”No.” Charlie pretended to be surprised as he asked, “Why? What’s wrong? Is Mom not back home yet?”

“No.” Claire replied, “I thought that she was going out with her friend. However, one of her friends just called me earlier and told me that they have not been able to contact my mother ever since the afternoon. They kept waiting for her to confirm whether they would be having dinner together, but they could not find her at all. I also asked dad about it, but he told me that he did not know where she was. That’s why I decided to ask you instead.”

Charlie replied indifferently, “I really do not know where your mother is. She asked me for some money in the afternoon, saying that she wanted to go out for dinner with her friends. However, since dad is in charge of our family’s money now, I told her that I had to ask for dad’s consent first. I did not give your mother any money because your dad did not consent to this matter. I think your mother was a little angry.”

Claire nodded thoughtfu