Chapter 79
Charlotte looked at the pale red wine in the tall glass in front of her, picked it up and sniffed it near her nose.
She didn't drink it, and put it back down.
Instantly, the atmosphere in the dining room froze for a moment.
Seeing this, a flash of viciousness crossed Chloe's eyes, but it quickly disappeared.
She stood up and brought over a small bowl, smiling, "Try this."
"I remember this was your favorite. Today I specially asked the chef to make it the way Grandma used to. Quick, try it and see if it tastes like you remember."
Catching that barely noticeable nervousness in Chloe's eyes, Charlotte looked down at the bowl again and suddenly let out a laugh.
"You know what I like to eat?"
"Of... of course I do."
Chloe's smile froze, "You're my sister, how could I not know?"
"Really?" Charlotte smiled ambiguously, stirring with her spoon. "Then tell me, what do I like to eat most?"
In an instant, Chloe froze, not knowing how to answer, and instinctively looked over at Susan.
Susan reacted quickly, immediately picking up the conversation.
"Charlotte liked lots of things when she was little, like meatloaf, tuna casserole - these were all your favorites."
"After all, you're sisters, Chloe remembers everything clearly."
At these words, Charlotte let out a cold laugh and dropped her spoon back into the bowl with a crisp "clang."
"I don't like tuna at all. How did Chloe forget that?"
The table went quiet for a few seconds. The smile on Susan's face completely froze, and Henry's brow furrowed tightly.
Chloe looked the worst, her smile barely hanging on, her hands on her knees digging hard into her palms.
"Ah... really? Maybe I remembered wrong."
"But it's okay, if you don't eat tuna, have something else. There's plenty more."
As she spoke, her eyes flashed, and she forked a piece of meatloaf for Charlotte, intimately placing it in her bowl.
"Fresh out of the oven, stewed for a long time, really tender. Try it, sis."
Charlotte looked at the piece of beef in her bowl, then at Chloe, as if thinking about something.
Chloe's heart raced under her gaze, afraid she'd notice something wrong.
But fortunately, Charlotte picked up her utensils and put it in her mouth. After chewing a few times, her throat moved slightly.
Seeing her swallow it, Chloe's breathing clearly lightened for a moment, as if relieved.
But she didn't know that the instant Charlotte bit into the meat, her tongue detected a faint bitter taste.
That clearly wasn't a taste the meat should have.
So she pretended to swallow it, then while wiping her mouth, spit the meat she'd kept under her tongue into the napkin without anyone noticing.
"How does it taste?" Susan asked.
"Not bad." Charlotte put down the napkin, her expression cold.
Hearing this, Chloe lowered her head, hiding the smug curve at the corner of her mouth.
For the next ten minutes or so, the table was calm.
Henry urged her to drink several more times, Susan kept adding food, while Chloe observed Charlotte from the corner of her eye.
Finally, Charlotte smoothly played along with their act. After going through the motions enough, she put down her utensils.
"I'm done eating. Can you give me the things now?"
Charlotte really didn't want to stay any longer. She stood up and addressed Henry.
The man sat in his chair without moving, but the smile on his face faded somewhat, though he didn't say much in the end.
"The things are in the study on the second floor. Let Chloe take you there."
"I'll take you." Chloe quickly stood up, smiling sweetly.
The two went up to the second-floor study one after the other. The lights turned on, and in the right corner sat an old wooden box.
Chloe nodded with her chin, "Everything's in there."
Charlotte hurried over to open the box, and the contents came into view.
There were some photos of her grandparents, a few yellowed notebooks, and a necklace Grandma used to wear, which scattered points of light under the reflection.
Seeing these familiar items, Charlotte's eyes softened.
Good, they were all still here.
Then she closed the box, picked it up and prepared to leave, but Chloe suddenly spoke, her tone strange. "It's already so late, why don't you just stay tonight and go back tomorrow?"
"No need." Charlotte spoke without looking back.
She went downstairs, crossed the living room, and came to the entrance to change shoes.
"Charlotte, leaving so soon? Don't you want to take anything back with you?"
Hearing Susan's polite words, Charlotte ignored her, pushed open the door and walked into the night.
The moment the door closed behind her, Chloe's cold laugh came through, drifting into her ears.
But Charlotte didn't stop, quickly walking to the black sedan.
Seeing her serious expression, Alexander immediately got out to help put the box in the trunk. "What's wrong?"
Before he finished speaking, Charlotte had already opened the car door and gotten in, leaning back against the seat.
"Let's go."
Seeing this, Alexander frowned, but said nothing and quickly drove away.
As the car left the villa district, he turned to look at her and noticed a fine layer of sweat on her forehead. Instantly, the man's heart skipped a beat.
"What happened?"
"The food was drugged."
The instant she said this, Alexander's hands tightened on the steering wheel, the car swayed for a moment, but quickly steadied.
"What kind of drug?"
"Not sure." Charlotte shook her head, rubbing her temples, her voice very calm. "The bitter taste was very faint. I'm guessing it might be some kind of sedative."
"But I didn't swallow it. I spit it all out."
Hearing this, the man's breathing became noticeably heavier, his eyes particularly dark.
"Chloe did it?"
"I can't think of anyone else."
Charlotte sneered, her eyes cold. "I'm just not quite sure what exactly she was trying to do."
Alexander didn't speak. The streetlights outside swept across his profile, showing his tense jawline.
"Go to the police."
"No evidence."
Charlotte's voice was very calm. "They've definitely already gotten rid of the food. It's too late to go back now. And just based on my word alone, the police won't open a case."
"So we just let it go?"
"Of course not."
Charlotte gritted her teeth, her tone showing no emotional fluctuation. "But to deal with people like this, you can't use normal methods."
"Since they dared to drug me, they've definitely prepared all the cleanup work. Going to the police won't achieve our goal."