Chapter 309


    Sophia went back to university to attend the lectures recently, but the ces she could visit had


    decreased even further. She either studied at the university, stayed at home, or went to Stanley’s


    company to have a look.


    After Stanley’spany had acquired enough capital and workforce, they started working on starting it


    aggressively. As one of the investors, Sophia put quite a lot of effort in it. She walked around the


    company every day to check up on them.


    This day, right after Sophia had finished looking around and was prepared to go home, she received a


    message from X on Messenger. ‘Sophia, Faye found some of your mom’s stuff back home. When you


    are free, remember toe over to retrieve them. The address is xxxxx.’


    She even sent a few pictures over. One of them was a picture of a simple box with some clothes that had


    turned yellow. It was obvious that they were outdated, and the fashion was popr back then. Apart from


    that, there was a picture of a hardcover notebook that was popr decades ago. There were a few


    stickers of popr rock stars of that era on the cover of the notebook, and on the first page, a few words


    were written in pen with strong strokes—‘Anna’s Notebook’.


    There were also a few lines of poems on the first page:


    War


    The moon shone brightly at midnight,


    but the man who had gone to war had yet to return.


    If the generals of the city were present,


    the barbarians’ horses would never have crossed the mountains.


    Sophia snorted as she did not feel like entertaining her. From the style of the notebook and the pages


    that had turned yellow, it seemed to be dated back 20 years. However, X and Faye seemed to have


    forgotten that Annabel’s education level only reached primary level as she had quit school when she was


    in primary 5. During her teenage years, she was already sent into the city to work so that she could


    provide for her brothers to study. How could she have known ‘If the generals of the city were present, the


    barbarians’ horses would never have crossed the mountains’?


    On top of that, the handwriting was graceful yet full of power. It was obvious that it was not written by


    Sophia’s mother, who only studied until primary school level. However, thest picture sent by X


    caught her attention. It was an old photograph, but it was well-kept. The girl in the photograph was quite


    pretty. Even though she didn’t have any makeup on, her small face was clean and clear. Her wide eyes


    seemed to be hiding something, making others unable to see through her.


    The girl seemed to be around 17 or 18, so she still had the naivety and innocence of a young girl, and


    she looked exactly like Sophia. On the back of the photograph that X sent, some words were written


    using a ball-point pen—‘Annabel, age 17, taken in July 199x’.


    Annabel died when she was 19 due to amniotic fluid embolism. The time she died was around the same


    time Sophia was born. Back then, because of the limited resources, girls weren’t regarded as important


    by the family, so there were no photographs of Annabel left behind. Sophia had only seen a few official


    photographs of her mother, and this was the first time she saw a colored photograph of Annabel.


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    It was probably taken after she started working in the city, as it was a fashion shoot on the streets, to


    Sophia’s surprise. In the photograph, Annabel wore a long dress that was in fashion back then. Walking


    on the streets of Bayside City, her pose revealed half of her slender legs. From the pictureposition


    and the color settings, it was a great photo even in the modern era. Her mother’s attire was fashionable


    indeed.


    Is this my mom? After looking at the picture for a long time, Sophia ordered Hale, who was driving, “Go


    to the Edwards’ ancestral home.”


    After driving for around an hour, they finally reached there. When Sophia got out of the car, she saw an


    exquisite three-storey mansion in front of her that looked ancient. So this was where my mom used to


    stay…


    Sophia did not have much feelings for Annabel as she had never experienced any love from her mother


    before. Hence, her impression of her mother onlyprised the derogatory, hateful insults her rtives


    and neighbors hurled at her.


    “Your mom is a b*tch who did that sort of thing in the city!”


    “How did the Johnson Family raise such a disgraceful daughter like your mom? She came back to our


    vige pregnant with a baby! On top of that, she didn’t even know who the father was! Such a disgrace!


    She brought shame upon the family!”


    Back then, in the traditional vige, an 18-year-old unmarried pregnant girl who returned to the vige


    without knowing who the father was was regarded as a prostitute to the vigers. No matter what she


    had done, they would use her of prostitution.


    Since young, Sophia had been hearing insults such as how she was birthed by a b*tch, so she was


    already immune to that.


