Chapter 29 Allergic to Red Beans, Just Pick Them Out?
Zaid trembled as he confessed. After strangling Amelia with a rope and checking if she was breathing, he took a photo and sent it to the buyer.
Michael frowned slightly.
Clearly, Amelia wasn’t dead. Maybe she had tricked Zaid somehow, or there was some other hidden detail he wasn’t aware of.
“Mr. Johnson, what now?” Eric asked, looking up. “If the hit was arranged through the dark web and he knows nothing about the buyer, we really can’t figure out who wanted Miss Martinez dead. The best we can do is turn him over to the police.”
“Then hand him over to the police,” Michael’s voice was icy. “He’s got more than one life on his hands. He needs to pay for the people he’s harmed.”
Amelia had told Michael she was busy preparing for the entrance exams at Prestige High School.
Kevin had asked Rachel to help Amelia study today, highlighting key topics for the exam.
After what happened at the mall yesterday, Amelia thought Rachel would refuse outright. But not only did Rachel agree, she even came by last night to tell Amelia to get up early today.
It was as if yesterday’s incident had never happened.
Amelia didn’t know what Rachel was up to, but she was sure it wasn’t anything good.
Eight-thirty in the morning.
The maid came to call her for breakfast. Just as Amelia was about to leave, Shadow, who had been dozing in the bed, suddenly lifted his head and barked.
Amelia turned, and the next second, Shadow leapt onto her. His round little head nuzzled against her chest, and he barked a few more times.
“You’re saying someone wants to hurt me?”
Shadow only reacted this way when he sensed malice or danger. Amelia stroked his fur and asked softly.
Shadow nodded his little head.
“I understand.” Amelia patted Shadow’s head and narrowed her eyes.
[Dining Room]
Though Amelia had only been at the Martinez Mansion for two days, she had already learned the family’s routines from the maids.
Kevin was up the earliest, leaving for the Martinez Group before eight every day. Robert and Jenny woke up around noon, and after lunch, they’d go out to party and gamble until the early hours. Tobias stayed up late gaming and usually slept until two or three in the afternoon. Rachel’s schedule depended on whether she had a date with Quentin; if she did, she’d get up early to get ready, otherwise, she’d sleep until noon.
So when Amelia saw Jenny and Rachel already at the dining table, she couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.
These two were up early.
At the Williams Mansion, she had thoroughly offended Kismet and Jenny. If she hadn’t later asked Vaughn not to force Quentin and Rachel to break up and to put her engagement with Quentin on hold, Jenny wouldn’t have shown her even the slightest courtesy these past two days.
“Good morning, Mother, Rachel.” Amelia greeted politely as she approached the table.
Jenny didn’t even lift her eyes, taking a sip of her coffee and coldly saying, “Sit.”
“Thank you, Mother.”
Amelia wasn’t bothered by Jenny’s coldness. In fact, it would be strange if Jenny were warm to her. She pulled out a chair and sat down.
In front of Amelia was a bowl of porridge, the same as Rachel’s.
The Martinez family’s chef tailored breakfast to each family member’s preferences.
Jenny usually had buttered toast with fried eggs and coffee; Robert liked noodles; Rachel preferred porridge, and Tobias skipped breakfast altogether.
As for Amelia’s tastes, the chef didn’t care. Whatever was left over was given to her.
“Eat up, Amelia, your porridge is getting cold,” Rachel suddenly spoke up from across the table.
Amelia was about to pick up her spoon when she paused and looked at Rachel.
Shadow had warned her someone wanted to harm her, and now Rachel was being unusually attentive.
Amelia glanced at the steaming porridge in front of her.
So, it was the porridge?
She hesitated, then said, “Sorry, Rachel, I’m allergic to red beans. I’ll eat something else.”
“What, allergic to red beans?” Rachel was taken aback.
“Yes.”
Amelia nodded and was about to get something else when Jenny frowned in disgust. “What a hassle. If you’re allergic to red beans, just pick them out!”
“You’re from the countryside and don’t even know how to appreciate food?”
Jenny’s words were unreasonable.
The red beans had been cooked in the porridge for a long time. Picking them out wouldn’t remove the allergen. For someone truly allergic, eating it could cause a severe reaction.
But Jenny was pressuring her, eyes fixed on her as if she’d force her to eat it if she didn’t.
Amelia smiled lightly under Jenny’s gaze. “Mother, you’re right. I shouldn’t waste food. I’ll pick out the red beans.”
With that, Amelia began to pick out the red beans with her spoon, then calmly ate the porridge.
Rachel was secretly pleased when she saw Amelia eating.
Amelia finished the porridge in five minutes, then stood up. “I’m done. I’ll head back to my room. Mother, Rachel, enjoy your breakfast.”
Back in her room, Amelia used her powers to listen to the conversation in the dining room.
“Mom, she ate all the porridge, and she’s allergic to red beans. Did we succeed?” Rachel’s voice was excited.
Jenny snorted. “The red lily pollen I had put in the porridge will make her face break out in red blotches that won’t disappear for three months.”
“Seeing that face that looks just like her mother’s makes me sick. With her face ruined, let’s see if Mr. Williams still finds her appealing.”
Rachel was overjoyed.
At the Williams family’s party, Amelia had stunned everyone, even Quentin. Rachel couldn’t stand it.
She couldn’t let Amelia overshadow her. Amelia was only fit to be her sidekick.
Once Amelia’s face was ruined, she’d be mocked everywhere she went, and Rachel would remain the most admired woman in the Martinez family.
Listening to their conversation, Amelia narrowed her eyes.
Red lily was a poisonous flower from Vesperia.
Contact with it caused rashes, and ingestion led to red blotches that took a long time to fade.
Jenny was truly vicious to use such a thing.
But Amelia had sensed the red lily pollen in the porridge. It wouldn’t affect her; it might even make her skin smoother. She had enjoyed drinking it.
After all, she was a flower spirit.
Flowers naturally gravitated towards her.
But humans were different. Besides red blotches and rashes, a large dose could be fatal.
Jenny and Rachel weren’t related by blood, but their cruelty was identical. They wanted to ruin Amelia’s looks, maybe even kill her.
Amelia smirked, raising her hand. In her palm, a swirl of light red powder gathered, forming a small vortex.