Everyone was stunned. Selina was bold.
Selina blinked innocently. "What’s wrong, Grandpa Perry? Why so angry? Did I say something that wasn’t true?"
"Nonsense, nonsense!" Grandpa Perry roared. "Anna was my daughter! Why would I ever deliberately let her die?!"
Selina widened her eyes. "I never said you killed her on purpose. But the Perry Family didn’t care for her, didn’t value her. The medical staff didn’t pay attention either. And in the end, she got no treatment. She was just left to die."
"I get it, it’s not your fault, of course. You’re so busy—how could you have time to care about a daughter you didn’t even care about?"
Grandpa Perry clutched his chest. "Stop talking nonsense... shut up!"
"Selina!" Amelia screamed. "Logan, are you just going to stand there and let her upset your grandfather?! He’s not in good health—!"
"What did I say that was wrong?"
Selina sighed. "Let’s just look at the facts. Grandpa said Anna passed away at the end of May, right? Then why is there a two-month gap in her medical records from late March to May?"
"There are no hospital records showing Anna was even admitted. If she wasn’t in the hospital, then what else is that but letting her sit at home and wait to die?"
The guests began to exchange uneasy looks.
Everyone knew the Perry Family never liked that daughter. Everyone knew Amelia had something to do with Anna’s death. They’d always said publicly that Anna passed from an untreatable illness—but that didn’t mean you just give up on treating her and let her rot away.
"We had private doctors at home!" Mr. Perry the Second shouted. "Anna was being treated at home during those two months!"
Selina tilted her head. "Oh? That’s not what I heard. Let’s see—at that time, two of your private doctors were vacationing in Country Y, and the third was on a business trip in City N. None of your doctors were even home. So tell me—who exactly was treating Anna?"
She stared him down. "Mr. Perry the Second, I get it—you’re an illegitimate child. Of course you’d resent a legitimate daughter from the main family."
"She’s dead now. What’s the point of lying? You let her die like she was nothing. Just admit it already. It’s not like Anna’s going to crawl out of her grave and hold you accountable."
The crowd: "..."
Selina’s mouth... could it get any more savage?
"You—you—" Mr. Perry the Second was completely lost for words.
Selina turned to look straight at Grandpa Perry. "So, old man, what is it? Either you deliberately let your daughter die—or you just forgot the date of her death. Pick one."
Grandpa Perry’s veins bulged in his neck. This... junior... dared to talk to him like this?!
Everyone was watching him become a joke—and he couldn’t pick either answer.
The Perry Family’s favoritism toward a fake daughter had led to the real daughter’s death. People had been whispering behind their backs for over twenty years.
If this got out—that the Perry Family had killed the real daughter just to protect a fraud—what reputation would they have left?
But if he said he got the date wrong... that would be a joke all its own.
"Logan... let me tell the truth," Amelia suddenly covered her mouth and sobbed. "Dad has always felt so guilty about what happened to my sister. He’s never accepted her death. For two whole months after she passed, he was in denial... he truly believed she was still alive."
"It wasn’t until May that he started to come back to himself. We didn’t have the heart to tell him that Anna had actually died back in March..."
Mr. Perry the Second quickly caught on and chimed in. "Yes, exactly! We were only thinking of Dad’s health. Of course we didn’t forget Anna’s death date! This party today—it was Dad’s idea. As his children, we couldn’t upset him by telling him today was Anna’s death anniversary, could we?"
Owen put on his gentle, pitiful act, speaking in a soft voice: "Before we left home today, we already paid our respects to my mother, Anna. We just didn’t mention it because we didn’t want to upset Grandpa."
Sure enough, Grandpa Perry clutched his chest like he was about to faint from the shock.
Amelia burst into tears and shouted: "Logan, are you happy now that you’ve pushed your grandfather into a breakdown? We’ve kept this secret for so many years, and you—"
The guests murmured among themselves.
So that’s what it was.
Today was Anna’s death anniversary—but Grandpa had fallen gravely ill from guilt back then, and deluded himself into thinking Anna hadn’t died until May.
Amelia and Owen, being thoughtful juniors, didn’t have the heart to correct him.
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The readers' comments on the novel: Married First, Loved Later : A Flash Marriage with My Ex's 'Uncle'
Read it all in one go. Was amazing...