The Kiss that Sparked it All

Chapter 2000

After unsuccessful attempts to reach her daughter, Tessa racked her brain and remembered a classmate Ivy used to mention from time to time.

Ivy was always a bit of a loner, and in all the years Tessa had known her, she couldn’t recall her ever bringing home any friends.

There was, however, this one classmate Ivy had mentioned a few times, someone Tessa suspected might have actually been close to her daughter.

Hurrying to Ivy’s room, which was left in a bit of a mess since Ivy had dashed off in a hurry, Tessa rummaged through her belongings and found an old yearbook hidden beneath a locker.

Ivy had only gotten her first cell phone after college graduation, so Tessa was certain all her old contacts would be scribbled in that yearbook.

It took a while, but Tessa finally found the classmate’s number and dialed, “Hello?”

on the other end was a mix of

was wondering if she is with you. If so, can you put

poorly Ivy’s mother treated her, often siding with her half–sister to bully her. The classmate’s tone chilled immediately, “Sorry, she’s

If she’s not with

left the Dunhill family homestead, felt a wave of empathy for Ivy, thus getting a sicker feeling for Tessa, “You can’t even take care of your own daughter and now you’re asking me? If I were Ivy, I wouldn’t acknowledge you as my mother

the

worried about Ivy, the classmate sent her a quick text: [Your mom called me. She seems to be looking for you.]

from Tessa, Ivy sensed something was

was plotting, Ivy knew it couldn’t be

Ivy’s classmate, Tessa was at her

piece of news she had seen online. She pulled out her smartphone, searching for a photo, but all she could find was