Chapter 500: Chapter 500: You’re Not Up to It
Is he doing it on purpose?!
"Who said it’s for a lifetime? If you ever make me unhappy, I’ll kick you aside and find a few young, good-looking guys... mmm!"
Before she could finish her words, Ann Vaughn’s slightly parted red lips were pressed tightly by a long, distinct finger, its cool temperature making her knit her brows.
She looked displeased at the man with a deep, cold expression, wanting to remove his finger, but found herself as powerless as shaking a tree, unable to move him at all.
"Next time," Cyrus Hawthorne’s narrow eyes grew somber, his fingertips heavily brushing over her lips a few times, "don’t let me hear this kind of talk again."
"...Bossy," Ann Vaughn mumbled, not daring to provoke him further, lest the horrible events from last night repeat.
If she’d known that last night’s dance would lead to such grave consequences, Ann Vaughn would rather have broken her own leg than dance QAQ.
Seeing her finally settle down, the chill around Cyrus Hawthorne slightly dissipated, and he squinted towards Leo Lowell and Levi Lowell.
"Family Head." Leo and Levi immediately lowered their heads, greeting respectfully.
Cyrus Hawthorne did not speak, his gaze on them growing increasingly oppressive, chillingly so.
Beads of sweat emerged on the foreheads of Leo and Levi; a sense of chest tightness made their breathing considerably heavy.
A few seconds later, the brothers faltered and walked behind Ann Vaughn, bowing to her, "Miss Vaughn, please forgive us for our prior disregard and negligence, we are truly sorry!"
Ann Vaughn blinked and then looked towards Cyrus Hawthorne, only for him to calmly say, "Whether you forgive them or not is up to you."
Realizing he wasn’t just spouting platitudes or expecting her to brush things off, Ann Vaughn turned back, thinking deeply before saying, "I’ll accept the apology, but I won’t forgive."
Upon hearing this, Leo and Levi’s bowed backs stiffened; they’d apologized so sincerely, what more did she want!?
Only Miyi Yates, standing by the side, had a hint of a smile in her eyes.
The Family Head despises petty, narrow-minded people. Doesn’t she know that?
"Why not let me exchange them for someone with you?" Suddenly thinking of something, Ann Vaughn’s eyes lit up, clutching Cyrus Hawthorne’s arm.
"Hmm?"
"That most skilled one among your subordinates!" Ann Vaughn grew more excited, a faint pink blossoming on her cheeks, "Let them teach me some self-defense skills, so I won’t be so helpless next time I encounter danger!"
This idea had appeared in her mind many times before, but she never figured out how to implement it.
The martial arts gyms outside might not teach her what she wanted to learn, finding a specialized teacher... but it’s not easy finding one.
It wasn’t until now that Ann Vaughn suddenly realized, there was someone right in front of her!
Sneaking a glance at Ann Vaughn’s eager and expectant eyes, Cyrus Hawthorne slightly raised his brow, "You want to learn self-defense?"
Ann Vaughn nodded vigorously, her pretty face slightly troubled as she babbled: "I have strength, but no place to use it. Isn’t that a waste?"
"Who do you want to teach you?" Slightly suppressing the smile in his eyes, Cyrus Hawthorne asked.
"Hmm..." Ann Vaughn thought for a moment, then suddenly thought of someone, "Dragon! Since he can work by your side, his skills must be top-notch, right?"
If not, he wouldn’t be able to stay around the masterful Cyrus Hawthorne.
Have to admit, Ann Vaughn’s insight was indeed sharp.
So sharp... that it didn’t exactly please the great President Hawthorne.
Cyrus Hawthorne cleared his throat slightly, his narrow eyes somewhat displeased as he glanced at her, "No other choice?"
"I don’t know anyone else..." Ann Vaughn said confusedly.
Cyrus Hawthorne’s expression darkened instantly.
Suddenly realizing something, Ann Vaughn quickly added with a strong survival instinct: "You can’t, your body hasn’t recuperated yet, there’s no need to bother you with such small matters!"
She’d heard from Mark Joyce, ever since he woke up from a coma, he hadn’t slept regularly, nor taken his medicine on time, practically risking his life to work.
Is work really that important to him?
Ann Vaughn couldn’t understand why he could be so unconcerned about his health yet so obsessed with work, wasn’t he already wealthy enough?
This was something Ann Vaughn specifically asked Mark Joyce, but he gave her no answer.
"Can’t?" Cyrus Hawthorne’s thin lips curled slightly, his gaze dangerously close to her ear, "The last thing a man wants to hear is ’can’t.’ Seems you haven’t learned your lesson."
Ann Vaughn, abruptly pulled from her thoughts: !!!
...
Outside Villa No. 8.
"You should head back, Miss Vaughn might think you’re abandoning your duties if she can’t find you," Miyi Yates said to Leo Lowell and Levi Lowell, who had escorted her out, as she walked to the car.
If they didn’t receive Ann Vaughn’s forgiveness, they wouldn’t have even the right to return home.
What’s more, Ann Vaughn didn’t actually intend to forgive them; she might claim to accept their apology only because they took her to Eland.
And not agreeing... was because they left her alone at the hotel, unbothered and unconcerned.
Leo and Levi felt a bitter frustration in their hearts, "Miss Miya, take care on the road."
"Okay." With that, Miyi Yates elegantly sat in the car.
Watching the silhouettes of the two brothers grow distant in the rearview mirror, Miyi Yates picked up her phone, which had been ringing for a while, "How’s the investigation?"
"Miss Miya, we found that Mrs. Hawthorne does indeed have a red birthmark on her right wrist. It’s said she often covers it with powder because she doesn’t like it, so very few people know this detail."
"And then?"
"Mrs. Hawthorne had a twin sister named Wanda Chamberlain who tragically fell into the sea years ago and passed away, leaving Mrs. Hawthorne and her only son after their parents grieved deeply and died from sorrow."
Miyi Yates flipped through a few pages of the Russian book on her lap, her beautiful eyes half-lowered, "It’s strange, Mrs. Hawthorne’s twin sister grew up in an orphanage and didn’t have deep feelings for her biological parents; why would they grieve so much for a daughter they weren’t close to that they’d pass away?"
"That..." The voice hesitated, "Maybe out of guilt."
"Let’s assume so. Keep investigating, and inform me if you find anything new?"
The other side paused unexpectedly, "Miss Miya, this is as far as we can trace. You know that penetrating the Hawthorne Family’s information network is extremely difficult..."
"I’m asking you to investigate," Miyi Yates sighed and slowly closed the book, her gaze sharp, "Wanda Chamberlain’s cause of death, and whether she’s truly no longer in this world."