I'm Afraid I Won't Be Able to Leave

Chapter 148: Chapter 148: Netizens Didn’t Lie

"Leah, I never thought spending money could be so painful."

As she said this, Leah Sinclair and Sheila Hughes were sprawled on a sofa in a Mercedes-Benz dealership. They probably could have just bought a few handbags or some jewelry to solve their problem.

But for the two of them, who often had to visit construction sites, simplicity was key when it came to clothes, bags, and shoes. Items costing hundreds of thousands were like precious heirlooms to be worshipped.

The thought of carrying such a bag or wearing such jewelry to a construction site was baffling—they’d have no idea how to protect those ’heirlooms’. The idea of a shopping spree was fun, but once they actually started buying things, they both had a meltdown. In the end, Leah Sinclair took Asher Keating’s advice and dragged Sheila Hughes here to buy her a car.

"So what exactly happened? How did you go to a birthday party and come back rich? And who are all these people following you?" Sheila Hughes whispered, tugging on Leah Sinclair’s arm.

"Are you sitting down securely?"

"Huh? Yeah, I’m sitting just fine."

"Well... I’m Mason Grant’s older sister. We have the same mother."

THUD.

"Sheila!"

Leah Sinclair quickly helped her up.

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!?!?" Sheila Hughes’s shriek echoed through the entire Mercedes-Benz dealership.

Leah Sinclair scrambled to cover her mouth. Sheila Hughes felt like she was about to faint. She pinched herself hard. "Hiss... Holy shit! I’m not dreaming, am I?"

"Nope..."

Leah Sinclair quickly gave Sheila Hughes a rundown of what happened yesterday. After hearing the story, Sheila was completely dumbfounded. She had always hoped that she and Leah would win the lottery one day and achieve financial freedom.

Now, Leah Sinclair was suddenly financially free, and not because she’d won the lottery. How could this feel so surreal?

"You mean, your real identity is the second young miss of the Grant Family? So... I’ve seriously hit the jackpot by being your friend!?!?"

"More... more or less."

"Oh my god! The internet didn’t lie! Ah! My best friend can really buy me a house and a car!!!" Sheila Hughes hugged Leah Sinclair excitedly.

Leah Sinclair started to laugh. Mason Grant finished his phone call and walked over. "Sis, Mom said I should take you to look at houses. What kind do you like, a villa or a flat? Which neighborhood do you prefer? Should we just buy them all? You’ll probably need them eventually."

"..."

"!!!"

When Asher Keating got home, Leah Sinclair was curled up on the sofa in a daze. Hearing him, she turned her head and called out with a bewildered look, "Asher."

Asher Keating’s lips curved into a smile. He went over, wrapped his arms around her, and gave her a kiss. "Did you spend the five million?"

"Yeah... It was so painful."

"Hm?"

"Spending money is so painful." Leah Sinclair’s lips formed a pout.

Her reaction made Asher Keating chuckle. "You silly girl. If you really couldn’t spend it all, do you think Aunt Mabel would have actually forbidden you from coming home?"

"Mason said she would..."

Leah Sinclair looked at Asher Keating, and her heart ached for a moment. She wrapped her arms around his waist, careful not to let him see her tear-filled eyes.

Asher Keating just assumed she had been intimidated by the way Mabel Grant had forced her to spend money that afternoon. He didn’t think much of it, simply holding her as she told him about everything she had bought.

Mabel Grant knew that Leah Sinclair had a grandmother, Grandma Sinclair, who had found and raised her. Now that Grandma Sinclair had passed away, she felt it was her duty, both out of respect and reason, to personally visit her grave and pay her respects.

「Two days later」Mabel Grant had Leah Sinclair take her back to Stonecreek.

Asher Keating had an important meeting and couldn’t go, so Leah Sinclair set off with Mabel Grant, Mason Grant, and Brandon Jacobs in a minivan.

In the car, Mabel Grant asked Leah Sinclair, "I hear the Sinclair Family still has sons and grandsons, right? Since we’re going, shouldn’t we pay them a visit to thank them?"

"...That won’t be necessary."

Mabel Grant raised an eyebrow. She had previously looked into much of Leah Sinclair’s past and knew the general course of her life, but she hadn’t delved into the finer details. Since Leah said it wasn’t necessary, she decided to let it go. They could just buy some gifts and give them some money later.

Leah Sinclair hadn’t notified First Uncle Sinclair’s family. She just planned to take Mabel Grant and the others to offer incense for Grandma Sinclair and then leave.

At Grandma Sinclair’s grave, Mabel Grant earnestly held the incense sticks and bowed three times. "Leah’s grandma, I regret that we have to meet this way. Thank you for protecting Leah all these years. You can rest easy in heaven. From now on, I will protect her and never let her suffer even the slightest harm."

Leah Sinclair blinked back the tears in her eyes and quietly finished offering her incense. She looked at the headstone before her. It was still the same. First Uncle Sinclair’s family really hadn’t dared to replace it.

Brandon Jacobs and Mason Grant also solemnly offered incense to Grandma Sinclair. As the group was coming down from the cemetery, Leah Sinclair received a phone call.

"Leah, I was just visiting the graves and saw several people standing in front of your grandma’s. It was too far for me to see clearly. Was that you?" the neighbor asked hesitantly.

"Yes, Aunt Wallace, it’s me. I came back to see Grandma."

"Oh, I see... I knew it. Leah, there’s something that’s been on my mind for a while now. I’ve been hesitating, but now that I’ve seen you today, I feel like I have to tell you."

"What is it?" Leah Sinclair stopped in her tracks.

"It’s... it’s about your First Uncle’s family. Not long after you left last time, they all moved to the city. The city, mind you, not just the town!"

"I know your boyfriend gave them a lot of money back then. I heard them say they bought a house in the city, a standalone house, and the whole family is living there now."

"On the day of your grandma’s accident, I was passing by your house and heard some arguing. The voice didn’t sound like your aunt, but one I’d never heard before. I don’t know... if there’s any connection."

Aunt Wallace finally spoke up. This matter had weighed on her mind for a long time. When Grandma Sinclair first passed away, she hadn’t thought much of it, simply sighing at the unpredictability of life.

But less than half a month after Leah Sinclair left, First Uncle Sinclair’s family started moving out with great fanfare. She had nosily asked at the time if they were moving to town. After all, she had been there when Asher Keating gave them the money—stacks of pink bills piled on the table that made her want to gulp.

But the First Uncle’s wife had scoffed smugly, saying who would even look at a rundown house in town when they were moving to the city. At the time, First Uncle Sinclair, seeing his wife was about to gloat even more, had turned grim and pulled her back.

Later, Aunt Wallace was jolted awake from a dream one night, suddenly remembering the argument she had heard at their door on the day Grandma Sinclair died. The more she thought about it, the more it felt wrong. How could the Sinclair Family suddenly afford a house in the city?

The money Leah Sinclair’s boyfriend had given them was enough to buy a house in town, but in the city...

She knew how close Leah Sinclair and Grandma Sinclair were. She had wanted to call Leah several times before to tell her about this.

But her husband had advised her to let sleeping dogs lie. It had been over a month since Grandma Sinclair passed away, so she thought about just dropping it. However, when she saw Leah Sinclair while visiting the graves just now, she couldn’t stop herself from making the call.

"Aunt Wallace, are you saying... that on the day of my grandma’s accident, someone was arguing at my uncle’s house?"

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