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Chapter 23
Chapter 23
The only possibility that could make Patrick wary was that the person had been bought out by an even bigger power.
Maxine narrowed her eyes, staring at Kathleen for a long while before finally turning and leaving without a word.
No biggie. No matter who Kathleen’s backer was, Maxine would reveal her true colors.
When she got back to the hospital, the doctor was dressing Jessica’s wounds.
Jessica’s sweet little face lit up with a smile at the sight of Maxine. “Maxine, you’re back! Where did you go?”
“I went to hand over my work. I won’t be working at that place anymore, so I can stay with Jessica these days! Maxine smiled and ruffled Jessica’s hair “Jessica, have you been good?”
Jessica nodded vigorously and handed Maxine a drawing. “Look, this is what I just drew.”
The drawing depicted the scene of Maxine and Jessica visiting Ivanna’s grave today.
Maxine felt a pang of sadness but was also amazed by Jessica’s talent for drawing.
She couldn’t help asking, “Jessica, you’re so good at drawing, Did your mom get you a teacher?”
“Nope,” Jessica said shyly with a smile. “I learned it myself. There’s an old sketchbook at home. Mom said it was left by my dad. Every day after school, would copy a picture from it.”
Maxine was a bit surprised.
This was the first time she had heard Jessica mention her dad.
Maxine kept her cool, asking, “Jessica, you’ve always lived with your mom, right? Have you ever seen your dad?”
Jessica shook her head. “No. But Mom said Dad is a very good person, very handsome and gentle. But Dad had something to do and went to a faraway place. She said that when I finish copying the sketchbook, Dad will come back.”
Maxine was lost in thought. ‘If Ivanna described her husband like that to Jessica, does it mean that Jessica’s dad didn’t abandon them, but had some
reasons?‘
Maxine’s gut told her she needed to look into this.
“Jessica, did you bring out that sketchbook?” she asked.
When they left Jessica’s house, Maxine let Jessica pack whatever she wanted into her backpack.
Out of respect for the kid, after moving to the new place, Maxine only helped tidy up Jessica’s room and never looked through anything she brought from
home.
After asking for permission from Jessica, Maxine went back to their place that night and found the sketchbook she mention
Opening the book, Maxine quickly realized it wasn’t a commercially sold one but a homemade drawing book.
The drawings weren’t too difficult, but showed great skill. They also took into consideration Jessica’s age, starting with simple sketches in the beginning pages and gradually increasing the difficulty as it progressed.
As she flipped through page by page with patience, an idea was brewing in Maxine’s mind.
This could very well be a homemade drawing book made by Jessica’s dad specifically to teach his daughter how to draw.
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קכג
Chapter 23
sketchbook, her brows slightly fufrowed. ‘How could a Maxine closed the long? It just didn’t add up.‘
dad who made such amazing stuff
leave his wife and daughter hanging f
Full of
questions, Maxine
grabbed her
Car
keys, planning to do
some
late–night
at
sleuthing Ivanna’s old
place and hob
haping
to find
more
But no
sooner had she driven out of the
neighborhood than
a McLaren cut her off
Maxine rolled down the car window
and took a
a closer look, her
expression slightly
changing
It was Sebastian’s ride.
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