Part 60

"Well, we can just check," Haisley replied, snapping back to reality.

Abigail looked at Flavia again. Her friend was nodding enthusiastically.

Abigail shrugged. She had no reason to refuse her friend's request. "Alright. After school, we'll go there," she said. Flavia cheered happily and reflexively hugged Abigail. "Are you coming too?" Abigail asked Haisley.

Haisley shook her head. "I have my regular study group," she replied. Abigail simply nodded.

At 2:30 PM, after school was dismissed, the two of them immediately flagged down a taxi. Abigail and Flavia walked toward the gate and exchanged glances when they saw that the gate was locked.

"Don't you have a spare key?" Flavia asked again, her head poking around to peek through the part of the gate that was partially blocked by thick plastic. "Abby..." she tapped her friend's arm quickly. "That's my dad's car," she said in a whisper.

For a moment, Abigail stopped searching her bag for the house key and joined Flavia in peeking. The car she knew belonged to Flavia's father was indeed there. Her back straightened immediately, and she looked at Flavia with wide eyes.

"Could it be...?" she said softly. "Is what Haisley said really happening?" she asked, uncertain.

Flavia smacked Abigail's arm until she yelped. "Abigail, don't let your mind get tainted like Haisley's," she dismissed. "Come on, where's the key? Hurry up and open it," she ordered impatiently.

Abigail squinted in annoyance but resumed searching for the key in her bag. She then opened the gate slowly, trying not to make too much noise. In her heart, Abigail was deliberately being quiet so she could catch her aunt and her friend's dad in the act.

Cunningly, she planned to use all of this as ammunition later against Claire.

They walked toward the porch and noticed that the front door was indeed intentionally left open. Abigail also saw a pair of large shoes outside on the porch that clearly did not belong to her uncle.

They quietly took off their shoes. After that, they crept inside. The living room was brightly lit. Both of them glanced around, searching for anyone who might be sitting there. But there was no one there except for a laptop that was on and some sheets of paper scattered about.

They then moved further in, which gave them a direct view of the pantry, and were quite surprised to see a tall man in a sweater with his back to them.

"Dad?" Flavia asked hesitantly.

The person she called suddenly stiffened. He slowly turned around and locked eyes with the two teens in front of him.

"You two?"

"What are you doing here?"

The question came out of three mouths simultaneously, all in a tone of surprise.

"Aren't you going to work?" Flavia asked again.

"Did you just get back from school?" Antony asked in return.

Abigail rolled her eyes and stepped closer, sitting on the pantry table and carelessly dropping her bag on the floor.

"Why do we have to throw questions at each other?" she said while pouring water into a glass. "We just got back from school, Uncle. What about you? What are you doing here? Where's my aunt?" she asked before finishing her drink.

Antony nodded toward Claire's closed bedroom door. "You and my aunty aren't doing anything, right? You better not be doing anything inappropriate that we shouldn't be imitating," Abigail warned, which made Antony widen his eyes in surprise.

"What if you get caught making out and Grandma hears about it? She's quite the traditionalist," she continued before Antony could respond.

Realizing Abigail's question, Antony laughed. "That's a good idea. That way, I can propose to her in front of your grandmother, and we can get married right away," he replied casually.

Abigail raised an eyebrow. "You seem happy about that, but what about my aunt?"

"Of course Aunty C would want to marry my dad," Flavia answered for her father. Abigail shot Flavia a sidelong glance with an arched eyebrow, to which Flavia responded with a sweet smile.

"That's just your wishful thinking," Abigail retorted, but Flavia merely chuckled.

"Have you told Granny that you came here?" Antony asked Flavia. Flavia's eyes widened as she looked at her father uncertainly and then shook her head. "Send her a message or call her. Don't make her worry," he instructed, to which Flavia nodded.

After that, Antony walked out of the pantry with a glass of water in his hand, which Abigail suspected was coffee.

Abigail decided to head toward the bedroom to check on her aunt. She slowly opened the door, knowing that her aunt had sensitive hearing. Even when sleeping, her aunt could wake up if someone entered, just from the light or a small noise. So, Abigail tried to move very carefully.

She walked over to the bed where her aunt lay facing away from her. Abigail approached, feeling anxious.

"Aunty...?" she called softly.

Abigail circled the bed until she could see her aunt's face. It was flushed, and her dry lips trembled as if she were mumbling quietly. Her body, covered by a blanket, seemed to shiver lightly.

"Aunty...?" Abigail called again, but Claire didn't respond. Abigail tried to wipe her aunt's forehead and immediately pulled back; her aunt was burning hot. "Aunty..." she asked once more, but Claire remained unresponsive.

Panicked, Abigail quickly left the room and headed to the living room, where Antony was sitting, focused on his laptop.

"Uncle...," she called.

Antony looked up. "Yes?"

"Aunty won't wake up," she said, her voice trembling.

Antony immediately stood up and hurried toward Claire's room. Flavia, who had just returned from the backyard after calling their grandmother, looked at them with concern.

"What's wrong?" she asked Abigail.

"Aunty is shivering, but she won't open her eyes," Abigail replied, panic evident in her voice.

They both entered the room, watching as Antony bent down beside Claire, who had been turned onto her back by him.

"Via, find the car keys and open the door. Abby, you open the gate. We're going to the hospital now," Antony ordered, his voice sounding cold to both girls. They quickly nodded and left the room.

Antony uncovered the blanket and lifted Claire's body from the bed. Just as he was about to leave the room, Flavia returned.

"Bring the blanket," Antony instructed again.

Flavia nodded and grabbed the blanket Claire had been using. Meanwhile, Abigail finished opening the gate and held the door open for Antony.

"Move the seat back," Antony said. The girl nodded again and adjusted the driver's seat.

Flavia returned with the blanket in her hands. Antony laid Claire down gently, wrapping her in the blanket before fastening the seatbelt over her.

"You two stay here," he commanded the girls. "Contact the driver to come here. Abigail, prepare your aunt's necessities." His order left Abigail stunned and confused. "I'll call you if there's any news about Claire," he said to Flavia. "Lock the door again," he instructed before getting into the car and driving away from Claire's house.

"Abby..." Flavia turned to her friend, panic in her voice. "What happened to Aunty C?"

Abigail couldn't answer. To be honest, her knees felt weak at that moment. This was the first time—throughout Abigail's life—that she had seen Claire in such a state of distress.

Instead of answering Flavia's question, Abigail sat down in a chair, her body trembling as tears suddenly streamed down her cheeks, wetting her face.

"Abby..." Flavia sat down beside her and looked at her, puzzled.

"Aunty has never looked that sick..." Abigail whispered.