Julia knew Joseph's character well. He was the type of fool who would willingly do good deeds without letting others know. Melissa also suddenly 'oh'd, "It's Joseph!" Perhaps Joseph felt that if he didn't lie and claim it was the grandmother's idea to prepare the medicine for Melissa to drink, she would simply refuse. Reflecting on Tony’s harmless face, Melissa finally understood why he was appreciated by Joseph. Tony was able to lie without blinking an eye, a person who had a deep sophistication from a young age. While Melissa was thinking, her phone that had been sitting in her hoodie pocket had been vibrating nonstop. Once Melissa looked at her phone, there were over twenty missed calls. More than half of them were from Nancy and several were from Liam. The incoming call was from Amy. Melissa quickly returned Amy’s call. "Hello, Amy, are you looking for me?" From the other end of the phone, Amy's sniveling voice came "Melissa, come quickly, my house has been robbed!" A surprise crossed Melissa's heart, and she hurriedly comforted "Amy, don't worry, I'll be right there." After ending the call, Melissa immediately handed the phone to Grandma Julia for a look, anxiously explaining to her grandmother "Grandmother, this is my good friend Amy. Something happened to her family and she needs me to help her. I will try to be back before dinner. Could you please look after Alvin and Alvina?" "Oh, you go ahead! Comfort her well. Don't rush back. Rest assured, I will take good care of my great-grandchildren," Grandma Julia hurriedly instructed, showing her understanding and kind-heart. "Alright, thank you, Grandmother, for your support." Melissa sincerely expressed her gratitude toward her grandmother. She turned her head and reminded the children to obey their great-grandmother and not to play around like yesterday. "Alvin, take care of your little sister for me. If Alvina gets a fever, call me, alright?" Melissa said to Alvin before she rushed to the garage. At this time, she was really worried about Amy, a very understanding girl who rarely asked for help or cried in front of others. As soon as Melissa's car left the Clarkson Manor, another call came in. Melissa slid open the answer button and turned on speakerphone. "I thought you wouldn't dare to answer my call. Why did you suddenly answer it now?" "I didn't avoid your calls. Alvina had a fever last night. I turned my phone on vibrate and didn't notice it. If you have anything to say, just say it," Melissa said without any emotion, trying to push her car speed to the maximum limit. "Melissa, you have one day to delete that video of us in the coffee shop from the Internet. Think about it, or else it won't be just a mere threat next time." Nancy said ominously, her voice full of malicious satisfaction. "What are you talking about? I don't understand what you mean?" Melissa was confused by Nancy's cryptic words. What does 'threaten her' mean? "Oh, you don't know yet? You will know in a while. Remember, delete the video before midnight." After saying this, Nancy hung up the phone, not giving the other party any time to think or ask questions. Nancy's voice was always annoying. Melissa wanted to smash her phone. She had a hunch that Amy's predicament had something to do with Nancy.