Chapter 38 - Nora Is Pete's Mother!
The hallway outside was bustling with all kinds of noise.
However, the three in the stairwell were silent.
At last, after a full half a minute, Chester pointed at Cherry as if he had seen a ghost and stammered, "Y-you… You…"
Pete pressed his lips together and sighed. "Since you've seen us, then I won't keep it a secret anymore."
He said solemnly, "Actually, I have a superpower—I can create clones. If you don't believe me, close your eyes. I'll withdraw my clone."
Chester was perplexed.
The corners of his lips spasmed. "Do you really think I'm that stupid, Pete? I'm not going to believe that!"
Cherry cupped her hands around her mouth and leaned toward her brother. She looked like she wanted to whisper, but her voice was in no way soft as she asked, "So, Uncle Chester does have a brain after all?"
Pete was also puzzled. "I'll look it up when I get back. Can single-celled organisms think?"
Chester was speechless. He felt humiliated!
But right after that, he said triumphantly, "There are too many loopholes in your superpower. Can you really make a little girl version of yourself just because you can make a clone of yourself? Are you a hermaphrodite?"
That child wearing the Spider-Man outfit might look like a little boy, but she was Nora Smith's daughter!
Cherry was confused.
Pete was perplexed.
As expected, single-celled organisms really do think differently!
The two little cuties looked at each other. Cherry tilted her head and asked, "What do we do, Pete? Do we silence him?"
Pete hesitated. "He's my uncle. We shouldn't do that."
"Oh." Cherry was a little disappointed.
The corners of Chester's lips spasmed again. He said, "I'm going to tell Justin that apart from a son, he also has a daughter!"
He ran out after saying that.
Pete hurriedly called out, "Uncle Chester!"
However, Chester didn't stop.
Cherry panicked. She placed her hands on her hips and yelled, "Don't you dare move, Chesty!"
Chester's instinct to obey instructions whenever he played games made him freeze instantly, and he even remained in a running stance.
"Come back here!"
Chester obediently returned to the stairwell. He squatted down like a silly puppy and exclaimed, "So, you're my leader!"
Cherry held her cheeks and tilted her head. "Yes, that's right! I'm sweetcherry!"
… As it turned out, not only was his leader a five-year-old, but she was also a little girl!
Chester felt very deceived.
Pete said, "You mustn't tell Daddy what happened today, Uncle Chester!"
Chester was puzzled. "Why is that?"
Pete was silent for a moment. Then, he said, "Think about it. If Daddy knew Cherry's mom was the one who gave birth to me, what will he do?"
Chester felt as if his brain cells weren't working. He said, "Her mom? The one who gave birth to you… Sh*t! You mean Nora Smith is that damned biological mother of yours?"
"…"
Chester finally understood why the two children didn't want him to tell the truth.
Five years ago, Justin had suddenly brought a baby back and said that it was his son. When everyone asked who the child's mother was, he had flown into a rage and strictly forbidden everyone at home from ever mentioning the child's mother.
At that time, the few of them were even secretly wondering what exactly the woman, who had given birth to Pete, had done. Justin had looked as if he wanted to rip that woman into pieces…
Cherry said adorably, "Chesty, I want a father and a brother, but I also want Mommy. So, I want them to fall in love first before we acknowledge each other. This way, our family of four can be together. Can you keep this a secret?"
Chester shook his head. "No, I can't keep this a secret from Justin."
Cherry instantly transformed into a grumpy little ogre. "If you tell Daddy, I won't bring you along in our raids anymore!"
Chester was speechless. That was a rather serious threat!
—
Meanwhile, in the VVIP room.
The three people who had returned sat there quietly. Melissa looked a little embarrassed as she explained: "I don't mean anything by that, Justin. I was just forced by the circumstances to say that just now. Please don't misunderstand."
Although the Hunts were family friends with the Andersons, Justin's identity wasn't as simple as just the head of the Hunts.
Moreover, he hated being involved with women the most. Melissa didn't want to offend him with what she said just now.
Justin was staring at Nora.
The woman's eyes were downcast as she stirred the water in the glass in boredom. Her dazzling features and the icy aura around her made one unable to dislike her.
Not only was he not angry, but there was even a smile at the corner of his eyes. "It's alright."
Melissa and Justin chatted politely. When she realized that Nora was going to New York with him the day after tomorrow, Melissa smiled and said, "Nora, your uncle and I were also thinking of having you stay with us in New York."
Her eyes reddened as she went on. "Your grandmother has been crying so much ever since your mother's disappearance that she has gone blind. She has been talking about your mother all these years. She'll definitely be overjoyed to see you."
Nora had originally intended to refuse the offer. She was already an adult; she didn't need to stay with them. But when she heard that, she paused and said, "…Okay."
Food was served after that, and the three of them began to eat.
Justin observed the woman in front of him. He realized that the way she ate was very interesting. She liked stuffing large pieces of meat into her mouth and chewing on them, yet her casual movements didn't appear crude.
Most women that Justin had met chewed slowly, but she finished the steak on the plate in just a few bites in an extremely efficient manner.
How would he possibly know that Nora just didn't want to waste time on anything apart from spending time with Cherry?
Melissa had only just taken four bites when Nora placed her cutlery down. "Aunt Melissa, I have something on in a while, so I'll go first."
Melissa was dumbfounded.
Nora left the private room after saying that. When she saw Mrs. Lewis's text message saying that Cherry had already returned, she didn't bother going upstairs. She hailed a cab and went out instead.
Although she knew that it wasn't appropriate to leave the meal midway, she really did have something on. Two days ago, she had already made an appointment with Wayne Myers, the acting director of Idealian Pharmaceuticals. Back then, her mother had entrusted him with the company, and he had managed it for over 20 years now.
When Nora arrived at the cafe, Wayne was already there.
He stood up excitedly and said, "You've returned to the States, Nora! You must be 24 years old by now? If your mother could see you now, she would definitely be very happy."
Wayne managed the company wholeheartedly. Despite so many years passing, he hadn't developed any thoughts that he shouldn't have.
Nora nodded slightly. Then, she took a seat and asked, "Wayne, I asked you out today because I wanted to ask you if my mother has left me anything apart from the company? Or whether she left me anything in the company?"
She had already looked into it.
Idealian Pharmaceuticals really was just a small company with an annual income of $5,000,000. Over the years, they even moved and changed their company address a few times.
She didn't quite understand why the Grays and the Smiths were so hung up over such a small company?
Wayne solemnly nodded and answered, "Yes, she did!"
Nora looked up at him. "What did she leave me?"
So, the company really was hiding something?