"It''s not..."


    "But you really should think long and hard about what I just said. Colby''s tricks are way more cunning than you''d expect."


    Odie remarked, "There were definitely newspaper stories about the Aldridge family kidnapping, and the one involving your family, the Russells. They all kept it from you. Why do you think that is?" With that, Odie headed straight back to his room.


    Sophie stood there, pondering.


    Why indeed? Just a kidnapping case. Even if it were true, why would Colby keep it from her?


    Just then, Sophie spotted Timothying downstairs. Seeing him, she frowned and said, "I thought I told you not to clean anything above the second floor. What were you doing up there?" Timothy''s face showed a flicker of panic. He quickly replied, "I''m sorry, Ms. Sophie... I just heard that the attic hadn''t been cleaned in years, so I thought I''d help out."


    "What attic?"


    "The one above the third floor," Timothy exined. "But... it was locked, so I came back down without cleaning it." Hearing about the locked attic, Sophie realized someone had deliberately let Timothy drop that hint in front of her. Feigning ignorance, Sophie said coolly, "Alright, from now on, don''t go above the second floor without my permission." "... Yes, Ms. Sophie."


    Timothy headed downstairs.


    Sophie''s eyes then drifted to the staircase leading to the third floor.


    Eventually, she turned her gaze to Gordon''s room.


    The door to Gordon''s bedroom was firmly shut, with no one standing guard outside.N?velDrama.Org (C) content.


    Maybe talking to Gordon would shed some light on things.


    With this thought, Sophie found herself at Gordon''s door, but the hand she raised to knock fell back down.


    The ordeal the Aldridge family went through over a decade ago must be a chapter Gordon never wanted to reopen.


    Why should she dig up those old wounds in front of Gordon?


    With that in mind, Sophie turned away and went back to her own room.


    Inside Gordon''s room.


    Sitting in his wheelchair, facing the


    handrdon slowly unclenched t


    she heard the footstepe


    fading away.


    If Sophie had knocked ande in, asking him everything...


    He knew he couldn''t have hidden everything from her.


    But fortunately, she didn''te in.


    She spared him a tough choice.


    If he could help it, he preferred that Sophie remain in the dark.


    Since the past couldn''t change the future, why drag her back into those painful memories?


    "Sir, here''s the key to the attic."


    Rick handed over the key.


    Gordon looked at the worn key and finally gripped it tightly in his hand.


    "Some things are better left behind."


    е


    Gordon turned away, gazed out the window, and with a nk expression, loosened his grip. The key slipped from his hand, falling into the dense flowerbed below, vanishing from sight.


    f


    Rick opened his mouth to protest, but seeing Gordon''s deliberately detached demeanor, he demeanor, he couldn''t find


    $90


    Bds.  t


    Clearly, that was the most precious thing to his master.