Eleven Years All to the Wrong Man novel Chapter 280

"Ah... my jacket. I think I left it at the office..."

Emma felt a pang of guilt. She bent down to change her shoes, avoiding her mother's gaze.

"It's freezing out, and you came back dressed like that? Aren't you cold?" Karen Hayes took the shawl from her own shoulders and draped it over her daughter.

"You're all grown up, but you're still as forgetful as when you were a child. How do you forget your own jacket!"

As she spoke, Karen Hayes took her daughter's hand. It was ice-cold, which only made her worry more. "Go take a hot shower. I'll heat up some food for you. By the time you're done, you can have something to eat!"

"Okay, thanks!"

Emma grinned foolishly, slipped on her slippers, and went straight to her room.

She had left her bag on the rug by the entrance without a second thought.

Karen Hayes walked over, bent down to pick it up, and muttered, "Honestly, this child, just leaving her bag here..."

As she said this, the bag tilted, and its contents spilled out onto the floor.

A pair of tangled earbuds, tissues, a makeup compact, sunscreen, and other small items scattered around. Karen Hayes picked them up one by one and put them back in the bag.

Her eyes fell on a stack of papers that had landed under the shoe cabinet. She paused. The words "Lab Report from St. Aurelia Private Medical Center, Averton City" were printed in large letters at the top.

A lab report from a hospital?

Is Emma sick?

Karen Hayes frowned slightly.

She picked up the report, staring at the cover for several seconds. Her fingers moved to open the first page, but just as she was about to look, she heard Emma call out from the bedroom.

By the time Emma emerged from her warm shower, Karen Hayes had heated up the food and prepared the tea.

"That smells strongly of ginger. Are you making tea, Mom?"

"Yes, come have some. It'll warm you up!"

Karen Hayes immediately poured a bowl of the ginger tea and handed it to her daughter.

The moment Emma saw what it was, her face fell. She made a face and muttered, "Mom, I don't want to drink it. I'm fine..."

She had hated the sharp, pungent smell of ginger tea her whole life.

"You say you're fine? Then what was that lab report from the hospital doing in your bag?"

The thought had come to her suddenly, so she asked casually as she brought dishes to the table, completely missing the way the color drained from her daughter's face.