C326 They Left

After everyone had finally left, the training hall became unusually quiet. Only Samantha, Sarah, Laura, Chris, Alicia, and I remained. The noise from the employees had disappeared, leaving only the faint sounds of people cleaning up in the distance. Alicia stood in the middle of the hall and looked around. For a moment, she simply smiled. The opening had gone better than she had expected. More people had shown interest than she originally thought possible, and several employees had even signed the contracts willingly.

She slowly turned toward everyone. “Well, I have to thank all of you for helping us today.” Sarah smiled. “You don't have to thank us. We wanted to be here.” Alicia nodded. “I know, but I still appreciate it.” She looked at Laura, then Samantha, before finally looking at Chris. “Perhaps I should treat all of you to dinner.” Samantha immediately shook her head. “No.” Alicia raised an eyebrow. “No?” Samantha laughed. “Why don't you plan something for the weekend instead? Last weekend, all of you went out together and left me behind.”

Chris immediately laughed. “What?” Samantha looked at him. Chris pointed at her. “Last weekend was a couple's gathering. Even Bright, my enemy, somehow managed to come.” He paused. “And you wanted to be there as well?” Samantha opened her mouth but stopped. She thought about it for a moment. “Well...” Everyone started laughing. Alicia shook her head with a smile. “Fine. When you put it that way, I'll plan something for the weekend instead.” Samantha smiled. “Good.” Laura suddenly laughed. “Chris, weren't you cheering for Samantha a few moments ago?”

Chris looked at her. Laura continued teasing him. “What happened? Why are you suddenly reminding her that she's your enemy again?” Sarah laughed. “Exactly. I heard you cheering for her.” Chris shook his head. “I was supporting my wife's company, not her.” Sarah immediately laughed. “That's a very convenient excuse.” Chris grinned. “It is the truth.” Laura laughed again. “Or perhaps enemies are supposed to support each other now?” Samantha looked at Chris. “Did you actually cheer for me?” I quickly joined in. “I saw him too.”

Chris looked at everyone. “You people are unbelievable.” We all burst into laughter. The six of us slowly walked toward the exit of the training hall. The excitement of the afternoon was gradually fading, and everyone was beginning to think about heading home. Before we separated, Alicia stopped. She turned toward everyone. “Thank you all again for coming today.” Everyone nodded. Alicia then became slightly more serious. “But there is something we need to discuss later.” Sarah looked at her. “The second contract?”

Alicia nodded. “Yes.” She looked at Laura and Samantha. “It seems risky, so we will talk about it more carefully later. I don't want anyone making a decision without understanding exactly what they are agreeing to.” Laura laughed. “Don't even think about trying to convince us to change our minds.” She folded her arms. “We've already made our decisions.” Samantha nodded. “She's right.” Chris grinned. “You two are stubborn.” Laura laughed. “So are you.” Alicia smiled but didn't argue. “Fine. We'll discuss it later.”

One by one, everyone began saying their goodbyes. After the others had left, Alicia remained beside me. She looked at me. “Let's go together.” I looked at her curiously. “Where?” “You never told me where we're going or who we're meeting.” Alicia paused for a moment. “We're going to see my grandfather.” I stared at her. “Grandpa Peter?” She immediately laughed. “How can we go and see him when we left him at home?” I froze for a second. Then I understood. “You mean another grandfather?” She nodded. “Yes.”

I looked toward the parking area. “Then which car are we taking?” I glanced at the two cars. “And what will happen to the other one?” Alicia thought for a moment. “Let's go home first.” She pointed toward my car. “You can park your car there. Then we'll leave in mine.” I nodded. “Alright.” We got into our separate cars and drove back to the Mooney residence. The journey back was quiet. I kept thinking about what Alicia had said. Her grandfather. The same man she had discovered through the diary.

The same man who had apparently believed she was her mother when they spoke on the phone. I still didn't know what we were going to find when we met him. Eventually, the Mooney residence came into view. Alicia and I entered the driveway one after the other. Mary and Georgia had been waiting for us for most of the day. The moment they noticed the cars approaching, they immediately got up and hurried outside. “Finally,” Georgia said. But before they could reach us, they noticed something strange.

