Chapter 703: Chapter 703: Could It Be Ann Vaughn?
"Hey, do you think it’s worth exchanging youth and beauty temporarily acquired for one’s life and future happiness?"
The person sent over shook their head in misunderstanding, clearly at a loss for words.
Ann Vaughn recalled the image of the elderly man standing by the bed of the old lady, claiming disdain with words, yet his actions couldn’t hide his concern for someone.
Such people are often the ones most easily hurt.
She suddenly felt somewhat fortunate; even though she had grasped the method to make the extract agent at the time, she hadn’t truly created the complete drug and disclosed it to the public.
At least, it should not be done now.
After the people sent by the research institute left, Sherry entered the lounge with a stack of papers, handing them to Ann Vaughn, her expression not looking very pleasant.
"Annie, you guessed right earlier; Jane Sheridan did indeed resign from the research institute suddenly on the day of your miscarriage and returned to Marinia."
"However, the surveillance inside and outside Cynthia Vaughn’s apartment coincidentally malfunctioned on that day, and no traces were found in the apartment. Based on this clue, we can’t confirm Jane Sheridan was in that apartment that day."
Ann Vaughn took the stack of papers and flipped through them a few times, her brows furrowing further at the content on the pages.
At the time, their focus was on Cynthia Vaughn in the open, who would have thought there was a Jane Sheridan behind it?
This allowed Jane Sheridan enough time to clean up traces, preventing anyone from finding evidence to convict her.
Checking at this point... it’s already too late.
"I used to think Jane Sheridan was gloomy and strange, somewhat hypocritical, but I never knew she had such heavy ingenuine intentions." Sherry frowned, her face showing complex emotions as she said, "With the evidence we’ve gathered, we can’t do anything to her, especially while she’s still the eldest miss of the Sheridan Family..."
As long as Jane Sheridan bears the title of eldest miss of the Sheridan Family, the family won’t easily ignore her affairs.
After all, whether before discovering Jane wasn’t truly the family’s daughter or afterward, she has always been adored, and her status hasn’t budged.
Seeking justice from her won’t be easy.
Speaking of this, Sherry’s eyes suddenly brightened, "But if you return to the Sheridan Family, this matter could be different."
"My uncle won’t agree to my returning to the Sheridan Family." Ann Vaughn placed the stack of papers aside, suddenly recalling something, "Sherry, my uncle said my mom was pushed into the sea holding me, how did Jane become the Sheridan Family’s eldest miss?"
This seems somewhat illogical.
Sherry sighed, "Old Master Saxon brought Jane back, falsely claiming to have retrieved her from kidnappers, intending to comfort the sick old Mrs. Sheridan at the time. Later, when old Mrs. Sheridan discovered Jane wasn’t a biological member of the family, she searched worldwide for your whereabouts."
"Plus, with the extended time you were kidnapped and missing, babies change significantly day by day, which isn’t surprising; except for the patriarch and Young Master Wilder, none of us suspected."
Ann Vaughn froze, "My brother being suspicious is one thing, but Wilder was just a baby then too, how could he be suspicious?"
"I didn’t know initially either, later realizing that the patriarch would sneak off alone, claiming he heard his sister crying and wanted to find her, so I took him to Jane, but he insisted she wasn’t his sister." Sherry explained.
"We thought he was triggered by the sudden loss of his mother, so we advised him that his actions were upsetting everyone. Although he never said such things again, he still sneaked off often."
"As for Young Master Wilder..." Sherry chuckled bitterly, "You might not believe it, but whenever we put Jane beside him, he’d immediately cry loudly, giving us headaches. Yet as they grew older, their relationship turned out to be the best."
These things were heard by Ann Vaughn from Sherry for the first time.
Alongside the warm feeling in her heart, confusion grew stronger.
Despite having lived alongside Jade Shepherd and Howard Vaughn for so many years, never developing even a shred of affection, only interest and exploitation prevailed.
Nonetheless, the Vaughns and old Mrs. Sheridan, who had never truly interacted with her, persistently sought her for years.
Is it merely due to that intangible blood relationship?
During contemplation, Ann Vaughn’s phone suddenly vibrated.
A message from Wilder arrived.
[Elder Saxon has always disliked dealing with our family, how did you convince him to help repair grandma’s longevity tablet?]
After returning from Marinia to The Imperial Capital before, Ann Vaughn had secretly visited Elder Saxon, hoping to ask him to help repair the longevity tablet.
Elder Saxon agreed without hesitation.
Hence, Ann Vaughn truly hadn’t noticed any signs of prejudice towards the Sheridan Family.
Ann Vaughn pondered and typed back: Is the longevity tablet now repaired?
[Old Master Saxon hasn’t lost his touch; the repaired longevity tablet is flawless, grandma is very pleased.]
Just after Ann Vaughn sent her reply, Wilder heard Jane’s gentle voice at the bedside.
"Grandma, she shattered the longevity tablet; perhaps she feels guilty and thus asked someone to repair it. If we were to reward her for such, wouldn’t it be absurd?"
Her words made some sense; old Mrs. Sheridan nodded yet hesitated.
"But Elder Saxon also said he wouldn’t have set foot into our family if not because of her. Previously you requested him yourself and were turned away, showing how reluctant he is to associate with us."
Jane’s gentle demeanor stiffened, not wishing to recall her rejection at the Saxon Family’s door.
But before old Mrs. Sheridan, she dared not show any temper and advised politely, "Balancing the scales, her inviting Elder Saxon over probably aligns with such a notion. If we invite her home again, I’m worried..."
The latter part of Jane’s sentence remained unspoken.
Yet everyone aware of the incident knew her meaning.
She worried Ann Vaughn might repeat "thieving deeds."
On the sofa, Wilder frowned; could the "thief" referred to by grandma and Bella truly be Ann Vaughn?
"Grandma, before I went to act, I once visited the shrine, and the longevity tablet was already broken then; I didn’t tell you fearing you’d be saddened." Wilder stood up.
The faces of old Mrs. Sheridan and Jane changed.
"So we really wronged that girl?" old Mrs. Sheridan lamented in guilt, "I wondered why I felt unease; we must properly apologize to her in the future..."
Jane clenched her hands, feigning a jest to Wilder, "You mustn’t speak kindly of her just because of your special relationship. We still don’t know how she got the key card."