Chapter 10

On the other side, Emery had already picked up the report from the hospital.

The doctor’s words still echoed in his ears. “Severe malnutrition, anemia, and stomach problems! What has happened to this poor young one!"

"Mr. Wilson, surely the Wilson family isn’t so poor that they can’t even provide a meal for her, right?”

Emery thought back now, his heart still ached painfully, and his hand holding the report trembled uncontrollably.

When Aubree first returned to the Wilson family, she went for a check-up at the hospital. Although she dressed plainly, all her health indicators were fine. So, how did she end up with so many health issues after three years?

The term “malnutrition” applied to Miss Wilson was simply laughable.

Standing before the Wilson family’s villa, Emery felt as if the paper in his hand weighed a ton. Aubree’s pitiful expressions flashed before his eyes again, making his eyes sting with tears.

“How could I have been so harsh on her before? She is our treasure. How did she end up like this after being recovered?” he murmured inwardly.

It was only when Wendy saw him standing at the door that she hurriedly invited him inside, “Mr. Wilson, why aren’t you coming in? Mr. and Mrs. Wilson are back and celebrating Miss Carmen Wilson getting into the training camp of Rithol Art School. They’re waiting for you.”

Emery felt dizzy. While Aubree was still out there alone, not sure if she could get enough to eat, his parents were in the mood to celebrate Carmen’s achievement.

He felt suffocated.

With heavy steps, Emery entered the house where food filled an entire long table–appetizing dishes everywhere.

Yet it was in such a home that they raised a girl who ended up with anemia and malnutrition.

Something choked him in his throat.

What exactly has Aubree been through these past few years in this family? he couldn’t help wondering.

Seeing him at this hour made Ronald unhappy. “Emery, didn’t I send you a message early on that we’re celebrating for Carmen today? Why did you only come back now?”

Emery opened his mouth but didn’t know what to say, and finally mumbled, “I went to the hospital.”

Hearing this, Carmen immediately looked concerned. “Emery, are you sick?”

“No,” Emery replied flatly, “I went to get Aubree’s medical report.”

Aubree’s name cooled down everyone instantly.

Ronald frowned immediately. “Why bring up such bad luck!”

‘Bad luck?!’ Emery couldn’t believe his ears.

He remembered when Aubree first went missing, his father would smoke all night long and secretly cry over her photo countless times behind closed doors. Yet now, his father considered her bad luck.

A surge of fury erupted within him.

Emery held up the report, adding, “Do you know what it says? Anemia, malnutrition, stomach problems. Do you remember her initial check-up results when she came home? After living here for three years, look at what happened!"

Alice, Emery’s mother, widened her eyes upon hearing this.

“How could she be malnourished? Is this report real, or did Aubree bribe someone to…”

Daston nodded. “She wouldn’t hesitate to do something like that.”

Bryan frowned. “When did we ever not provide her with meals at home?”

Trevor yawned indifferently. “Just ask Wendy and we’ll know.”

Clearly, no one really cared about Aubree’s condition and even thought it might be some trick of hers.

To say there was no disappointment would be a lie, but what truly pained Emery was the realization that he once was part of it, too.

Back then, how desperate must Aubree have felt being treated this way by everyone around her? We pushed her away bit by bit, Emery thought.

Wendy came over quickly.

Alice asked, “Did Aubree not follow the dietitian’s meal plan?”

“She followed it for all three meals, and we also watched her closely to make sure she didn’t eat an extra bite,” Wendy replied honestly.

“Only three meals?” Emery caught the key point.

Wendy felt a bit puzzled but still answered truthfully, “Yes, three meals.”

Emery’s hand holding the report was trembling. Everyone in the Wilson family knew that the amount of food Aubree was allowed per meal was pitifully small.

If she were only eating three meals a day during her growing phase, she wouldn’t get enough nutrition, and not starving to death was already a blessing for her.

The other Wilsons soon sensed something was off, too.

Ronald questioned, “Why only three meals? Isn’t Aubree’s diet specifically customized to follow the principle of frequent, smaller meals?”

Carmen, sitting in the middle, started to panic, fidgeting with her fingers uneasily. “Maybe the kitchen was too busy and made a mistake?”

Even Trevor, who usually took things lightly, looked surprised. ‘Aubree couldn’t even eat enough here?’ he said inwardly.

Alice also felt a vague sense of unease, but since everything had already passed, perhaps, as Carmen said, it was just a mistake in the kitchen.

“The mistake has already happened, and there’s nothing we can do to change it. We’ll just have to make it up to Aubree when she comes back,” she said, trying to brush it off.

Emery suddenly thought of what Aubree said to him at the school gate today. “If it were Carmen, would this matter just pass by so easily!”

He suddenly felt unsure, asking inwardly. “Were our actions really right?”

It was suffocating. The pain in his heart seemed to spread to his limbs. His eyes were sore, and without looking, he knew they must be red.

“Today, I went to Rathol High School to see Aubree. Do you know what she told me about the school forum?” Emery repeated what Aubree had said.

“If this happened to Carmen now, Mom, would you just brush it off so lightly? Earlier, you said Aubree might have bribed the doctor to fake this report, but have you thought about where Aubree would get the money! She left the Wilson family, where would she live? Does she have enough money for food?”

Emery practically shouted the last sentence.

Daston immediately felt annoyed, as these words had placed Carmen in an unfavorable light.

“Emery, you’re playing the saint now, but don’t you remember how you treated Aubree before?” he snapped.

The sentence deflated Emery instantly. He looked like a lost soul, his eyes blank. “Right, I’m not a saint either. Even the spot they were celebrating now was one he decided to give up for Aubree."

So the late girl who used to follow him around, sweetly calling him, had been lost by him.

He walked up the stairs in a daze. By the time Emery snapped back to reality, he was already standing at the door of Aubree’s old room.

He pushed the door open, only to find that the room’s layout hadn’t changed at all, as if the owner were still there.

Emery sat on the bed like a lost soul, and at the sight of the stuffed bear on the bed, his eyes went blank again.

He still remembered how excited Aubree was when she first came back and saw the room, holding that little bear with sheer joy.

But actually, this room was originally a storage room with poor lighting and space. Since everyone in the family was busy, they didn’t have time to set up a proper room for her. The little bear she loved so much was also something Carmen didn’t want.

Emery felt his whole body trembling.

In contrast, Carmen’s room was the largest and best in the entire Wilson family, filled with limited-edition dolls that were almost overflowing.

Feeling a chill on his face, Emery reached up to touch it and realized he had been crying without knowing when.

“Aubree, I’m wrong,” a low sob echoed in the small room.

Emery regretted not standing up for Aubree when she was being doubted and accused, and he shouldn’t have rushed to school and blamed her without thinking clearly.

On the very first day she came home, he stood before her, extended his hand, and told her, “Don’t be afraid, I’ll always protect you.”

He failed to keep that promise.

If he had thought from Aubree’s perspective even once, he would understand that she was the one who suffered the most injustice.

How could I make her give up her spot at Rithol Art School training camp so easily! Breathing heavily, Emery suddenly remembered something and got up to flip over the mattress.

“Emery, I’ll tell you a secret. Under my mattress hides my most precious thing,” Aubree once told him.

It was a painting of their family together.

With trembling fingers, Emery picked up the painting and turned it over.

“To always be together with Mommy, Daddy, brothers, and Carmen!” the words on it read.

Heartbroken beyond words by what he had done, Emery couldn’t hold back any longer and burst into tears.

He had lost his sister… again.