Chapter 3

"Wicked?" I repeated the word as if I had heard a good joke. "Miss Grace, aren't you talking about yourself?"

The smile froze on Grace's lips. "Why do you mean?"

Staring Grace in the eyes, I took one step forward. "In the competition last month, the award-winning painting was the one named The First Snow. It isn't your work, is it?"

Grace's eyes widened in shock. 'Why does she know that? Except for its painter and me, not a third soul is supposed to know that,' Grace wondered.

She managed to appear calm. "Nonsense! It is my work. Everybody knows that."

"Really?" I chuckled. "Well, I remember that Miss Ada drew it in the 12th grade. Back then, you said that you loved it, so she gave it to you. How come it became your work all of a sudden? You even submitted it for an award."

Grace was aghast while both Mary and David were startled.

They looked at Ada who had been slighted all the time.

Trembling slightly, Ada bit her lips. She said nothing, but her red eyes said everything. The truth was clear as day.

In panic, Grace thought, 'Damn it! Screw her! Who the hell is that bitch? Why does she know so much? No, I can't admit the truth. I should keep my good image in the eyes of Dad and Mom.'

Then, she burst out crying and threw herself into Mary's arms.

"Mom, she is slandering me. She and Ada are ganging up on me. I am your daughter. How can you trust an outsider instead of me?" she sobbed.

Worried, Mary quickly embraced Grace. "Grace, don't cry. I trust you. I trust you, of course."

She turned her head and glared at Ada and me.

She ordered, "Summer and you, Ada, both of you go upstairs right away. Without my permission, neither of you can come downstairs."

'See? Ada, this is your real mother. Even if there is solid evidence, she chooses her adoptive daughter over you without the slightest hesitation,' I thought.

Sneering, I pulled Ada upstairs by the hand.

At the turn of the stair, I heard Grace sob, but there was unmistakable smugness in her voice.

"Mom, don't be mad. Next week, I will invite my fiancé, Mr. Kane, to our home. After he comes, nobody will mess with me," Grace said.

I wondered, 'Mr. Kane? Brian?' I stopped in my tracks, and an old story was retrieved from the system.

Ada's grandfather had served in the army alongside Brian's, who came from one of the most influential families in Sharpel. They had a verbal agreement about the marriage of their respective first grandchild.

In other words, Brian was supposed to be the fiancé of Ada, the real Miss Porter.

This marriage had nothing to do with Grace.

However, she even wanted to take Brian away after she got Ada's family.

Back in the room, Ada became gloomy.

She sat on her bed with her hands clapped around her knees and said nothing.

I poured her a cup of water. "Have some water."

She took the cup and murmured, "Thanks, and for today."

I knew what she meant, so I gave her a smile. "You are welcome. I just don't approve of them."

'The main reason is that I got paid,' I thought.

The system: [Ding! You are inconsistent in what you say or do. You should speak your mind.]

I was dumbfounded. 'Fine, I'll come clean,' I thought.

"Let me be frank. The main reason is that I got paid from the system," I explained.

Ada was stunned and then looked at me with a confused look. "The system?"

Only then did I realize that I had said something stupid.

I cleared my throat and then lied, "Well... It is my little vice that I speak my mind whenever I see something unfair happen. It is something like a pattern of behavior or a system. After I speak my mind, I will feel happy as if I earned a fortune."

Ada nodded with something resembling understanding, and she dropped the topic. Silence fell again.

After a while, she asked in a low voice, "Summer, do you think... Am I hopeless in your eyes? I don't have the guts to talk back, no matter what they say. I didn't dare to complain even if Grace stole my painting."

Her voice was choked with tears. "I was scared... I was afraid that they would hate me more than ever if I complained."

Her tearful look made my heart ache.

She had been emotionally manipulated for so long that she lost the courage to stand up for herself.

I sat next to her and patted her shoulder. "Not your fault. You are surrounded by prejudice and injustice, so your silence is an act of self-protection, not cowardice. From today on, you don't need to remain silent anymore."

I looked her in the eyes and said word by word, "Because I will protect you."

'Besides, I will help you get back what is supposed to be yours, such as your fiancé, Brian,' I thought.

Ada nodded her head very hard as her eyes shone with tears.

I decided to make good use of the Mind Reading Card, which hadn't expired yet.