Chapter 1884


    If Hodge didn''t say it right then, he knew that he wouldn''t have any chance to say it anymore.


    Hodge had lived a long life. He had experienced and enjoyed the delights the world offered. He


    wouldn''t feel any regrets if he left the world, but he had one worry, which was his granddaughter,


    Adrienne.


    Therefore, no matter how tired and painful it was, even to the point that he felt like giving up, he still


    tried to hold on. He was waiting for his only rtive in this world to arrive as he still had many words


    to say to her.


    He used the veryst ounce of his strength left to hold Adrienne''s hand tightly. "Adrienne, my silly


    child, don''t be sad. You should put it this way. I''m not going to die, I''m just going to reunite with your


    parents in heaven. Promise me that you will live a good life. Your parents and I will look after you in


    heaven."


    Adrienne cried and shook her head desperately. "Grandpa, no, I don''t want you to leave. Please


    don''t leave me behind. I want you to stay with me forever." "Silly child, the person who can spend


    the rest of their life with you is not your parents, nor me, this old man. He''s your life partner, your


    husband." Hodge looked at Jefferson and uttered, "Jefferson, I''ll leave Adrienne to you from now on.


    Please... Please..."


    Hodge wanted to finish one sentence in one breath, but his condition didn''t allow him to do so. After


    a few seconds, he continued, "Please take good care of her. You have to stay with her all the time.


    You mustn''t leave her like her parents and I did."


    Jefferson nodded heavily. "Don''t worry, Mr. Hodge.


    I will take good care of Adrienne."N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner.


    Hodge added again, "Adrienne, I want you to promise me that you will be with Jefferson for a long


    time. No matter what happens, don''t easily break up."


    Adrienne cried so much that her snot and tears ran down her face, but she still nodded. "I promise


    you, Grandpa."


    It took Hodge a lot of effort to hold Adrienne and Jefferson''s hands together. He advised, "Live a


    good life with Jefferson and don''t be sad because of my death..."


    "Grandpa, no... I don''t want you to go. I don''t want you to leave me. All I want now is for you to stay


    with me. Please don''t go, please don''t..." Even though Adrienne cried very hard, she still couldn''t


    stop the illness from taking Hodge away from her.


    After Hodge''s passing, Adrienne held a funeral for him. Hodge was a simple man. He didn''t like to


    hold grand ceremonies, hence his funeral was rather simple. The people who came were only his


    close rtives and friends.


    At the funeral, Adrienne seemed to be in a rtively stable mood and took excellent care of all the


    rtives and friends who attended. Everyone looked at her with sympathy, but it seemed that she


    didn''t need any.


    After the funeral, Adrienne went to her parents'' tomb and knelt down as she said, "Dad, Mom..."


    As soon as she said that, tears flowed out from her eyes again. She wiped them off and cried out,


    "It''s all my fault. I didn''t take good care of Grandpa. But I know that Grandpa is a nice person. He''ll


    definitely meet you guys in heaven and live a good life. But please don''t forget about me. Whenever


    you guys are free, please appear in my dreams, so that I know that you guys haven''t forgotten me...


    You guys need to remind me that I still have something to hold on to in this world..."


    "Dad, Mom..." Adrienne was choked with sobs as she held the tombstone with both hands. She


    held it so tightly that her fingers started to bleed, but she seemed to feel no pain as her strength


    was getting greater.


    Jefferson rushed over and pulled her back into his arms. He scolded, "Adrienne, what are you


    talking about? What do you mean by you have nothing to hold on to in this world? Who am I to you


    then?"


    What made him angry was not Adrienne''s word, but how she was torturing herself.


    Adrienne did not have any strength left to speak. More tears fell, and she could not stop crying no


    matter how hard she tried.


    "Adrienne, as I said, I will be by your side for the rest of your life. You have to know that even


    without Mr. Hodge and your parents, you still have me." Jefferson looked at the tombstone before


    him and said solemnly, "Dad, Mom, I''m Jefferson, the child you watched growing up. Please rest


    assured that I will take care of Little Specky from now on and please tell her that she will not be


    alone and that she still has me."


    She still had him!


    Adrienne knew that she still had him, but he was him, and her family was her family.


    Nheless, Jefferson had always been a man who did whatever he wanted. He pulled Adrienne


    up from the ground and spoke, "Dad, Mom, I''ll bring Little Specky home first. We''lle back to


    visit you another day."


    Jefferson forcefully brought Adrienne home. For several days in a row, Adrienne did not say a word.


    It was like her soul had been taken away, and she was in a muddled state. Jefferson had tried every


    means to make her speak but to no avail.


    In addition to Jefferson, there was another person who was also worried about Adrienne. It was


    Britney who had visited them several times since Hodge''s death. Originally, she wanted to tell


    Adrienne to take things easy, but seeing how she was hiding in the corner of the bedroom, curling


    up, Britney was distressed. "Adrienne, oh my Adrienne..."


    She called her a few times, but Adrienne didn''t respond. So, she had no choice but to look for


    Jefferson, "Little brat, we can''t let Adrienne continue to be like this. You have to find a solution."


    Jefferson was all tensed up. Within a few short days, Adrienne had be much thinner, and he


    did not look any better himself, either. He irritably ruffled his unkempt hair and suddenly thought of


    something. He said, "I''m going to the bedroom, and Mom, you can give me a call from the balcony


    of the living room."


    Britney asked, "What are you nning to do?" "An idea to make that little idiot speak," Jefferson


    answered.


    He didn''t know if his idea would work, but no matter what, he still had to try it. After all, it was better


    than nothing.


    After entering the room and arriving at Adrienne''s side, his cell phone in his pocket rang. He thought


    that Britney really was very efficient in doing things. However, after taking out his mobile phone, he


    realized that it wasn''t Britney but the Paramount Criminal Police Team.


    In the past, when he had a phone call from work, Jefferson would deliberately walk away before


    answering it. Nheless, that day, he wanted to pretend that a case had happened to attract


    Adrienne''s attention. Moreover, the phone call from the Paramount Criminal Police Team really


    came in time. He no longer needed to act, so he immediately answered the phone, "What''s the


    matter?"


    Jefferson repeated what the other end reported, "A murder case had taken ce in Block 9, 2nd


    floor, unit 1809 of Flora Lake Residence at 99 Lakeside Road. The deceased is a 15-year-old girl..."


    While he was speaking, he saw that Adrienne, who was initially curled up in the corner, suddenly


    got up. Since she hadn''t moved for a few days, she felt dizzy and almost fainted. Fortunately,


    Jefferson was prepared for that. He grabbed hold of her and replied to the other end of the phone at


    the same time, "I''ll be there right away"