Chapter 135: Chapter 135: Isn’t There Still One More Bargaining Chip?
"You little rascal, next time if you don’t bring Annie along, you can forget about coming here alone, it makes this old man upset."
Old Master Hawthorne pressed a chess piece onto the board and glared at Cyrus Hawthorne, who was sitting opposite with a nonchalant expression.
"You must have heard the rumors outside, haven’t you?" Cyrus lowered his clear, elegant brows, his face showing no fluctuation.
"Rumors from the street, each person sees them differently." Mentioning this, Old Master Hawthorne set down the chess piece, picked up the tea bowl, and said leisurely, "In my opinion, that girl most likely fell into someone else’s trap."
In his lifetime, he had seen many people, but only Ann Vaughn’s eyes were clear, bright, and as pure as light—these were definitely not the eyes of a scheming person.
Back then, when Ann Vaughn replaced Cynthia Vaughn to marry Cyrus, he couldn’t have been happier.
The alliance promised years ago with an old friend had finally come to fruition.
Cyrus lightly furrowed his brow, looking at Old Master Hawthorne somewhat puzzled, "Why do you say this?"
"Haha, if you had a bit of sense, you wouldn’t be misled by such trivial matters. I can assure you, this affair was not caused by that girl."
"Are you so certain of her character? What if she was young and acted out of impulse at the time, how would you explain it?"
Hearing this, Old Master Hawthorne’s sharp eyes looked at Cyrus, rather surprised, as if he hadn’t expected this to be what Cyrus was concerned about.
He was speaking of the incident of the confidential documents being stolen.
Old Master Hawthorne immediately burst into laughter, "Cian, you’ve been beside me since childhood, you’re a genius in academics and outstanding in business. But in matters of emotion, you’re somewhat lacking."
"How can others not perceive your partner when you are with her every day?"
The hand that was holding the chess piece slightly paused, Cyrus’s dark eyes roiled with deep clouds, obscuring his thoughts.
"If you’ve noticed nothing, why then deliberately let rumors grow, letting things unfold, even remaining inactive? This isn’t your usual style. Are you using this opportunity to cleanse the corporation’s upper management?"
"Grandfather sees through everything." Cyrus softly laughed, the corners of his thin lips slightly curved, "Naturally, it goes beyond just that."
Old Master Hawthorne looked deeply at Cyrus, set down the tea bowl, and let out a long sigh.
Even as an old man, he couldn’t see clearly what this grandson was thinking now.
"Since Hawthorne Corp. is yours, do whatever you wish. Just remember not to harm Annie, or you might regret it later."
Regret?
Cyrus didn’t attach much importance to these words; except for that one matter, nothing else had ever made him feel regret.
Never before, nor in the future.
Just then, the phone beside the table vibrated softly.
Upon picking it up, Cyrus’s face suddenly darkened, his eyes brimming with an impenetrable gloom.
-
As if an eternity had passed.
The air was filled with a strange scent of disinfectant and medicinal odors mixed together.
Ann Vaughn struggled to open her heavy eyes, constant humming in her ears and dizziness in her mind made the scene before her blur, giving her an anxiety that she would faint again upon waking.
After quite a while of gathering herself, she felt slightly clearer, but when she tried to stand up, she discovered her hands and feet were securely bound to the chair, completely unable to move.
Only then did Ann Vaughn realize something was wrong, she struggled twice, but except for the "squeak" sound of the chair against the floor, her efforts were useless.
Exhausted, she leaned against the chair back, her bright eyes scanning around, finding herself in a wooden cabin with nothing useful surrounding, her delicate brows instantly furrowed tightly.
Who was it that knocked her out and brought her here that night?
Cynthia Vaughn?
However, before she could think of something concrete, the wooden cabin’s door opened, dim daylight poured in, giving an indescribable eerie feeling.
"Tsk tsk, who allowed you to treat my guest like this? Hurry up and untie her, serve her well with good food and drink!"
A short, somewhat plump middle-aged man walked in, flanked by two bodyguards wearing sunglasses.
Upon hearing the middle-aged man’s words, the two bodyguards stepped forward, one untied Ann Vaughn, and the other moved the table over and placed food and water on it.
Moments ago, the direct sunlight prevented Ann Vaughn from seeing clearly; now she saw the middle-aged man’s face, and her pupils shrank.
"Hawthorne... Second Uncle?!"
She never expected that it would be Second Uncle Hawthorne who brought her here!
"Forgive me, niece-in-law, for the misunderstanding caused by my unknowing subordinates. I just invited you over as a guest, won’t hurt you. When the time comes, I’ll naturally send you back," said Orion Hawthorne with a harmonious smile, showing no signs of any conspiracy.
If ignoring the two bodyguards standing by Ann Vaughn’s side, watching her every move intensely.
In the past, Ann Vaughn always thought of Orion as a kind elder, but ever since she and Cyrus were trapped in the dense forest.
Orion’s men chased relentlessly, intending to wipe them out, she had overturned this impression.
What a cruel relative it must take to turn against his own nephew.
Thus from Orion’s mouth, Ann Vaughn didn’t believe a single word he said.
"Why not speak frankly, Second Uncle Hawthorne? Going through all this trouble to bring me here is surely no way to treat a guest." Ann Vaughn rubbed her sore wrists marked by the ropes, although tense inwardly, her face remained composed.
"Since you know this point, then you should understand without me saying why I brought you here."
Ann Vaughn’s smile turned icy, "You’re planning to use me against Cyrus, aren’t you? Coming up with such a scheme indicates you’re not very smart, surely overestimating my place in Cyrus’s heart."
"Haha, if it were only you, why would I have acted so rashly?" Orion chuckled, glancing at Ann’s abdomen with sudden alert in her gaze, "There’s another bargaining chip inside, isn’t there?"
How could he know about this?!
Ann’s heart tightened, her small hands covering her abdomen, with a cold sneer: "Then you’re gravely mistaken, Cyrus doesn’t care about our lives at all."
In Cyrus’s eyes, neither her nor the child’s lives were worth mentioning.
A man who rationally views his own flesh and blood as a threat or weakness, how could Orion possibly threaten him?
It left Ann unsure whether she was mocking Orion’s miscalculation or feeling sorry for herself.
Orion didn’t take her words seriously, his eyes deepening, "Do you think with these words you can deceive me? If Cyrus truly didn’t care about your welfare, then why did he protect you so fervently?"