chapter1090

Lydia couldn't hide her smile, no matter how hard she tried. She shot a quick look at Easton and William, and the three of them walked out of the investigation bureau in silence, each heading their own way.

Once she reached her car and drove a little further, Lydia finally powered up her phone. It had been held by the investigation team for three days. Instantly, it buzzed and vibrated nonstop, like it was under attack from a flood of messages.

She tossed her phone aside, letting it work through the avalanche on its own while she kept driving.

The drive to the Norwood house was smooth. As soon as she stepped out of the car, she heard Kylie and Cameron calling out, their voices tight with worry.

"Lydia! Honey, you're finally home!"

Lydia had spent three days and two nights with the investigators, completely unaware that her sudden disappearance had thrown her family into chaos.

She knew they must have been scared out of their minds.

"Dad, Mom, I'm okay. Really."

The investigation into her, William, Easton, and Jackson was all supposed to be top secret, but their families were still pulled in for questioning, so there was no way to keep it from them. Her parents had been stuck waiting, anxious and helpless, since no one could just walk into the high-level investigation bureau to check on her.

What made it worse was that they hadn't even been told why Lydia was being investigated in the first place.

Kylie rushed over and wrapped Lydia in a tight hug. "Thank goodness you're safe. That's all that matters."

"Dad, Mom, Lydia just got home. Let's talk inside," Blake said. He'd been so worried that he'd left all his work behind, just waiting until Lydia was back.

"Yeah, let's get Lydia something to eat. She needs to rest," Cameron added, his concern obvious. He was worried she hadn't eaten or slept well in days.

Lydia couldn't help but laugh. "I'm not hungry. Honestly, it wasn't bad in there. I'm fine, really. You don't need to worry."

She wasn't just saying that. Aside from being questioned alone, having her movements restricted, and the small size of her room, everything else had been fine. She knew the three-day hold was just so they could check if what she'd told them was true.

As for Jackson still being inside... well, he'd have to answer for that himself. He

must have gotten himself into something even messier.

Meanwhile, Lucinda had been secretly gloating, certain that Lydia must have done something terrible and would be locked up for weeks, maybe ever end up in fail. She never expected Lydia to come ba back

unharmed after only three days. It

drove her crazy.

Lydia, you're finally back. You have no idea how worried everyone was when the investigators showed up at our house," Lucinda said, putting on her best concerned face.

Two days earlier, people had come to check if Lydia was really the

Norwood family's biological daughter Lucinda hadn't been home at the time-she only heard about it when she got back from schoot Of family had

Course, no one in Of

been told exactly why Lydia was being investigated. The team had kept everything under wraps.

Watching Lucinda fake her concern just made Lydia want to roll her eyes.

Mr. Norwood, still sitting in his wheelchair, frowned and fixed Lydia with a hard stare. "Lydia, what did you do that was so illegal the investigators had to come here?

His words landed heavy, like he was accusing her of something big, right in front of everyone.

Illegal?

Lydia's brows drew together as she stared at her grandfather, not answering right away.

Kylie and Cameron jumped in before she could respond.

"Dad, what are you talking about? They only came to ask about Lydia's background. That's all. You make it sound like Lydia did something terrible, Kylie protested.

But the old man didn't seem to think he was out of line. He just snorted. "If she didn't do anything wrong, why would the investigation team come here? Why isn't anyone investigating Lucinda?"