Chapter 5
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Chapter 5
A few days later, the Nguyen family regained its calm.
Catherine’s death felt like an insignificant gust, stirring no ripples.
Anna and Nathan remained as gentle as ever, and Mark continued caring for Stephanie.
Yet Stephanie sensed something amiss.
Outwardly unchanged,
they grew increasingly distracted. Nathan even dug out Catherine’s baby photos from before she went missing,
spending the entire day looking at them.
Unease crept into Stephanie’s heart, though she reasoned:
They must still be grieving Catherine’s death.
No matter what, that bond could never compare to me, who’d been with them for fifteen
years.
Stephanie reassured and resumed her routine.
But Mark grew increasingly unsettled.
Staring at the locked storeroom door, he felt increasingly guilty.
“How did things come to this…” Mark clutched his head,
slumping onto the sofa.
Truth was, he’d damaged Catherine’s car during their first encounter.
He’d felt remorse initially, but Stephanie kept insisting it wasn’t Catherine’s fault-
fueling his resentment instead.
Now as he calmed down, something felt ofl’.
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Chapter 5
1288 Vouchers
Why?
She was his biological sister. Why had he always been so rough?
Stephanie obeyed constantly and never had any conflicts with Catherine-
Wait!
Mark bolted upright.
He recalled Catherine’s dying words: Stephanie had bullied her…
Mark knew Stephanie’s former school,
but he’d had no idea that Catherine and Stephanie had been classmates.
After all, Catherine had dropped out when found. The Nguyens focused solely on Stephanie,
never inquiring about Catherine’s education.
Could it be…
Mark grabbed his phone.
“Investigate Catherine. I need her complete school records!”
“And check Stephanie’s inner circle… plus Catherine’s classmates!”
Mark’s team worked swiftly.
Within hours, they located one of Stephanie’s closest friends in high school.
“Just answer this: Did Stephanie often bully this girl in the photo with your group?”
Mark handed Catherine’s photo over and said,
The girl only glanced at it, then nodded fearfully,
“Yes… Stephanie told us to keep it secret before. We can’t afford to cross your family’s status in Haverfield.
She said she’d hated Catherine for ages
liked…’
“I
–
how she used her grades to seduce the senior she
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Chapter 5
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Mark’s mind started buzzing.
Back when he attended Stephanie’s parent-teacher meetings, school staff praised her as obedient and well-beannered.
But now…
“By the way, Mr. Nguyen, this is… the video we took when Stephanie bullied Catherine.
I kept it thinking it might be useful someday. Never thought I’d actually hand it to you.
Honestly, we felt Stephanie went too far. Catherine always aced her classes, yet dropped out because of her…”
Mark clenched his fists till his knuckles whitened, waves of dull pain throbbing in his chest.
Without Stephanie’s bullying, Catherine could’ve thrived…
His phone rang again. He answered it, and his subordinate’s voice came through:
“Mark, while digging into Stephanie and Catherine’s history, we found something else,”
“Stephanie’s been in touch with Thomas and Elizabeth Robinson since five years ago…’
The subordinate kept talking,
while Mark’s eyes widened slowly until disbelief flooded them completely…
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Meanwhile, Stephanie remained clueless,
partying late with friends like always before heading home.
But upon opening the door and spotting figures in the living room, her face turned deathly pale instantly
because seated there were her biological parents!
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