Chapter 516: Chapter 516: Ten Million and the First Wife
Vigorously leaving his victorious bite mark on Cyrus Hawthorne’s slightly raised handsome face, Ann Vaughn got off him with satisfaction, looking at him defiantly.
"Who told you that you needed a bite? This is your problem, you should reflect on yourself!"
Cyrus Hawthorne slightly raised his brow, looking at Ann Vaughn, who resembled a cat that had gotten the cream, he lightly curved his thin lips, "Your kissing was not up to par, reflection will be superficial."
"..." Ann Vaughn’s pretty face turned red, and she picked up the pillow beside her and threw it at him, "Bah! Shameless!"
Luckily, Kenny was sleeping with his grandparents tonight, otherwise, he’d get corrupted by Cyrus Hawthorne if he heard these inappropriate things.
Mumbling a phrase, Ann Vaughn swiftly crawled out of bed, then hurried to the dressing room to change into a high-necked long dress, and walked towards Ian Vaughn’s study.
After knocking on the door, Ann Vaughn pushed it open and entered, immediately seeing Ian Vaughn busy behind the desk, slightly biting her lip with embarrassment, "Sorry, uncle, something urgent came up, so I’m late."
"It’s okay." Seeing her come in, Ian Vaughn put down the materials he was preparing for next week’s international seminar, and instead, took out a file from the drawer beside him, placing it on the table, "Take a look at this."
Ann Vaughn picked up the file and opened it, a look of astonishment flickered across her bright eyes.
"Uncle, what is this?"
"It’s the first birthday gift your mother prepared for you back then, but she never got the chance to give it, as you both met with an incident. I took it upon myself to keep these things safe." Ian Vaughn explained.
Giving a young baby not only several well-known brand companies, including Imperial Glory Pharmaceuticals, but also a mountain...
Ann Vaughn’s lips twitched involuntarily; her biological mother was indeed an extraordinary woman.
"Actually, your mother didn’t think these gifts were particularly special," Ian Vaughn, seeing her conflicted expression, thought she didn’t like these gifts, and said, "Originally, your mother also wanted to give you an amethyst mine, but didn’t have the chance."
... Good thing she didn’t have the chance.
Ann Vaughn held the seemingly thin yet actually heavy file, laughing and crying at the same time.
Yet, the undeniable gentle warmth gradually spread from her chest to her limbs, with a slight sourness as well.
This extravagant expression was a bit clumsy, but the depth of love was undeniable.
"Uncle, how exactly did my mom die?" Ann Vaughn tightly pressed her red lips, suppressing the acid from her eyes, looking up at Ian Vaughn.
Hearing this question, Ian Vaughn put down his elbow resting on the table, remained silent for a long time, and then sighed to speak, "She was kidnapped by Stanley Sheridan’s enemies, demanding a ransom of ten million to no avail, they pushed your mother into the sea."
"The search team scoured the sea for a whole month but still couldn’t find your mom’s body. That area was frequent with sharks, so it was closed with a verdict that she died in a shark’s belly."
"And you went missing following the kidnapping, never by your mom’s side. We traced for months, finally finding one of the kidnappers, only to get the bad news that they had long disposed of you..."
Even years later, with Ann Vaughn standing safely before him, the mention of those heinous kidnappers still brought an undeniable hatred in Ian Vaughn’s pale eyes.
How could he not hate?
Because of Stanley Sheridan, two happy families were utterly destroyed.
But besides those aware, everyone thought Shuhua Vaughn’s death was an accident.
In fact, no one knew it was merely a facade constructed by Stanley Sheridan to preserve his reputation.
Ann Vaughn’s eyes trembled, taking a long time to come back from Ian Vaughn’s seemingly simple, yet heart-wrenching narrative, her blood ran cold.
Between ten million and his wife, Stanley Sheridan chose ten million.
Twenty years ago, ten million was indeed a large amount, but as long as Stanley Sheridan was willing, plus the Vaughn Family’s help, it’s not impossible to raise that ten million.
Bear in mind, he even managed to acquire the Dragon Marrow Jade and specifically asked Grandpa Saxon to carve two longevity jade pieces.
How could it be that he couldn’t come up with a mere ten million?
He simply wasn’t willing.
Whether it was because Stanley Sheridan felt it too humiliating to bow to his enemies or was too arrogant to believe they’d dare harm her mom, Ann Vaughn no longer had the courage to speculate.
"Uncle, I’ll still say the same thing." Ann Vaughn barely parted her red lips, feeling the dryness in her mouth overwhelming, "He’s not my dad."
Ian Vaughn respected her choice, but thinking of certain things, couldn’t help but remind her, "Unless you plan to return to the Sheridan Family, best not to mention your origin to Elliot or Wilder."
Of those most innocent in the calamity, besides Ann Vaughn and Shuhua Vaughn, were surely Eli Sheridan and Wilder Sheridan.
To this day, Ian Vaughn remembers how, at the age of not even five, Eli Sheridan, after his mommy and sister had accidents one after another, how he transformed overnight from a carefree child into a little boy who could shoulder a world for his brother.
Compared to Eli Sheridan, who was old enough to remember and deeply cherish feelings for his mother and sister, Wilder Sheridan, still an ignorant baby, was much more fortunate.
Precisely because of this, both the Sheridan Family and the Vaughn Family kept the truth tightly sealed, never letting them know.
Ann Vaughn gazed at him for a moment, slightly perplexed, "Why?"
"Not knowing might be a good thing for you," Ian Vaughn smiled gently at her, "And the same for Elliot and Wilder."
What does it mean not knowing might be a good thing for them?
Ian Vaughn seemed to imply more than he said, but Ann Vaughn couldn’t know what secret he aimed to hide.
She only needed to know that her uncle wouldn’t harm her.
With this in mind, Ann Vaughn didn’t force herself to think further, said goodnight to Ian Vaughn, and left the study.
The study suddenly became eerily quiet.
Ian Vaughn leaned back in his chair, the golden-rimmed glasses reflecting complex light from his pale eyes, faintly illuminating the text reflected from the computer screen onto his lenses.
It was astonishingly——
The Mermaid Princess.
Just then, the phone on the desk suddenly rang.
Ian Vaughn slowly came back to his senses, picked up the phone to answer, "Wilder?"
"Uncle!" Wilder Sheridan suppressing his agitation, grieved out a shout at him, "Why did you take away my report results, I’ve been waiting for days!"
These days he pushed all his schedules just to see the results in time and confront the old man back at home.
Turns out after all his pressing, the exam department fools finally told him, his dear uncle had long snatched it.