Sheena directed a bunch of questions to the girlâs face only to use against her âtownieâ niece an initial tactic.
Nora lowered her slightly cold gaze and kept quiet.
Melissa was quick to play peacemaker and said, âSheena, Cherry grew up overseas with Nora. They value quality education thereâ¦â
Sheena leaned back on the couch. As if she were a person in power talking to her subordinates, she said, âQuality education? Thatâs all a lie. Thatâs just so they can keep their distance. Real aristocrats and the rich subject their children to strict education from an early age.â
His eyes were like burning torches as he looked at Nora. He said, âSo your name is Nora? You are grown up now, so you have already missed your prime and the best chance to study. But rest assured; since you have come to us, in pursuit of my sister, I will not let you wander the streets homeless. I heard that you got pregnant before you got married, right? And that your ex-fiancé broke off the engagement? Donât worry, Iâll find you a good husband and make sure you live carefree for the rest of your life. As for your daughterâ¦â
She looked Pete over and examined the little girl up and down. Then, as if she were being charitable, she said, âAlthough five years is a late start compared to others, at least there is still hope for her.â
Nora had a very cold look on her face. She lowered her gaze and then, with a smirk tugging at the corner of her lips, said, âYou neednât bother. Iâll see to my daughterâs education myself.â
Cherryâs studies were indeed a huge headache. Her daughter had an extremely high IQ, but she was only interested in games and was careless in her studies. In particular, her knowledge of history had become a huge mess thanks to her aunt abroadâ¦.
However, that didnât mean that others could criticize her at will.
âYou, are you in charge of his educational affairs?â
Sheena said coldly, âWhat are you going to teach her? Are you going to teach her to obsess over her cell phone and play games every day? Are you going to make her be like you and lead a chaotic private life so that she will get pregnant before she gets married when she grows up?â
âShut up!â Mrs. Anderson reprimanded Sheena, causing Sheena to curl her lip.
Melissa even frowned and said in a reproachful tone, âSheena, I know you have her best interests at heart, but can you speak in a less hurtful way?â
Sheena scoffed, âI just want you to get a clear picture of the situation youâre in! Do you really think itâs that easy to be the daughter of a wealthy family?â
She looked at the âgirlâ, who remained stubborn, and said, âYouâre not convinced, are you? Well, Iâll show you Lenaâs progress in her studies and give you a good idea of the difference between the two children. Come on, Lena, tell your big sister what youâre capable of.â
Lena Xavier was Sheenaâs daughter who was born later in life. She gave birth to her in her forties, so Lena was only six that year.
The little girl wearing a dress was adorable and pretty. When she heard her, she lifted her chin and proudly declared, âI know two foreign languages â Spanish and French â I can communicate fluently in them.â
She then spoke a couple of lines in the two foreign languages fluently, putting on a lively and impressive show.
After speaking, she looked at Pete triumphantly.
Sheena raised her chin proudly next to her. When Lena finished, she looked at Nora and asked, âI wonder what your daughter is capable of.â
Nora was about to speak when a sullen Peteâs lips suddenly parted and he jabbered in a language no one understood.
Stunned, Lena asked, âWhat language is that?â
Pete calmly replied, âItâs Arabic. Itâs quite normal that you donât understand it. Mom has taught me eight different languages.â
ââ¦â
Lena, who felt as if she had lost, refused to concede defeat and spoke again. She said, âI have also participated in many competitions and took second place in a childrenâs calligraphy contest, AS WELL AS second place in a youth robotics competition!â
A puzzled Pete frowned and said, âSecond place? How sad.â
Lena was confused.
Furious, she continued, âI can recite 300 poems and spell 1,500 words. At the same time, I also learned programming and math at Math Olympiad level!â.
Pete pursed his lips and sighed. âIs it that hard to memorize and recite poems? Does programming take effort to learn? Donât people understand these things immediately after a single glance?â
â???â
A puzzled Pete took Noraâs hand and said, âLetâs go upstairs, Mom. Aunt Sheena probably still has something to talk to Grandma and Aunt Melissa about, so letâs not bother them anymore.â
The two of them left a group of stunned people behind and went upstairs.
Nora closed the door. Then she turned around, picked Pete up and put him on the couch while she watched him. Cherry hated language studies â since when did she speak Arabic?
Something was definitely wrong!
She was about to ask Pete when her cell phone suddenly rang and interrupted her thoughts.
Nora took the call. The moment she did, she heard Henryâs voice from the other end. âNora! Youâve become brave, havenât you, how dare you have the companyâs dividends sent to your bank account? Give the money back to me right now! Otherwise, what am I going to live on?â.
Nora replied coldly, âWhat does your welfare have to do with me?â.
âYouâ¦!â Henry was furious. But in the end, he said viciously, âI see. Now that youâve gone to the Andersons, do you no longer intend to acknowledge a poor man like me as your father? Do you intend to sever your relations with me? Not at all. But if you give me $8,000,000, Iâll cut off relations with you from now on, how about it?â
Noraâs eyes darkened-asking for $8,000,000 right away? She sure had a big appetite.
Hearing her silence, Henry smiled triumphantly and said, âI know you donât have any money. However, the Andersons do! Iâm sure the Andersons wouldnât want me to show up in New York and embarrass them, would they?â
ââ¦â
What a scoundrel. However, the corners of Noraâs lips suddenly curved upward the next moment and she said, âFine, Iâll transfer the money to you right away, but you must tell me where you abandoned my son then.â
After a brief pause, Henry finally agreed and said, âFine! Iâll tell you immediately after I receive the money.â
After hanging up, Nora nonchalantly tapped her cell phone, wrote a Trojan malware program and sent it to Henry.
The program would display false information about the funds transfer when it reached him. However, once he opened the message, his cell phone would immediately be invaded by Nora, thus allowing her to spy on him!
Money? Heh, dream on.
After finishing all this, he used his cell phone to monitor the conversation on the other side.
He first heard Wendyâs voice: âHas the money arrived, has the money arrived?â
âYes, it has arrived!â
âYouâve never mentioned her sonâs whereabouts in all these years, Henry, where exactly did you abandon her son?â
Henry let out a sinister laugh and replied, âHis son? He died a long time ago. I saw him breathe his last breath back then. After that, I buried him in the suburbs. So, you want your son back? No problem, I can tell you where he is. I guess heâs just a pile of bones nowâ¦â
ââ¦â
Nora felt as if a bomb had suddenly gone off in her mind.
Her grip on the cell phone loosened and she dropped to the floor.
âHeâs deadâ¦â
No wonder Henry had so vehemently refused to reveal any information all this time. No wonder all the private investigators couldnât find any news of his son!
Everything before her became a blur, and great tears slid down her cheeksâ¦.
Her son was dead⦠He had been dead for a long time!
It was her fault, it was her fault for not protecting her son!
She clenched her fists tightly. Her nails were digging into her palms, but she felt no pain.
She felt as if someone had mercilessly drawn a dull blade over her heart. It hurt so much that suddenly he could no longer breathe. He crouched down, seemingly unable to hear anythingâ¦..
It was at that moment that a small pair of hands grabbed her.
Nora raised her head and immediately saw a small face streaked with tears from shock and fright. Peteâs lips parted and closed as he repeated something over and over. She strained to hear what he was saying. Finally she heard him.
He said, âMom, donât cry! Iâm still alive!â
.
.
.