Chapter 455: Chapter 455: Heartless and Ungrateful
"Grandpa... Grandpa Saxon?!"
She never expected to see Old Master Saxon here, her head, almost deprived of oxygen from nervousness, suddenly cleared, leaving her in a state of blankness.
Old Master Saxon wore a meticulously formal black suit, without even holding a cane in his hand, standing with his hands behind his back, looking full of vigor and in good health.
He looked cheerfully at the two nestled together, a hint of mischief in his kind eyes, "Seeing you both here, Old Man Vaughn would surely be overjoyed knowing this from the afterlife."
Ann Vaughn then realized that her posture with Cyrus Hawthorne was overly intimate, and she embarrassingly released her arms around his firm waist, standing properly, "You, you’re here too?"
Cyrus Hawthorne showed no sign of irritation from being suddenly pushed away, gently rubbing his cold fingertips, then gracefully yet politely nodded at Old Master Saxon in greeting.
Old Master Saxon nodded with a smile, responding, "I come here to have a look every now and then. Seeing this place well-maintained assures me."
Ann Vaughn suddenly realized, nodding her head, that indeed she was the only one who didn’t know that the old house had been preserved...
Noticing her somberness, Cyrus Hawthorne discreetly squeezed her palm, and said in a deep voice, "The floor under the right leg of Grandpa’s desk, go have a look."
"The floor? I’ll go right now!" Ann Vaughn’s eyes lit up, and she eagerly ran towards the stairs, not caring about the slight sadness anymore.
After she left, Old Master Saxon chuckled heartily, "The reconstruction here is truly perfect, even I can’t find a single fault."
"You flatter me, the ensuing matters might still require your assistance," Cyrus Hawthorne nodded lightly.
"Such minor matters. I just don’t understand, why don’t you give her the item directly? Going through all this trouble and thought, isn’t the outcome what’s most important?"
Hearing this, Cyrus Hawthorne smiled faintly, not showing any sense of trouble, "If I gave it to her directly, she might think I did it deliberately just to comfort her."
For anything related to her, no matter how troublesome, he relished it.
Though Old Master Saxon didn’t fully understand, his eyes showed more fondness when looking at him. However, unexpectedly, Old Master Saxon’s expression changed suddenly, "Your mouth corner..."
Cyrus Hawthorne’s expression remained unchanged, casually wiping away a hint of red at the corner of his mouth, and softly said to Old Master Saxon, "It’s nothing, please don’t mention it to her."
"You...you...sigh." Old Master Saxon didn’t know what to say, sighed for a long while, then turned and left.
The hallway was left with a tall, slender figure leaning against the wall, breathing shallowly, seemingly suppressing some restless, unsettled anger.
Those narrow, dark eyes resembled a dangerous and terrifying beast.
...
Meanwhile, Ann Vaughn indeed found a wooden box beneath the floor under the right leg of the desk. Opening it revealed not clues, but a letter and a photo album.
Fortunately, both the letter and the album were well-preserved, although old, their contents were still discernible.
Ann Vaughn unfolded the letter, familiar handwriting leapt into view.
[To my granddaughter Annie: Dear girl, when you see this letter, it means you have grown up and started a new life with a new family. The album is your wedding gift from Grandpa, wishing my smart and lovely granddaughter a lifetime of happiness.]
At this point, Ann Vaughn’s nose tingled with sourness, her vision began to blur. She quickly steadied herself, continuing to read carefully.
[The year Grandpa picked you up from a snowbank by the roadside, you were burning with fever, crying incessantly. Grandma’s heart softened, so he brought you home, intending to take care of you before sending you away. Unexpectedly, Howard Vaughn took a liking to the two pieces of Dragon Marrow Jade you had with you in swaddling clothes, stole one, and left the old house overnight to make a name for himself. Therefore, Grandpa decided to adopt you as his granddaughter, hoping you understand.]
[Grandpa felt guilty, restless every day. Until you were nearly one year old, when your first words were not Mommy or Daddy as instinct, but Grandpa. Only then did the knot in my heart finally loosen. From that moment, Grandpa decided, regardless of whose biological daughter you are, you are Cyrus Vaughn’s granddaughter and future heir.]
Plink.
Two drops of liquid fell onto the yellowed letter paper, quickly spreading into two deep stains.
So, from the beginning, Grandpa knew she wasn’t his biological granddaughter.
Ann Vaughn bit her lip, the guilt and fear always lurking in her heart, resurfacing in her dreams at midnight, felt now like scalding hot water pouring onto her, leaving only an aching warmth.
"Grandpa..."
[Dear girl, no matter how far you fly in the future, Grandpa will watch over you from above, protecting you. Grandpa’s strictness with you since childhood wasn’t solely to pass on my heritage. It was to ensure that, no matter what challenges you face, Grandpa hopes you have more options and paths, allowing yourself to live better.]
[This way, it truly fulfills Grandpa’s expectations of you.]
"Grandpa!" Ann Vaughn could no longer hold back, clutching the letter in her arms, emotionally breaking down into tears, as if wishing to cry out all the grievances of these days and years, unable to stop.
She never knew that Grandpa’s strictness carried so much concern and expectation, not apprehension that she couldn’t uphold the Vaughn Clinic and his traditional medicine philosophy, nor a desire for her to reach the pinnacle.
Just a concerned elderly man, worried and hopeful for his granddaughter’s future.
For her to live well, to stride forth bravely, even without his presence.
From the start, she had misunderstood, completely misunderstood.
Once Ann Vaughn’s collapsed, uncontrolled emotions gradually calmed down, Old Master Saxon sighed as he entered the room, "Your father, Howard Vaughn, was unwilling to settle down and study traditional medicine back then, he only wanted to make money. The money he got by exchanging the Dragon Marrow Jade was the first capital for his startup, leading to the later Vaughn Group."
Dragon Marrow Jade was originally a rare treasure, the piece Howard Vaughn sold fetched millions back then, and now it’s worth even more in the tens of millions.
If not for that piece of Dragon Marrow Jade, there would be no Vaughn Group, nor the lavish lifestyle of Howard Vaughn and Jade Shepherd.
But apart from bearing the names of Ann Vaughn’s parents, they never treated her kindly out of guilt, even plotting to replace their own daughter’s heart with Ann Vaughn’s.
It wouldn’t be too much to say they’re heartless.
These things, Old Master Saxon also learned later from Cyrus Hawthorne, finally understanding what days Ann Vaughn went through those years.
Old Master Saxon sighed again, "I’ve also heard about the Vaughn Family relatives giving you a hard time. You don’t need to worry about such trivial matters."