Chapter 738 Guidance

As the group entered the mansion, the butler and housekeepers helped unload gifts from the trunk of the car.

Once inside the living room, Lucas and Camila sat closely next to Christina, sneakily sizing up Timothy and behaving less lively than usual.

Timothy smiled gently and instructed the housekeeper to serve the beverages and snacks he had prepared in advance, all of which were Christina’s and the kids’ favorites.

“Have a taste. If you like the food, I can have the kitchen prepare them for you the next time you come over.”

Lucas and Camila stared longingly at the exquisite snacks on the table, but they didn’t dare to reach out for them, fearing that Timothy might scold them.

Noticing the unease between Timothy and the children, she swiftly stepped in to smooth things over. “Nathaniel is swamped with work and couldn’t spare the time to visit. During our vacation abroad recently. Lucas and Camila picked out a present for you.”

She patted her kids’ heads and said, “Go get the gift and show it to your granddad.”

Timothy couldn’t contain his joy as an exuberant smile spread across his face. “You should enjoy yourselves while on holiday instead of worrying about an old man like me.”

“After your health improves, we can all go together next time,” Christina chirped.

Lucas and Camila rarely ever refused Christina’s requests. They found the gift for Timothy from the pile of presents, and Lucas was tasked with the responsibility of handing it to Timothy. The boy uttered meekly, “Granddad, this is your present. Open it and see if you like it.”

“Of course, I like it. I love anything that you two gift me,” Timothy responded with a delighted grin, happily stretching out his hand to receive the present. He unfastened the ribbon outside the box, opened” it, and saw the set of emerald tea set.

Its exquisiteness was comparable to a valuable collectible.

Timothy was in haste when he moved to Jadeborough. As a result, he left the tea set collection he had spent most of his life garnering in Hallsbay. His poor health also made it impossible for him to retrieve those items for the time being.

Initially, Christina planned to gift Timothy a string of prayer beads, but Lucas and Camila mentioned that he liked tea sets, so she let them pick one.

“Excellent!” Timothy carefully wrapped up the tea set, called over his butler, and reminded sternly, “Take this tea set to my study.

Be extra careful, and don’t break it.”

The butler cautiously carried the tea set away.

With the act of gift-giving serving as an icebreaker, the relationship between Timothy and the two children noticeably warmed.

They no longer resisted getting close to him, even starting to answer his questions and sharing their daily fun anecdotes.

The four of them had a rather enjoyable meal together. Afterward, Lucas and Camila played in the courtyard while Christina chatted with Timothy on the balcony.

“Christina, I heard your studio was set on fire. Have they caught the arsonist?” Timothy asked concernedly.

“The problem has been resolved. You don’t have to worry,” Christina replied with a smile. “Has anyone from the Gibson family been disturbing your peace recently?”

Although the Gibson family had fallen apart, some branches of the family remained intact.

Some time ago, members of one of the Gibson family’s branches somehow learned about Timothy’s whereabouts and came to Jadeborough to stir a ruckus.

They were unsatisfied with the previously agreed-upon division of assets and demanded a new agreement that they felt would be more equitable. They also requested Timothy to pay the interest on a loan they had given him fifteen years ago.

Having long since settled the debt from fifteen years ago, Timothy simply had his butler chase them away after hearing their unreasonable demands.

Unwilling to leave empty-handed after traveling such a long distance to Jadeborough, they resorted to a devious scheme. They set up speakers outside the mansion and hung banners to defame Timothy as a defaulter who refused to repay his debts.

Upon hearing that news, Christina directly reported it to the police. Those people had to take a loss and leave dejectedly after being taken to the police station. Still, Christina couldn’t be certain if they would go behind her back and come looking for trouble with Timothy.

“Those people couldn’t have come up with such an idea.” Timothy scoffed. “I guess someone can’t stand me living well, and since they couldn’t lay a finger on me, they wanted to make my life miserable. You don’t have to worry too much about this.”

Needless to say, Christina fathomed who Timothy was referring to by “they”

Counting the days, it had been a long time since Christina had received any news from Yerek and Azure. Even Emilia’s disappearance had become a mystery.

“The assets Nigel had transferred overseas were intercepted by someone midway. Yerek and Mrs. Lazuli’s relationship isn’t as good as before, but they interact frequently. There’s no way they would easily give up on the forces backing Barnaby,” Christina meticulously analyzed Yerek and Azure’s trains of thought.

Yerek’s ambitions were doomed to fail without a monetary source to fund him. Barnaby was a loyal lover, and men were bound to fall for women’s beauty.

Still, how long could he hold out under Sheridan’s suppression? Christina was curious to know the answer “Before I moved to Jadeborough, I met Barnaby a few times at the Gibson residence. During that time, he and Mrs. Lazuli didn’t deliberately avoid others. If it weren’t for the pressure from Sheridan, Barnaby probably would’ve acknowledged and accepted Nigel as part of the family.” A hint of disdain flashed across Timothy’s eyes as he talked about the past. “The Gibson family’s scandal made headlines, and the friendship between Sheridan and Yerek was ruined shortly after.”

“Even if Yerek returned to the Stone family, he would still be no match for Sheridan. However, Sheridan isn’t afraid to air out dirty laundry, as if he deliberately wants to show it to outsiders. Christina, don’t you think Sheridan is a very cunning person?”

Christina hadn’t had many opportunities to interact with Sheridan. Both of them had always shown restraint and politeness whenever they met. Naturally, she was unclear about Sheridan’s thoughts that warranted her scrutiny.

Still, something Christina couldn’t disregard was that both Nathaniel and Timothy had mentioned Sheridan wasn’t as simple a man as he appeared to be Christina decided to bear that in mind. “I’ll be more wary of Sheridan in the future. Aside from this, do you have any other matters to remind me about?”

Timothy trained his eyes on the two small figures playing chase in the courtyard. “When you have the time, bring along Nathaniel and the two kids to accompany me back to Hallsbay. Those restless members of the Gibson family are always coveting Gibson Corporation. It’s time to let them know that even after I’m dead, I still have descendants who can inherit my family business.

They should know this and give up their wishful thinking now.”

Christina looked down. “Okay, I’ll try to arrange it. My fashion studio is opening for business in a few days. Will you be there?”

“Of course, I’ll be there. That is such a joyous occasion.” Timothy grinned. “Let me know the time and address. I’ll find my way there. You don’t have to go through the trouble of sending someone to pick me up.”

Christina nodded. “All right.”

In the blink of an eye, it was already evening. Christina and the two children bade their farewell and left.

Jasper hurried in and whispered beside Timothy’s ear, “Mr. Gibson, there’s news from the detention center. The person inside wants to meet with you.”