Chapter 2

Antony Fox came rushing over, scooped Rose up in his arms, and shouted as he ran, "Where's the driver? Get the car, we're going to the hospital!"

Right before he left, he still made a point of snarling at me, "Gladys Henson, if anything happens to Rosie, you'll pay for it."

At those words, my eyes went wide with anticipation.

But the excitement I'd been counting on never came.

When Rose was taken to the hospital, I wanted to go along too, but the Fox family acted like I didn't exist. I never got in the car.

The days that followed were even more boring.

To comfort their heartbroken Rose, the Foxes took her off to a tropical island resort.

The house was huge, and I was the only one left in it.

By all rights, I should have been sad, depressed, crying my eyes out.

Because my own birth parents didn't love me at all.

But I'm not that kind of person.

The moment I learned the Foxes had flown off to the resort, I went straight out after dinner.

The gated villa neighborhood where the Foxes lived charged eighteen thousand a month in HOA fees, and the security was airtight. Ordinary people couldn't get in.

So when a strange new face like me went wandering around the neighborhood alone, a guard came over right away to ask who I was.

I gave him a sweet little smile and said, loud and clear, "I'm the Foxes' real daughter, the one they just brought home."

In an instant, I could feel curious eyes turning toward me from every direction.

The next day, the moment I stepped out I "happened to run into" my neighbor, Freda James.

She warmly invited me over to her place for a meal.

I played along perfectly. The second I sat down, I said, "Thank you, Freda. I finally don't have to eat alone."

Freda looked startled. "Gladys, you've been back all this time, and your parents haven't sat down to a single meal with you?"

I lowered my eyes. "My parents are busy. No time. Even when I came home, it was the driver who picked me up."

Freda paused, then blurted out, "Busy? Busy with what? They just threw Rose a birthday party a couple of days ago."

My head dropped even lower.

Freda realized she'd said the wrong thing and quickly changed the subject. "Gladys, come by and sit with me whenever you like. I get bored on my own too. Here, let's add each other online. If anything comes up, just reach out to me."

Sweet as ever, I pulled up my code for her to scan.

Once Freda added me, she went straight into my social media feed.

The very first post was that whole scene I'd filmed the day I arrived at the Fox house.

Freda watched the video, then looked up at me, then bent her head and started scrolling through the rest of my feed.

Finally, she drew a deep breath and said, "Gladys, come over to my place again tomorrow. I have a few friends who are going to love you."

"Of course, Freda. I'll be here for sure."

So on the third day, I met Florence Lambert, and a few of the other ladies.

Florence and the others introduced me to still more of the neighborhood ladies...

And just like that, in a matter of days I'd met every single one of the ladies in the neighborhood.

Each of them pushed her own husband on me, saying, "Gladys, this is your uncle's contact. If you ever run into trouble, get in touch with him."

I knew what this was really about. It was so their busy husbands could get the gossip firsthand whenever they had a spare moment.

I turned no one away, adding contacts until my hand went numb.

These people had better information than I did. The instant they found out the Foxes had finally had their fill of the resort and booked flights home, they messaged me right away.

I caught their meaning at once and immediately sent out a group message.

【The ladies have helped me so much lately, and I want to thank everyone. Come to my place tomorrow and try my cooking.】