Chapter 254 Panicked Melanie
“You guys go home.”
- 5 Free Cond
Melody darted out barefoot, her steps quick and graceful. Inside the study, Melanie flipped frantically through the family’s files, turning page after page so fast the rustle of paper echoed through the quiet room. Her fingers shook, her face drained of color with every turn.
“Gone! They’re gone!”
Melanie’s call interrupted Timothy’s meeting.
Melanie’s voice trembled with panic over the line. Timothy’s brow furrowed sharply, and his tone carried impatience.
“Gone? I am in a meeting. If it’s nothing urgent, I—”
“The papers! Honey, we’re missing Anne’s papers!”
Melanie gripped the files tightly, her voice thick with emotion.
The truth was undeniable. Over a month ago, Anneliese had quietly removed herself from the White family files.
Timothy’s frown deepened as he stood abruptly, signaling for the meeting to pause. Holding his phone tightly, he stepped out and spoke in a low, controlled voice.
“That’s impossible. She made a whole scene just so she could be made into an official member of the family. She stood in the rain all night. It took her a titanic effort just to get those papers. She could never just remove herself quietly. Check again, carefully.”
When they had first brought Anneliese back to live with Selina, things had been tense. Timothy and the others had wanted to observe her character, so they had delayed changing her address to the family house’s.
Word had spread among household members and friends. People whispered that Anneliese was just a country girl. Without having her address changed to the White house’s, she might as well have been an outsider, almost like a child born outside the family.
The insult had stung sharply.
Anneliese had insisted on the change, pouting and refusing to yield until Timothy granted her wish. Timothy had set strict conditions: she would either have to change her name to White or stand in the yard the whole night.
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Chapter 254 Panicked Melanie
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It had been a rainy night. Timothy intended to make things difficult, but Anneliese had run outside and stood in the pouring rain.
By the next day, she had come down with a high fever, right after she got her address changed.
In their eyes, Anneliese had always wanted access to the White family inheritance. She’d never change her address or disown her family, not after everything that had been done for her.
“It’s really gone. I have the files right here. I am not blind! Honey, what is Anne trying to do? Is she really turning away from us? Does she not want to acknowledge us anymore?”
Melanie’s chest tightened with sorrow. After all, this was her own daughter.
She had once celebrated when Anneliese returned. Losing her again felt like a piece of herself had been ripped away.
“What is she trying to prove? That we treated her unfairly? That we are ungrateful? She’s a selfish, ungrateful girl!
“I am in the middle of an important meeting. Go ask her yourself. She’s divorced from Zacharias now. If she abandons us, then she has no one to turn to!”
Timothy’s voice trembled with anger as he ended the call.
Melanie flipped through the files again and called Anneliese immediately.
Anneliese had just finished her lab work. She handed the neatly organized data to Jackson, who was busy with his work nearby. She picked up the phone and stepped out into the hallway.
“Hello?”
She saw it was Melanie calling and answered without hesitation.
Melanie’s voice came through, sharp and furious. “Anneliese, did you remove your papers and change your address?”
“Yes.”
Melanie froze. She had not expected such a casual, almost effortless answer.
Her chest heaved in disbelief. “You ungrateful girl! What do you mean by that? You begged to have your address changed to our family house’s. Now you change it again without saying a word. You did not consult anyone. Do you even care about your family? Do you even care about us?”
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Chapter 254 Panicked Melanie
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Anneliese laughed softly, almost amused. “I made it very clear. I said everything during the night of the banquet. Your family and I are done. Don’t get too agitated, Mrs. White. With me out of the way, everything your family has belongs to your precious Selina. You should be jumping with joy.”
Melanie’s voice flared with anger. “Anneliese, you’re divorced, jobless, and incapable. There is no way you can survive outside of our family!”
Her words, meant to wound and scold, rolled off Anneliese like water.
From the beginning, these so–called relatives had never truly recognized her worth. They would not stop putting her down and pushing her into the dust, yet they called that a good deed. That they were doing it for her own good.
She had no desire to argue further. She hung up on Melanie.
Turning, she pushed open the laboratory door. Bright lights flooded the room, contrasting with the deep darkness of the night outside.
The senior students had finished their tasks and were preparing to leave.
Imogen Snowden, the only doctoral student, neatly organized her materials and said, “Everyone has worked hard today, especially Anneliese. Your data is precise and clear. Tomorrow, we can use it to further optimize the high–efficiency power system. If we can improve endurance even slightly, we can finally submit the final results for the project.”
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