Chapter 395: Chapter 395: True Colors
Ann Vaughn was taken aback, not yet having replied when she felt his slightly rough fingertip gently caress her cheek, causing her to feel a little warm.
"Quinn, you have no idea how that old fox, Chairman Sheridan, plotted against me today. I didn’t even say a word, and he autonomously pinned this title on me!" Ann couldn’t suppress her urge to complain.
"Every woman present considered me an imaginary enemy, and someone even slandered me, saying I stole that old woman’s diamond necklace! Who would want her necklace? I can have as many such things as I want!"
Watching the little one get angry, her eyes seeming to flare with two flames and that lively, radiant little face, the beast caged within Cyrus Hawthorne’s chest finally calmed slightly.
Those cold, indifferent dark eyes gradually warmed up.
"Hmm," he responded lowly, tender kisses falling one after another at the corner of her lips, chin, and ear, "Whatever you want, I’ll give it to you."
Ann Vaughn’s eyes were dazed, her heart suddenly trembling.
This guy’s sweet words are practically lethal to her!
If this continues... she’s afraid she’ll eventually waver.
...
A stark contrast to the melting warmth of the hotel, the second-floor room of the Sheridan residence was like a cloud about to spill water.
Jane Sheridan sat slowly applying hand cream at the dressing mirror, her lovely face reflecting no emotion.
Two maids crouched behind her, silently picking up broken pieces of skincare bottles with their bare hands, not daring to utter a sound even as blood trickled from their hands.
At this moment, Jane stopped her actions, turning to the maids, "I’ll give you one last chance to speak the truth, where did the diamond necklace go?"
"Miss, it really wasn’t us who took it; we wouldn’t dare think such a thing!" The maid hastily explained, "As soon as Miss Vaughn left the Sheridan residence this morning, we placed the necklace in the interlayer of her bag, I’m sure of it!"
"Then why is it missing?" Jane coldly knocked over the glass bottle beside her with a stern question.
The maids’ faces turned pained, stammering without offering a reasonable explanation.
Right then, Wilder Sheridan, who was about to enter as he reached the door, paused at Jane’s harsh voice.
After being ignored by her beloved, a furious Jane could no longer hold back her anger; tonight’s plan could have gone smoothly.
At first, her intention wasn’t just to ruin Ann Vaughn’s reputation but to borrow the Kensington Family’s hands to eliminate her directly!
But she never expected that... Mr. Hawthorne would suddenly appear at a critical moment to bail her out!
Why on earth does this woman deserve it?
In terms of family background and beauty, how is she, Jane Sheridan, inferior to that pretend heiress Ann Vaughn whose family has declined?!
"Useless bunch!" The more Jane thought, the more her gaze seemed to be poisoned, throwing bottles at the maids, "The necklace is worth a fortune, say! Did one of you get greedy and ruin my plan?"
The maid’s faces were bruising like blooming flowers, wanting to cry but not daring to.
They were specially assigned to care for Jane, and no one understood better than them that crying would only further enrage her.
Apart from them, no one knew that the demure and graceful lady of the Sheridan Family was privately akin to a demon...
"No, no, Miss!"
"It really wasn’t us! How dare we ruin Miss’s plan and steal such a thing; please believe us!"
Standing at the door, a trace of shock and bewilderment crossed Wilder Sheridan’s rebellious face, retracting the action of pushing the door...
The person inside... Is she really his sister?
Always so graceful, gentle and accommodating, even with the lowest servants, greeting them with a smile, without any airs... his sister...
But what had he just heard?
Wilder Sheridan looked at the dazzlingly shimmering diamond necklace in his hand, feeling as if struck hard over the head, his brain jarringly short-circuiting.
Before coming here, he kept pondering how to explain to his sister; he didn’t even know why he had someone quietly remove the diamond necklace from Ann Vaughn’s bag.
He always despised these sneaky acts, especially considering it involved the Ann whom he deeply disliked. He should have just let the situation play out and let Mrs. Kensington give her a good lesson.
Yet... before he realized it, the necklace was already in his hand.
After much hesitation, Wilder decided to come clean to his sister and win back her favor after losing face tonight.
Yet he never imagined that Ann Vaughn wasn’t a diamond necklace thief at all, but rather that she was framed by his sister!
Reason told him he should trust that his sister had her reasons and motives for doing so, but he couldn’t forget the sight of his sister relentlessly accusing Ann Vaughn at the banquet hall...
Wilder Sheridan’s vibrant eyes dimmed somewhat, gripping the necklace tightly as something inside him crumbled instantaneously.
...
In the presidential suite of the hotel.
Half an hour had passed since the server brought up the meal, the once enticing mushroom soup now covered with a white layer of congealed oil, completely cold.
Ann Vaughn frowned, glancing at Cyrus Hawthorne, who was still handling business. Though Mark Joyce was mostly doing the reporting, he hadn’t paused.
If Mark hadn’t mentioned that he suffered stomachaches on the plane and hadn’t eaten, Ann probably would have been fooled by his flawless calmness.
The food has all gone cold...
Ann Vaughn pursed her lips, stood up, and left the living room for the kitchen.
Ten minutes later, she returned, carrying a bowl of freshly made fish slice porridge, setting it beside Cyrus Hawthorne’s table, "Business affairs will never end, but the porridge will get cold immediately if you don’t drink it now."
Her voice carried a hint of threat.
Cyrus Hawthorne looked up at Ann Vaughn’s slightly dissatisfied face, set aside the report in his hands, and picked up the bowl of porridge.
Mark Joyce, reporting on the group’s quarterly situation, paused when he saw the ginger slices on the white porridge, immediately saying, "Miss Vaughn, President Hawthorne doesn’t eat ginger..."
The Hawthorne Family’s chef never used ginger slices in cooking, so he thought Miss Vaughn knew.
Before he could finish speaking, Mark saw his boss down half a bowl of porridge, gracefully and with not a hint of displeasure on his face...
"Ginger warms the stomach; I didn’t think much and just added it," Ann Vaughn was taken aback for a second and then told Cyrus Hawthorne, "You might want to have the hotel kitchen prepare dinner again..."
The porridge’s ingredients were carefully chosen by her, and it even contained a few drops of repair agents to alleviate his stomach discomfort.