Chapter 608: Chapter 608: Is Mrs. Hawthorne Inviting Me?
Ann Vaughn was caught off guard and muttered after a while, "You might as well use my brother as an example... What are you looking at?"
By chance, she glanced at the bold words at the top of the document, and her heart sank.
Without thinking, she lunged forward, wrapped her arms around Cyrus Hawthorne’s neck, and sat on his lap, using her body to block his view!
"Since the truth has been uncovered and it’s getting late, let’s rest and continue tomorrow!"
If Cyrus did finish reading that report, no one would be getting any sleep tonight...
Just the thought of it sent a chill down Ann Vaughn’s spine.
Upon hearing this, Cyrus Hawthorne’s tightly knit brows slightly relaxed, his dark eyes holding a hint of amusement as he teased by her ear, "Is Mrs. Hawthorne inviting me?"
Oh, come on!
The retort stuck in her throat, and Ann Vaughn forced a smile, saying in an extremely insincere manner, "I’m thinking of your health; staying up late is harmful."
It seemed Cyrus Hawthorne accepted her reasoning, raising an eyebrow with a smile, "I won’t refuse."
Then he shut the laptop, picked up Ann Vaughn horizontally, and, accompanied by her soft gasp, strode towards the bedroom.
The next day.
The room was dimly lit and confusing, making it hard to determine whether it was day or night outside.
Last night, she was troubled by a mountain of issues and stayed up late, so when Ann Vaughn awoke, she felt a bewildering sense of uncertainty about what day it was.
Rubbing her bleary eyes, she grabbed the remote to open the blackout curtains, and the sunlight promptly dispelled the darkness, brightening the entire room.
Gradually coming to her senses, Ann Vaughn picked up her phone from the bedside table, connected to WIFI, and checked the online developments regarding the falling case.
Despite Riley Sheridan not being famous, this case has drawn considerable attention from society; it’s been trending on Weibo’s real-time searches for several days, with a trend of escalating.
Fortunately, after Bella Hawthorne was taken away by the Lyncroft Police Department, Hawthorne Group fully blocked any topics or news about her, and you couldn’t even find a single photo online.
Search for "Vian" or related terms, and there’s nothing.
Ann Vaughn felt relieved. If the news hadn’t been blocked swiftly, even if Bella Hawthorne was later cleared of suspicions, she would have faced attacks and harassment from gossip, which would be problematic.
And the fact that she’s pregnant...
Ann Vaughn knew that although she delayed Cyrus Hawthorne last night, she couldn’t stall him forever.
Moreover, it’s almost impossible to keep such a big secret hidden for long.
The reason she did that was to buy Bella Hawthorne some time, allowing her to decide whether to inform Cyrus Hawthorne herself.
Despite thinking telling Cyrus Hawthorne was for the best, she couldn’t make the decision for Bella Hawthorne...
Ann Vaughn couldn’t help but sigh, then got out of bed to wash up and change, leaving the room to find Bella Hawthorne.
To her surprise, after checking Bella Hawthorne’s room, she found that Bella wasn’t there.
Instead, she heard voices faintly coming from the terrace in front of the living room.
A deep male voice tinged with chilling cold, mixed with suppressed and painful sobbing, although not very clear, still made Ann Vaughn’s heart skip a beat.
She was about to head towards the terrace when Cyrus Hawthorne returned to the living room, looking grim with a cold air surrounding him, his brow furrowed as if it could hold a steel pin.
He looked up and met Ann Vaughn’s gaze right away, but said nothing.
Ann Vaughn knew he was waiting for her explanation, her fingers clenching and relaxing, her lips moving silently, unable to answer him for a long while.
The strange silence spread between them, the room so quiet that even the sound of a needle dropping could be heard clearly.
"I’ll go check on Bella..." Feeling guilty, Ann Vaughn was the first to give in, weakly saying this before rushing towards the terrace.
Today’s temperature wasn’t higher than usual; the terrace was windy and chilly, with sunlight offering little warmth and seeping deeper into the bones.
Bella Hawthorne stood blankly beside a deckchair, her face ashen, tears continuously streaming from her vacant eyes, full of confusion and despair.
"Bella." Ann Vaughn picked up the blanket from the deckchair and draped it over Bella’s shoulders, gently reminding her, "It’s cold outside, let’s go in first..."
Before finishing her words, Bella grabbed her hand, her voice trembling, "Sister-in-law, tell me it’s not true, right? I took the pills, I’m not pregnant, right?!"
Ann Vaughn felt a sting in her nose, forcing down the heat in her eyes.
She clasped Bella’s cold hand, whispering comfort, "It’s alright, Bella; no matter your choice, your brother and I will be with you, you still have us."
Contraceptive effectiveness might be ninety-nine percent, but there’s always one percent of uncertainty.
But how could Ann Vaughn bear to tell Bella she was in that one percent.
Hearing her words, Bella Hawthorne broke down completely.
God played the biggest joke on her.
Her entire life was ruined by that man from that night, completely ruined—
Ann Vaughn didn’t know how to comfort Bella Hawthorne, who was crying in her arms, so she could lessen her despair a bit, and she could only gently pat her back to try to console her emotions.
After that incident, Ann Vaughn was secretly investigating the owner of that car, hoping to find that man.
But bizarrely, all results led to no one found...
The abrupt ring of a phone pulled Ann Vaughn back to reality, startling Bella Hawthorne, whose shoulders were trembling from her weeping.
Ann Vaughn had to silence the ringing phone, patting Bella’s back, "Let’s go inside, okay? Your body is too weak, getting sick wouldn’t be good."
"...Okay." Bella Hawthorne numbly closed her eyes, no longer resisting.
...
The cold wind blew from the terrace through the living room, making the curtains flutter like gentle waves.
"President Hawthorne, this morning the Lyncroft Police Department already detained Shawn Raines. Based on the evidence we provided to the police, he can’t escape a death sentence."
"The Raines Family originally wanted to rescue him, but their factories were reported, products removed from several supermarkets and malls, and the company’s financial chain was cut off... They’re fighting on two fronts, unable to care about Shawn’s life."
"And your instructions to spread these matters to the Raines Family’s opponents have started to take effect; their company can only last for another two days at most."
Mark Joyce, having arrived late in Lyncroft, quickly managed Cyrus Hawthorne’s instructions and hurriedly reported the progress in detail to Cyrus.