    “Hey, Sophia, you’re back! Wee! Doe in!” As soon as Joe, who was standing by the door, saw


    Sophia, he acted as if he was weing a cash cow. He rubbed his hands together, almost at the verge


    of drooling.


    Sophia only brought two bodyguards, one of whom was a woman.


    When the three of them stood by the door, Sophia spoke without any expression, “Cut the crap. I’m just


    here to take my mother’s belongings. Where are they?”


    Joe smiled cheekily. “Just in there. They’re all in there.”


    After Sophia followed Joe into the mansion, she saw X and Faye in the living room. Faye cast her a


    warm smile. “Sophia, you’re finally back. I’ve already put together all your mom’s belongings upstairs.


    Why don’t you take it yourself?”


    Sophia followed the servant upstairs. The servant was rather old. When she saw Sophia, she was


    shocked. While leading Sophia up the stairs, she said, “So alike. You guys are so alike. You look exactly


    like Annabel. Exactly like her…”


    Sophia smiled. “Madam, did you know my mom?”


    The servant smiled so widely that the lines at the corner of her eyes were clumped together. “I’ve been


    working with the Edwards Family for decades now. I was the one who raised Mr. Joe personally. Your


    mom, Annabel, was my distant rtive back home, and I was the one who asked her toe work here


    back then.”


    Right after Sophia and her two bodyguards entered the room, a few strong men suddenly barged in and


    pulled the servant out before closing the door shut with a loud bang. Then, the sound of chains and locks


    were heard.


    Joe stood outside the door and said vindictively, “Hahaha! My good daughter, stay for dinner tonight, and


    remember to ask your husband toe over too! He will have to meet his father-inw one day, no


    matter how ugly he looks.” Looking at the door that had been locked, Joe turned around and ordered the


    servants, “Inform my son-inw back at The Imperial immediately!”


    Sophia ignored the locked door and looked around the room. Sure enough, there was an old suitcase


    ced on the table in the middle of the room. The suitcase was filled with many things indeed.


    With just a nce, Sophia saw the notebook and the photographs right away. She walked there and


    picked up the photograph. When she looked at it in person, she was even more shocked by the vivid


    colors of the woman in the photograph. This was her mother—the mother whom she had never met


    since she was born.


    Even though the people in her vige said that her mother was a prostitute, she had never believed that.


    When she was younger, her grandmother often held her as she cried. “Anna was a good kid. She was


    not a prostitute; she had never done anything shameful, and she had never thought of being a


    mistress…”


    There was nothing much left in the suitcase—only a few clothes, a toothbrush, and ab. There was


    also the notebook and a small photo album. Sophia picked up the notebook and flipped to a page. Sure


    enough, a few words were written on the frontpage—‘Anna’s Notebook’. The poem, ‘War’, was written


    using a fountain pen. Sophia touched the handwriting that was clearly written on the paper with such


    power that it seeped through the paper. It looked neat, as if it was printed. No matter what, it didn’t seem


    like Sophia’s mother had actually written it.


    The photographs in the photo album, however, actually belonged to Annabel. There was ayer of gel on


    each of the photographs, so they were well-preserved. The photo album had around 30 photographs that


    showed Annabel alone.


    There was a picture showing Annabel standing on the streets in pretty clothes, and there was also a


    picture of her dressed up as a waitress weing guests at the hall of the restaurant. Each and every


    picture was filmed beautifully—theposition, angle, and colors were impable. It was obvious that


    the photographs were taken by a professional photographer with high-end equipment. There were dates


    on every photograph, ranging a year, when Annabel was around 17 to 18 years old.


    While Sophia was in a daze looking at the photos, Hale observed the structure of the room. The door


    was locked, and the windows were all sealed. It seemed that the Edwards Family nned to lock them in


    here to lure Michael out.


    After looking through everything in the suitcase, Sophia closed the suitcase and took it. “Let’s go.”


    Gemma took out a silenced gun while opening the door. Unexpectedly, smoke traveled from behind the


    door through the slits.


    “Fire! Fire!” someone screamed in a shrill voice.