"After Mr. and Mrs. Pierce passed away, Old Mr. Pierce left too. Meanwhile, you married into the Moran family. The Pierce residence became empty, and many people had their eyes on it. They made away with everything they could. They'd even move the floor if they could."
"I fought and guarded this place for you, but I got hurt. Oftentimes, before my wound could be cured, new ones would appear. The last time I met a couple of vicious ones who beat me till I passed out. They dragged me to the graveyard and buried me."
Nancy's words shocked Joanna. She clenched her fists lightly in anger. "Nancy, you've suffered so much. Don't worry. I will avenge you. I will find every single person who hurt you!"
"Miss Joan, don't be angry. All my suffering is worth it, now that I see you."
The two women couldn't help but hug each other and cry. Through the shower of tears, they released all the suffering they had endured over the past three years.
"How did you escape?" Joanna wiped her tears away and asked curiously.
"I was fortunate enough to meet a kind–hearted person. He dug me out from the ground, and I survived."
As Nancy thought about the last, her eyes were filled with fear and thankfulness.
"The identity of the person who saved me is very mysterious. He said that a mysterious big shot instructed him, and he requested that I disappear from the City."
"Mysterious big shot?"
Joanna frowned.
After all, in such a critical situation, the whole world would be eager to destroy them. She wondered who would be kind enough to help them at such a time.
"I'm not sure either, but I want to repay them for saving my life!"
Nancy added, "Could it be Mr. Moran? Only the Morans would dare to help the Pierces at that point. You're his wife, and he knows that I'm your nanny. He didn't want you to be sad, so he helped me."
"Impossible!"
Joanna said confidently. "He doesn't have any feelings for me. He went abroad after our wedding. When I was in a coma for half a month, not once did he ask or care about me. He wouldn't save you."
Before this, she loved him with all her heart and didn't feel his indifference hard to accept.
But now, as she recalled about it, she felt that she'd been too petty and that it wasn't worth it after all.
Nancy looked at Joanna and felt sorry for the girl. "Miss Joan, I didn't know that you had such a terrible experience in the Moran family. Mr. Moran treated you with malice. There's no point in a marriage if there's no love. It's good that you divorced him."
When Nancy heard about the divorce between Joanna and Ace, she was worried, but now it seemed that the divorce was a freedom for Joanna.
"Yes. I think it's good that we divorce. I want to thank him for making me realize that and regain my freedom!"
Joanna didn't want to talk about Ace anymore, so she continued asking Nancy. "Nancy, how did you live alone these few years? Why didn't you contact me?"
"After I was saved, I did as my savior said and went away. I didn't want to put you in trouble, so I didn't contact you. But I really couldn't leave the Pierce residence behind, so I sneaked back and hid in the basement, pretending to be a ghost to scare the ill–intended."
"This trick turned out well, because, in the last few years, nobody dared to come near the Pierce residence. Even the neighbors moved out."
At the mention of his. Nancy kneeled down on the floor. "Mr. and Mrs. Moran and Old Mr. Moran, do you see this? I did it. I managed to guard the Pierce residence until the return of its rightful owner!"
Nancy's loyalty to their family touched Joanna's heart. Tears pooled around her eyes as she said, "Nancy, thank you. If it weren't for you, the Pierce family would be no more."
"No. I'm useless. I couldn't stop Mr. and Mrs. Moran from…"
Guilt was written all over her face, and she didn't dare to think of the past.
She was there to witness it happen, and it was brutal.
Suddenly, she thought of something and looked at Joanna. "Oh, Mr. and Mrs. Moran left a legacy document and asked me to give it to you."
Nancy then went to the basement to fetch the letter she had been keeping with utmost care for three whole years in the old box.
"Miss Joan, this letter was given to me by Mrs. Pierce just before she died. But it's very strange, she said that I should never show it to you if your marriage is happy, but if you get divorced, then I should pass it to you…"
Nancy solemnly handed the letter sealed in the envelope to Joanna. She looked rather sad when she did so. Mrs. Pierce's anguish and desperation before she committed suicide were still fresh in her mind.
The only person Mrs. Pierce was reluctant to let go of was Joanna. She must have hoped that she could have a happy marriage with Master Moran, but who would have expected that it would last only three years before it fell apart…
Joanna looked down at "My Dear Joan" written on the envelope. It was her mother's handwriting which no one could imitate. Tears welled up in her eyes, blurring her vision.
Three years ago, she was in the laboratory conducting experiments, when her parents jumped off the building.
As a science prodigy, she was so obsessed with numbers and data that she would not leave the laboratory for months or have any contact with the outside world before she got the outcome of the experiments.
Her family had always been supportive of her scientific endeavors and never disturbed her when she was doing research. No one would have predicted that the moment she succeeded in the experiment would become the time she received the tragic news about her family's bankruptcy and her parents' death!
Hatred immediately filled her heart. She hated those who harmed her family. And she was aggrieved at her parents, who had not left a single word.
She wanted revenge, but before she could identify her enemy, her intention was ruled out by her grandfather, and she was forced to marry Ace.
For three years, she suffered countless times because of her parent's choice to die without leaving a word. It led to her refusal to even visit their graves or care about the Pierce family.
"They apparently did not leave in silence. They did leave me a message. I was too stupid, too stubborn to understand their
intention!"
Joanna cried as she opened the envelope.
The letter was not long. There were only a few dozen words, but each word pierced her heart as she read it.
"Joan, my baby, please forgive us for not saying goodbye to you. When you read this letter, perhaps you have ended your marriage with Mr. Moran. You must be feeling very sad and helpless, right? Promise us that no matter what you find out about the Moran family, don't blame them. We have too many things to say to you, but we want to tell you that you must live a happy life, and you must not must not avenge us. The daughter of the Pierce family need not be a great person, but she should be healthy and happy. We will become a family again in the next lifetime!"
Joanna's tears rolled down like pearls, dripping on the letter and smudging the letters. Fearing that the letter would be
destroyed, she quickly wiped it with her sleeve.
These were her parents' final words for her.
"Father, Mother, you are so cruel!" She cried so hard that she nearly choked.
When she came to think of it, she seemed overly calm and had never shed a single tear when she learned about the death of her parents.
Everyone said that she was aloof and ungrateful, but in fact she was in so much pain that she could not even cry.
Now that she could finally cry, she felt much relieved.
"Cry it out, Miss Joan, just cry it out."
Nancy patted Joanna's back sadly and comforted her gently. Her young lady was a strong girl. It's devastating that she had suffered so much all these years…
After crying her heart out, Joanna gathered herself. "Nancy, now that I am back, you no longer have to live in the basement. Move in with me, and we will support each other."
"Okay, Miss Joan, I still want to care for you like I used to!"
Nancy's pale and gaunt face finally revealed a smile. It had been a long time since she last smiled. Then, she asked. curiously, "Miss Joan, what message did Mr. and Mrs. Pierce leave for you?"
"They hoped that I could live a normal and happy life and don't blame the Moran family, and they told me I must not take revenge for them."
She gazed intensely at the letter and answered truthfully.
"That's weird. It seems there is no secret in the letter, but why do they insist that it should only be given to you after you are divorced? Could it be that the people who caused the bankruptcy of the Pierce family related to the Moran family?"