Ch. My sister’s punishment, my billionaire prize 12 My sister’s punishment, my billionaire prize 12

12 

How could this be? 

She clearly remembered the frame had contained a family photo of the four of them. 

Even now, she could recall eight-year-old me with my face full of happiness when I first got that photo, hugging her neck and kissing her cheek: 

This is my favorite picture. I want to keep it with me forever!” 

And I had done exactly that. 

When I was sent to Vermont, I took that photo with me, and when I returned, the photo was still with me. 

So why was the frame here but the photo gone? 

My mother stumbled, nearly falling to the floor. 

She unconsciously clutched the frame in her palm, her nails scraping against the glass with a sound that made her headache worse. 

It must be here, the photo must be here somewhere! 

She searched every corner of the room but found nothing. 

Then she wondered, had I taken the photo with me? 

But her memory of this morning was still too clear. She had been present the entire time I packed. Besides a few clothes, I hadn’t taken anything else. 

Her breathing grew rapid. She summoned the household staff one by one to question them late into the night. 

But nobody had seen the photo. 

Only Danny, who was responsible for trash collection, suddenly mentioned that a few days ago he thought he’d seen fragments of a photo in the garbage. 

My mother’s heart tightened further. She immediately had Danny take her to look. 

Several days had passed, and although the garbage hadn’t been completely removed, all the trash had been tied up in dozens of large bags. 

Finding fragments of a photo in mountains of garbage was no easy task. 

All the mansion staff were called to help search. 

My mother thought they weren’t thorough enough, so she personally started digging through the trash. 

The stench made her want to give up several times, but the inexplicable panic in her heart kept her going. 

Eventually, even Ethan was alerted to the situation. 

He saw his mother crawling over the mountain of garbage, all traces of her usual sophistication gone. He was about to pull her away when he saw her staring blankly at some fragments in her hand. “How could this happen? She actually tore up the photo? Does this mean… she truly doesn’t want to come back?” 

Before Ethan could ask what was happening, my mother fainted. 

The entire day was chaotic. 

My mother was rushed to the hospital. 

Ethan stayed by her side the whole time. 

First, he called our father. 

This time, it was our father’s secretary who answered. 

The secretary’s voice was slightly trembling, with some strange breathing in the background, but still maintained a professional tone: 

“Mr. Parker is in a meeting right now. I’ll pass along your message when he’s finished.” 

Unable to reach our father, Ethan tried calling Amber. 

After five consecutive calls, he realized she had blocked him. 

In the past, he might have tolerated Amber’s willfulness, but this time he sent people to search every 

club and venue in the city, finally bringing her back three days later. 

When she was brought back, Amber was so angry she threw her purse at Ethan. 

The long metal chain slashed across his face, quickly drawing a line of blood on his forehead. 

But Amber started crying first: 

“Ethan, do you have any idea how embarrassing it was to be dragged out of the club by your goons? You made me lose face in front of all my friends!” 

“How will they look at me now?” 

In the past, Amber’s tears would have softened Ethan’s heart. 

But today, his face was frighteningly stern as he shouted: 

“Mom is lying in a hospital bed, and all you care about is your reputation? Amber, do you have a heart at all?” 

Amber was physically dragged into the hospital room. Seeing my mother lying in bed, her expression was briefly flustered, but she quickly straightened her posture: 

“Didn’t I already tell you? Mom’s headaches are an old problem. If it’s serious, just bring her to the hospital. What use am I here? Do you expect me to cure her?” 

Ethan was stunned that Amber could remain so self-righteous while our mother lay in a hospital bed. 

1/2 

ོ། 

“I texted you yesterday asking you to come give Mom a massage. Didn’t you learn from Violet? Weren’t you the one mocking Violet, saying her techniques were just from online tutorials, nowhere near as good as what you learned from that famous Chinese medicine master?” 

“But look now-it’s been a day and night, and you haven’t come once. Why?” 

Amber suddenly let out a cold laugh: 

“Glying massages is servants’ work. Why should I do it?” 

“Even if that weren’t the case, you have hands too. Why don’t you massage Mom yourself?” 

“What, are you outsourcing filial duty to me? Are your hands too precious?” 

Ethan was stunned.