Olivia stayed before the grave for quite some time before leaving. She did not have time to wallow in sorrow for too long. She had an investigation to carry out now that she had the photo.
Most of the women her dad was in touch with worked in his company, so it was natural that Olivia started from there. But just as she started to search for a way to contact them, her phone started ringing.
It was one of the children from the countryside whose education her father had sponsored back then. His voice was rather anxious.
“Ms. Fordham, I just returned from overseas and heard that Mr. Fordham is gravely ill. Is he alright?”
“Thanks for your concern. My father’s still getting treatment at the hospital.”
“Gosh! How could someone as kind as him get into such a situation? If it wasn’t for him sponsoring our studies years back, we wouldn’t be where we are today.”
A thought flashed across Olivia’s mind. In the past, her father had helped children in the countryside to move to the city for their studies, so Leia could have known him since she was abducted and taken to the countryside.
“Ryan, do you know those who were sponsored by my father?”
“I’ve been helping Mr. Fordham contact them all along. I know most of them, but I’ve lost contact with them after going abroad for the past few years. Is there anything I can help you with, Ms. Fordham? I’ll do everything in my power to help you.”
Olivia felt as though she just found herself a sliver of hope. Immediately, she told him, “I have a picture with me. Can you see if she’s one of the students my father sponsored before?”
“Sure thing, Ms. Fordham.”
In just half an hour after sending him the picture, Ryan had sent Olivia the information she wanted. The girl in the picture he sent had bright eyes that were similar to Leia and Ethan.
name was Jodie, and she came from a poor family. Olivia’s father had sponsored her education 12 years ago. She had been a brilliant student from a
was looking for. In a hurry, she asked Ryan to meet up with her in
in person. Back then, he was still a bashful boy, very unlike the
the Fordhams had fallen into bankruptcy, he still addressed her courteously. “Sorry to keep you waiting,
beat around the
to be. I seldom contacted my friends in the country when I stayed overseas. We haven’t talked
you know how she’s doing these
days ago. I wouldn’t have known about your family’s situation if it weren’t for
I tried asking around in her circle. Sadly, she’s dead. What a shame.
“How did she die?”
not sure of the cause of her death, but I heard that
forehead wrinkling. Not only did she not find the answers she was looking for, but more questions also
when she was almost six years old, so she should have remembered what had
her father had sponsored her studies, why didn’t she ask for
not return to the Millers when she came
did Olivia’s father have
father kind to her?” Olivia asked
from a poor background and was orphaned at a young age. She scored well in her exams and made her way into the city all alone. Mr. Fordham was very kind to her. I heard that she was rather reserved and was ostracized
he set his cup down and asked,
the cause of her death so that she wouldn’t die in vain,” Olivia
her funeral. Now, she had something else in mind. She wanted to clear
Ethan refused to tell her the truth,
from his wallet and passed it to Olivia. “One of my friends is a renowned private detective. He could be of help
“Thank you, Ryan.”
in the country for
sent the information she got over to
her to his office. Olivia had an ominous feeling about this. Anxiously, she asked, “How’s my father’s condition? When can he
during the car crash, which triggered an aftereffect. He shows no signs of waking up,
thought her heart had fallen into a perpetual abyss. Her grip on the disposable paper