As soon as my brother collected himself and returned home, our mother approached him with a worried expression, grasping his hand.

"Where have you been? You didn’t answer your phone. Do you want to drive me to worry myself sick?"

He looked up, meeting her gaze coldly. "Do you know what today is?"

In her confused look, he suddenly burst into laughter. He shook off her hand and shouted, "Lydia isn’t on a business trip! Why are you lying?"

He stepped closer to her. "Do you realize she hasn’t been to work in over a month?"

"She’s been missing for more than a month. Don’t you care about that?"

"Aren't...