Chapter 188: Chapter 188: Who Is He Looking For?
"Mommy gave Kenny the Spider-Man badge, Kenny really likes it." Kenny said in a childish voice, taking the jacket Sutton Jennings handed him and covering Ann Vaughn’s back with it.
He then slid into the jacket himself. Since he was so small, you’d never know there was a little bundle inside unless you looked closely.
Not far away, Cyrus Hawthorne was searching the restaurant without daring to blink, looking for that familiar figure he had just seen.
But—
No, no, nowhere!
Cyrus Hawthorne’s thin lips pressed into a tight line, and a trace of hostility, even the urge to destroy the place, passed over his stern brow, as if he felt he had reached the end of the road.
Suddenly, his eyes froze at a certain spot, meeting the gaze Sutton Jennings sent his way.
After four years, this was the first open confrontation between the two men.
Without words, without movements, the smoke of conflict could be sensed from their gaze.
Just like four years ago, destined to be adversaries.
Cyrus Hawthorne didn’t let his gaze linger long on Sutton Jennings’ expression, just swept past the empty seat opposite him and looked away.
The seating in the restaurant was limited, and though people came and went, if that figure showed even a corner, he wouldn’t miss it.
Unless... what he saw earlier was just an illusion.
"President Hawthorne, are you looking for someone? Do you need us to clear the area?" Mark Joyce approached, seeing Cyrus Hawthorne appeared to be searching for someone, and said.
This restaurant was an asset of the Hawthorne Corp’s dining chain, clearing the place out was only a matter of minutes.
Cyrus Hawthorne’s narrow eyes scanned every inch of the surroundings, even not sparing the wait staff, yet as time ticked away, the faint flame in his eyes dimmed to nothing.
"No need, let’s go back." Ignoring the lingering emptiness and chill in his heart, Cyrus Hawthorne said with a slight frown before turning away.
"Found it!" Meanwhile, Ann Vaughn found the badge, sat up and placed it on the table, "How did you drop it in there?"
"Thank you, Mommy, hurry and drink this before it gets cold." Kenny, without a trace of his mischief, returned the jacket to Sutton Jennings, lifted his little face with an impeccable, innocent smile, and pushed the brown sugar ginger tea to Ann Vaughn.
No one could tell he did anything wrong.
Ann Vaughn didn’t even know that her obedient little angel could lie without a blush, picked up the hot cup of brown sugar ginger tea, and drank it sip by sip.
After the meal, Sutton Jennings drove the mother and son home.
Ann Vaughn felt a bit uncomfortable in her stomach and dozed off in the back seat.
Seeing this scene through the rear-view mirror, Sutton Jennings teasingly asked Kenny, "You’ve already figured out who he is?"
"No choice, mommy and Sherry wouldn’t tell me, so I had to find out myself." Kenny shrugged, his cute little face showing a hint of slyness.
In Ann Vaughn’s eyes—with her filter of "my baby is the sweetest, best, and cutest"—whatever Kenny did, she’d naturally find a fitting reason for him, no suspicion at all.
And Sherry... need we say more?
Only Sutton Jennings, although Kenny was just a three-year-old child, behaving childishly and rolling around in front of Ann Vaughn, couldn’t have been more childlike.
But having controlled The Underworld for so many years, if he couldn’t detect even this, he might as well retire.
"Your mommy doesn’t want you to know because she doesn’t want you to worry or be upset, also for your protection," Sutton Jennings said softly.
"Kenny knows." Kenny mumbled an acknowledgement, adjusted the blanket covering Ann Vaughn, "But more than being protected by Mommy, Kenny wants to protect Mommy."
His mommy might seem smart, but actually, she was so soft-hearted and naive.
If he, Lord Kenny, didn’t look after her closely, who knew when she might get tricked away by bad people.
"What if someone wanted to help you protect your mommy, how would you feel?"
Hearing Sutton Jennings’ question, Kenny immediately put on a complex expression, "Uncle Jennings, no thanks, to be my daddy, first step is, you have to cook better than mommy."
Like with Sutton Jennings, if he didn’t cook, he was fine, but when he did, it was shocking—time to seriously polish those skills.
Sutton Jennings: "..."
Tomorrow, he’d have his men sign him up for a cooking class!
Not long after parking below the apartment building, Ann Vaughn was gently woken by Kenny shaking her arm, her eyes bleary, "We’re here?"
"Annie, the ownership of Vaughn Clinic is in Cyrus Hawthorne’s hands now, it won’t be easy to get it back. Besides, to those of us in the loop, you’re already dead." Sutton Jennings leaned against the window, his tone serious, "Unless Cyrus Hawthorne signs it in person, getting it back—will be difficult."
If "Ann Vaughn" was seen as deceased to the public, perhaps it would be easier to handle.
But she wasn’t, the one who was dead was "Cynthia Vaughn", "Ann Vaughn" was alive and well overseas.
Even Sutton Jennings was startled when he first learned about this matter—Cyrus Hawthorne had staged such a grand deception to hoodwink everyone, what on earth did he want to achieve.
Ann Vaughn’s delicate face was calm, without much surprise saying, "He’s always prioritized Hawthorne Corp’s interests, plus at the time news of our divorce had just been announced, if news of my death also spread, it would’ve caused significant turbulence in Hawthorne Corp’s stock, negative to the company’s image."
"Only a few people know about this, silencing them is very easy."
"Actually, it doesn’t matter if I can’t get it back. I used to stubbornly stick to the literal meaning of my grandfather’s words, neglecting what he truly wished for me to do. As long as I can heal and save people, not wasting my medical skills, I won’t be constrained by these external things."
After going through so much, she had come to understand a lot.
"No wonder you turned down the invitation from M Country’s Institute of Medical Research." Sutton Jennings laughed with relief, "It’s good that you can think this way. I’ll inform you once the studio license is ready."
"Thanks." Ann Vaughn smiled, then picked up Kenny, who was sitting with a naive and innocent look, and got off the car.
It was only after the apartment lights came on that Sutton Jennings drove away.
Upstairs.
"Mommy, Kenny wants to take a bubble bath!" After drinking the herbal medicine that Sherry had prepared, Kenny, with a grimace, asked Ann Vaughn for candy, taking the opportunity to make a request.
Ann Vaughn popped a mint candy into his little mouth, and took one herself, "Sure thing. By the way, Sherry, have you found a kindergarten?"
"I checked out a few today, and only these two seemed nice, take a look." Sherry handed over a couple of admissions flyers for Ann Vaughn to see.
Hearing the word kindergarten, Kenny suddenly felt a sense of crisis.
Ann Vaughn looked through the flyers for a moment, and pondered, "This one, its safety level is higher, and the medical facilities are fully equipped, plus it’s close to the hospital."
"I also think this one is good, the principal there seems decent, just worried that those kids are too playful and might hurt Kenny..."
That was indeed a problem.
Ann Vaughn furrowed her thin eyebrows, just about to speak when her neck was suddenly hugged by Kenny, who cried out in a shrill baby voice, "Mommy, your darling will be good, will be obedient, don’t lock your darling in a kindergarten!"