There was a thunderstorm ravaging the air waves in that afternoon, so all of the impending flights had
to be cancelled. Everyone had to wait at the airport for two whole days before everything went back to
normal. Joseph had extended his stay in Maldives for two whole days, and when he finally arrived back
in the country, three days was gone.
In the Imperial villa, Joseph stood in front of the guest room, and his brows were furrowed.
“Young master, Ms. Downey has moved all of her stuff two days ago. She told me that she had found a
place to stay, so she is not going to bother us any longer.”
“What else did she still say?”
“She said that she had been staying here for more than a month, and the cumulative rental fees are
just around thirty thousand yuan. It’s all here.”
The butler dangled a paper bag as he added, “I didn’t give her the bank account of the family
previously, so the next day, she gave me this bag of cash instead.”
When Joseph laid eyes on that paper bag, his face became sunken.
Was she being so anxious to draw a clear line between them?
Noah was tugging at his shirt non-stop, and he looked very nervous.
Joseph said wryly, “Didn’t you see that? She is gone. It’s useless to keep pulling my clothes.”
Noah immediately pressed his lips into a line and in no time, tears started to flow from his eyes. He
began to cry.
The butler and the maids was at a loss as they tried to console him, but to no avail. Joseph felt a
tugging pain in his heart which was as intense as his mild anger. He raised his voice, “Is she that
awesome? Why do you like her so much when she is not even your mother?”
Noah continued to weep, and at times he was even short of breath. The butler ordered the maids to
bring Noah away as he comforted Joseph, “Young master, you shouldn’t be angry. I can see that Ms.
Downey has something on her mind which makes her look grim and emotional. I can’t know what
would be the cause of that. Has something happened? Was she unhappy about the trip?”
At the mention of the trip, Joseph locked his brows even further.
There was an incident during the trip, but at that time, he couldn’t sense any dissatisfaction on her part.
The night before she disappeared, she looked fine when they were at the beach. However, she looked
like her soul was lost when they were having dinner. From what he had heard from Freddie, did
something happen at her home?
“Mark, do you know where is the residence of Bentley, the president of the Downey Group?”
His butler froze before answering, “I think he stays near Jiangxin Villa Area.”
--
In the luxuriously decorated living room, one could tell at a glance that this house would sell at more
than ten million yuan according to current market price.
In the living room, a maid placed a cup of tea on the table while muttering coldly, “Ms. Downey, your
tea.” She carried the tray away immediately, but Hayden called out to her with a frown, “Is my uncle not
back yet?”
The maid stopped in her tracks as she stared at her without any expression, “Sir is very busy, and at
this timing he is usually at the station going through his daily job. He won’t be back home anytime
soon.”
Hayden remarked, “It’s Sunday today.”
“What about Sunday? Do you think he doesn’t need to attend to his appointments on a Sunday? Ms.
Downey, you can stay here and wait as you wish. Who knows if sir would come back home to have
dinner.”
After saying that, the maid turned around and left abruptly.
Hayden let out a sigh, which was infused with all of her complicated feelings.
When she left the Barnett family at five years old, it was a mess. Due to the passing of her grandfather,
her aunt has sent her every last piece of belonging to the Downey family, as though proving her
conviction to not have anything to do with Hayden anymore from that moment on.
In the coming years that flew by, not even once did she go back home.
If it were not for the purpose of securing custody over her son in the future, she would not come back
home just to take back her inheritance which was left behind by her mother.
After an indeterminate time, there was some noise drifting from the second floor. Someone was
descending the stairs.
Hayden looked at the source of the sound and immediately her heart squeezed itself.
The sounds of footsteps stopped halfway on the stairs, and an elderly woman looking in her fifties
loomed over Hayden albeit far away. She had a plump body shape but her eyes were sharp and
calculative like a falcon’s. She said with utter contempt in her voice, “Hey, look who has woken me up
from my nap. You haven’t appeared in this place for close to twenty years, no? If the maids didn’t tell
me about your visit, I really thought that I would never have the chance to lay eyes on my
granddaughter who used to be favoured by father.”
Hayden clenched her fists as she began with difficulty, “Aunt, you’re home?”
She was here for close to half an hour, and the maid had been going upstairs for a few times. Based on
her aunt’s attitude, she could conclude that her aunt wouldn’t have the intention to see her personally if
it were not because of her planning to wait this out for however long it took.
“I was napping. My maids know my temperament very well. Nobody would be able to wake me up
when I was having my nap, not even the mayor.”
Hayden had an awkward expression on her face. She wanted to reply something but nothing came out
of her mouth.
This aunt of hers hailed from a family who produced countless diplomats, and she was able to make a
name for herself in the capital. Hayden’s uncle was able to rise meteorically due to her family’s support,
so in the family, she held an important status.
Hayden had always been intimidated by her since young.
“Sit.”
Her aunt got off the stairs and trod to just inches away from her. With an aloof expression, she asked
squarely, “Why are you here?”
Hayden hesitated before answering, “I better wait for uncle to be back home before explaining myself.”
“Are you sure you want to wait this out? You might not get what you wish for because even I don’t know
what time will he be back.”
Upon hearing that, Hayden clutched the edge of her shirt, and after remaining silent for a few seconds,
she decided to come out with it, “The reason I am back here is to regain my mother’s inheritance which
was protected under grandpa’s name. I only want that house, nothing more.”
“I can guess you are going with that topic. You haven’t been home for more than a decade, so why do
you think you are still qualified for anything?”
Her aunt snorted, “Your mother never took even a cent from the Downey family, and she was dead
after giving birth to you. Who told you that she had even left anything behind as your keepsake?”
Hayden became pale when she heard that. She replied while stammering, “My grandpa told me about
the existence of my keepsake. Although I was a child, but my grandpa took extra care to repeat himself
about this, so… I won’t be remembering things wrongly.”
Furthermore, although her mother had left the Downey family without taking a cent, she still had some
assets to her name. Part of them were due to her inheritance from the Downey family, and part of them
were given to her by her in-laws when she was married: Her dowry.
Her aunt’s expression was still cold as ever, “Is that so? I never recall anything like that. When you left
us, you were only five. How could you remember anything concrete? What’s more, in the first two years
when Bentley had just started his company, he had sought money from your grandpa from time to time.
You wouldn’t know how much money had been contributed to his budding business, and you still
naively think that your mother has left you some inheritance assets? You are plainly dreaming!”
All colours had drained off of Hayden’s face, and she almost bit her lips so hard that it was almost
bleeding. She wanted to just leave this place, but she still gritted her teeth and clenched her fists,
“Aunt, if I am not wrong, grandpa told me that the house left to me by my mother has my name on the
property documents. Although I don’t have that piece of document, but if you insist that you don’t know
anything about that house, I can still investigate about it at the Real Estate Bureau.”
“Oh?” Her aunt had a drastic change of expression, “How can you say something like that? Are you
implying that I have taken over a house that should belong to you? Are you planning to sue me? If you
are so great, you can take this to court with your uncle. Let’s see if he will allow you to open a case.”
Upon hearing that, Hayden feel all trace of warmth seeping out of her body. Her uncle was the Chief
Justice of the Judiciary department of Nanking.
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