Alicia's car continued moving. It passed them and headed back toward the gate. Both women stopped. Mary stared at the departing car. “Wait...” Georgia looked at her. “What?” “Alicia is leaving again.” The two women exchanged confused glances. They then looked toward my red Volkswagen. “Maybe Mike is inside,” Georgia said. They hurried toward it. But when they reached the car, there was no one inside. Mary stared through the window. Then she looked at Georgia. Georgia looked back at her.

For a few seconds, neither of them said anything. Finally, Mary laughed. “We really rushed outside for nothing.” Georgia laughed as well. “They came back just to leave again.” They slowly turned around and returned to the house. Inside, Peter was still sitting with Mark and Quinton. They had been discussing the events surrounding Alicia and the Harris family when Peter noticed Mary and Georgia returning. He frowned slightly. “Why are you two coming back alone?”

Mary laughed. “They left again.” Mark looked confused. “They left?” Georgia nodded. “I think they only came back to leave Mike's car.” She paused. “Both cars came in, but only Alicia's car left.” Mark slowly nodded. “That makes sense.” Peter looked at him. “What makes sense?” Mark leaned back slightly. “Mike told me that Alicia spent some time in the study yesterday.” His expression became more serious. “She came out crying.” Mary and Georgia immediately became quiet. Mark continued. “Now they've returned home, but instead of staying, they've left again.”

He looked toward the doorway. “That probably means Alicia has finally learned something about her mother's family.” Peter's expression changed. The smile disappeared from his face. “Her mother's family?” Mark nodded. “That's what I think.” Peter remained silent for several seconds. Then he asked, “Gabrielle's adoptive family...” He paused. “Or her original family?” No one answered immediately. The question remained hanging in the room.

At the Wood Family Residence, Sarah and Samantha finally arrived home. The moment they stepped inside, they were still laughing and talking about everything that had happened at Lucia Goods. Tracy and Kelvin were sitting comfortably in the living room watching television. The moment Tracy noticed the two women, she smiled. “You two look very happy.” Samantha immediately rushed toward them. “Mom!” Tracy looked at her. “I won!” Tracy blinked. “You won what?” Samantha laughed excitedly. “I won, Mom! I beat her fair and square!”

Tracy laughed. “Who did you beat?” Samantha proudly lifted her chin. “Faith.” Tracy stared at her. “Faith?” Samantha nodded. “Yes.” She smiled proudly. “Mom, I'm a good boxer now.” Kelvin immediately turned away from the television. “Boxing?” Sarah laughed. “That's what we've been trying to tell you.” Kelvin looked between the two women. “What exactly happened?” Sarah sat down for a moment. “We went to Lucia Goods just like we told you.” She paused. “The three of us left the company at twelve.”

Tracy looked confused. “If you left the company at twelve, why is Samantha talking about fighting?” Sarah laughed. “Sam, let's go freshen up first.” She stood up. “We'll tell them everything after dinner.” Samantha nodded. Before she followed Sarah upstairs, however, she suddenly remembered something. “Father, where is Monica?” Kelvin smiled. “She was tired. I'm sure she's asleep by now.” Samantha frowned. “Tired?” Tracy laughed. “Your father and Monica spent most of the day doing some gardening.”

Sarah looked at Samantha. Samantha looked at Sarah. Both women burst into laughter. Kelvin shook his head. “What is so funny?” Neither woman answered. They simply continued laughing as they headed upstairs. Kelvin watched them disappear. For a moment, he remained silent. Then he slowly looked toward Tracy. “Wife...” Tracy looked at him. “Yes?” “They were really talking about boxing, right?” Tracy nodded. “Yes.” Kelvin frowned. “Why?” He reached for his phone. “I remember seeing boxing trending this afternoon.”

Tracy looked at him curiously. “Boxing?” Kelvin nodded. “Let me check again.” He unlocked his phone and opened the trending section. “I want to see if it's the same boxing they're talking about.” He began scrolling. Then he stopped. His eyes widened slightly. Several videos were displayed on the screen. Tracy noticed his expression. “What is it?” Kelvin didn't answer. He clicked on the first video. The screen immediately showed a boxing ring surrounded by a large crowd. Tracy moved closer. “What are you looking at?”