Chapter 259

I’d failed miserably as a daughter. I knew my parents died in a car accident, but I knew nothing about what happened that day.

Lindey’s expression shifted, and she gently grasped my wrist. “Rea, we agreed not to talk about this. It’s in the past.”

“I’m not a kid anymore. I can handle it. Please, tell me,” I said, squeezing her hand.

Her hand trembled. “It’s over. Why bring it up?”

I was quiet for a few seconds. “Lindey, they were my parents. My only family.” My parents, orphans themselves, left me one too.

Perhaps my words reached her. After a long pause, Lindey finally spoke. “When Matthew and I reached the crash site, your mother was gone. Your father was barely alive. He grasped Matthew’s hand and could only say your name…”

Lindey choked up, and a lump formed in my throat. It felt like ripping open an old wound; now I understood her reluctance. She didn’t want to hurt me.

“We knew he was worried about you, that he was asking us to care for you,” Lindey murmured.

Seeing her upset made me feel worse, but I pushed past the ache in my heart. “What exactly happened? Was it a collision, or something else?”

Lindey sighed. “Their car rear-ended a large tanker truck.”

A memory of a crash scene from a phone video flashed in my mind. My heart clenched. “Was there a brake issue?”

Lindey’s lips parted. “I’m not sure. The driver died instantly, and the car was totaled. We don’t know the cause.”

“Does Matthew know?” I asked, remembering his upset reaction last time.

“This…” Lindey hesitated.

“Lindey, please,” I pleaded, my voice cracking.

She touched my face. “Rea, they’re gone. What’s the point of this?”

Her reluctance fueled my anxiety. “Is there something you’re not telling me?”

Seeing my distress, she sighed. “It seemed… there was a brake issue.”

“Didn’t the driver check them?” I asked, struggling for calm.

Lindey squeezed my hand. “Rea, the driver also died.”

With the driver gone, determining fault was impossible. And Hayden’s father was my dad’s driver…

“Rea, please, let’s not talk about this anymore. Come, eat something,” Lindey said, trying to change the subject.

But how could I eat? My stomach was in knots. I remembered Hayden’s investigation into his father’s death, meaning it couldn’t have been his father’s fault. Perhaps it involved the contract my dad was about to sign. I glanced at Lindey and decided to risk it. “Do you know if my parents planned to start a business before the accident?”

She was about to give me food when her hand shook, and the dish slipped. I saw goosebumps spread across her arms. Something was wrong. My heart sank, a chill creeping up my spine. “Lindey…”

Chapter 260