She Quit Her Family and Found Herself novel Chapter 182

Eager to get to the zoo, he went straight to Sylvie's door and smacked his small hands against the wood.

"Sylvie, wake up! Rise and shine!"

Usually, all it took was one shout from him, and she would answer and open the door.

But today, Miles pounded until his palms hurt, and there was still no sound from inside.

Growing anxious, he twisted the knob, and the door swung open.

The room was empty. Sylvie wasn't there.

By then, Valery and Cora had followed him upstairs. Seeing the empty room, they exchanged a confused look.

"Where is she?" Valery asked.

Callie looked equally bewildered. "I have no idea. I've been downstairs since I woke up, and I haven't seen her come down."

Seeing that the housekeeper couldn't explain it either, Valery's frown deepened. "What is going on with her? She invited us to take Miles to the zoo, and now she's pulled a vanishing act."

Sensing Valery's displeasure, Callie tried to defend her. "Ms. Sinclair isn't the type to flake on her promises. There must be a reason. Let's just wait a bit."

Miles chimed in to agree. "Yeah, Grandma, don't be mad at Sylvie. She never breaks a promise to me. Let's just wait for her."

Seeing her precious grandson defend the girl so fiercely, Valery forced down her annoyance.

It was true; Sylvie was usually very reliable.

"Mom, what's wrong? What happened to Herbert?" Cora hurried over. Even though she tried to brace herself, she turned into a statue the second she saw the room.

Blocked by his grandmother and aunt, little Miles couldn't see anything and grew frantic. "Grandma, what's wrong? Is Dad sick?"

He tried to squeeze his way inside.

Valery instantly spun around and shoved him back, barking at Callie, "Keep him out of here!"

Though Callie hadn't seen the room, she was an adult and knew exactly what that tone meant. She rushed forward, scooped Miles up into her arms to stop him from going any further, and carried him back downstairs.

Realizing it was entirely inappropriate for her to stay, Cora awkwardly followed the housekeeper and her nephew away.

Inside the bedroom, upon the messy king-sized bed, Herbert and Sylvie were intimately tangled together. While the duvet provided some cover, it was mostly draped over Herbert, leaving Sylvie's bare shoulders and legs—covered in vivid, dark bruises—exposed for all to see.