Chapter 378

Jason knew Grace disliked the dark; even bedtime found her sleeping with the lights on. Previously, while living in a rental house, she'd slept with the lights off for a time, but later reverted to her old habit.

He frowned. Was she not in the room? But just as he turned to leave, he heard muffled crying.

She was there.

He stopped, then reached for the wall switch, flooding the room with light. A thin figure huddled in the corner met his gaze. Crouching with her back to the wall, her face buried in her knees, her shoulders twitched. Low, repressed sobs racked her body.

Was she crying?

His dark eyes narrowed as he approached her. Crouching down, he asked, "What's wrong? What happened?"

Grace started at his voice. Lifting her head slightly, she looked at him with misty, almond-shaped eyes—red and swollen from crying. Her tear-streaked face and pained expression wrenched his heart.

He rarely saw her cry, but her distress left him feeling helpless.

"Tell me, what happened?" he finally managed.

She choked back a sob. "I I can't find my mother. I can't find can't find"

Tears streamed down her face as she spoke. After returning home, she'd pondered her father's relocation of her mother's grave—a cemetery? A burial hill? Even if she wanted to find it, she didn't know how. Calls to her father, stepmother, and Evelyn went unanswered. She was at her wit's end. Fifty million dollars? Even selling herself wouldn't cover that amount.

Her gaze locked onto his. Suddenly, she realized her father and stepmother might have demanded the money because they thought Jason would help. She didn't have fifty million dollars, but Jason did.

Jason frowned, bewildered. Wasn't her mother already dead? What did she mean she couldn't find her?

"What's wrong? Explain," he said, wiping away her tears.

Grace grasped his hand, a flash of determination in her eyes. "Give me fifty million dollars. If you do, then I'll stay with you. I'll stay as long as you want. I'll do anything you want!"

Fifty million dollars would help her find her mother's grave! Her mother was her spiritual anchor. Having lost so much, she couldn't bear losing the place where she honored her memory.

Jason's eyes darkened as he stared at her. "Do you understand what you're saying?"