Finally, she found Mrs. Lan, the head housekeeper, in the kitchen, quietly polishing the silverware seemingly absentmindedly.
"Where are they?" Shuyin demanded, her voice shaking uncontrollably gazing at her, "Where is my family? Where did they go?"
Mrs. Lan looked up, her face a mask of pity and concern. "Miss Shuyin... they... they left this afternoon."
"Left? Left for where?"
"The private airport," Mrs. Lan said softly, unable to meet her eyes. "They said they were taking a day vacation at the Island Zua. They said you... You would understand, but they would be back by morning..."
The Zua Island. The words hit her like a physical blow. It was the Lu family's private island resort, a place with no public access, shielded by layers of security and vast stretches of ocean. A place she couldn't reach them.
"The phones," Shuyin gasped, recalling the existence of phones; she got the house telephone, "I'll call them."
She dialed her father's number first. It went straight to a generic voicemail, notifying her that the number was out of service. Then her stepmother's.
Then Yueling's, and all was the same. She tried the house landline, the numbers for their personal assistants, but it still got her nothing.
It was a complete blackout.
She thought of the Lu family and called the Lu mansion landline number....
"Hello... This is the Lu mansion Butler Zhi calling... How may I help you?" That familiar voice echoed from the other end.
"It's Lin Shuyin, is father and mother already asleep? I wanted to ask them something concerning the wedding..."
I'm sorry, Miss.... They all left this afternoon for the island of Zua, saying they might have a vacation there for a few days... You can try reaching them on their mobile phones, have a wonderful night." The phone was immediately cut off, leaving Li Shuyin stunned.
She stood in the center of the vast, silent kitchen, the reality of the situation crashing down on her.
They hadn't just betrayed her, they had also abandoned her to face the entire situation. They had orchestrated this entire humiliation and then fled to an island fortress, leaving her alone to face the ruins.
They had taken everything, her fiancé, her family, her future, and left her with nothing but a cancelled wedding and a scandal that would break at dawn.
What was she going to do?
Her legs gave way and she slid down the cold kitchen cabinet, the polished floor cool against her skin.
The beautiful, delicate doll was shattered into pieces and only a horrified woman sat there devastated.
The world had shrunk to the cold kitchen floor. Shuyin curled into herself, the sobs wracking her body so violently that she could barely breathe.
The polished tiles were the only solid thing left in a universe that had just collapsed.
Suddenly, a soft, shuffling sound came from the doorway. "Xiao Yin? My little swallow... what is all this noise? What has happened? Why are you crying?"
The voice was frail, weathered by age, but to Shuyin, it was the most familiar sound in the world. She looked up, her vision blurred by tears, to see her grandmother leaning heavily on her walking frame, her face etched with concern.
Of everyone in the Lin family, her grandmother was the only one who had never seen her as a tool for social climbing. She was her sanctuary.
"Popo..." Shuyin choked out the childhood name. The dam broke as she scrambled across the floor and clung to her grandmother's thin legs, weeping uncontrollably as the whole, sordid story tumbled out of her mouth: Zeyan's call, Yueling's pregnancy, the family's betrayal, and their escape to the island, leaving everything for her to handle.
Her grandmother listened, her wrinkled hand stroking Shuyin's hair. As the story unfolded, her comforting strokes slowed down shocked, her breathing became shallow and ragged.
"This... this cannot be," she whispered, her voice thin with disbelief and a dawning horror. "My son... my own son would not..." She clutched at her chest, her face turning a frightening shade of grey. "It's... it's so tight..."
"Popo? Popo!" Shuyin's own grief was instantly eclipsed by terror. She grabbed her grandmother as the old woman's knees buckled, her walking frame clattering to the floor.
"HELP! SOMEONE, PLEASE!"
Her screams echoed throughout the mansion and within moments, the head housekeeper, Mrs. Lan, and the head butler, Mr. Feng, came rushing into the kitchen. Their eyes widened at the scene.
"Call an ambulance!" Shuyin shrieked, cradling her grandmother's head closely.
"Now!"
"No time, miss..." Mr. Feng said, his voice tight but calm. "The city traffic will delay them. We'll take her in the car. It will be faster that way than waiting for the ambulance..."
" All right.... All right..."
With practiced efficiency, he gently lifted the old woman. Shuyin scrambled to her feet, her legs like jelly, and followed him to the garage, Mrs. Lan supporting her.