Chapter 54

"Mom!" In Anna's mind, her mom had always been the tough, upbeat type. She couldn't recall ever seeing her shed a tear. So the sudden crying really caught her off guard—it was so out of character that her brain immediately jumped to one conclusion: those nightmare relatives must've shown up again. Clenching her fists, she said through gritted teeth, "Did they mess with you again? Mom, I swear I'll go deal with them right now!" Before she could storm off, Lucy grabbed her arm and pulled her back onto the couch without giving her a chance to argue. "No, it's just... I finally get to see you. I missed you, that's all." That one sentence calmed Anna down instantly. Her chest tightened, her nose stung a little, but she blinked the tears away and leaned in for a hug. Lucy gave her a once-over, making sure—again—that Anna hadn't sent any money to Michael. Once she was sure, she relaxed a bit and busied herself gathering ingredients, announcing that Anna looked too skinny and that she needed s