Chapter 704: Chapter 704: Cyrus Hawthorne Has Her Back
Upon hearing this, Wilder Sheridan looked deeply into Jane Sheridan’s eyes, "I never lie."
After speaking, Wilder Sheridan bid farewell to Old Mrs. Sheridan and left the place.
Just as he stepped out of the attic, Jane Sheridan caught up with him.
"Wilder." Jane Sheridan frowned slightly as she approached him and touched his forehead, "I noticed something was off about you just now, are you feeling unwell?"
Wilder Sheridan instinctively dodged her hand, noticing her surprised look, he suppressed the discomfort in his heart and asked, "Sis, why did you say that earlier?"
Jane Sheridan knew exactly what he meant, those ambiguous words she said earlier that unsettled him.
But whether she admitted it was another matter.
"Why are you still as gullible as when you were young? Have you forgotten the consequences of trusting others too easily back then?" Jane Sheridan sighed, "Wilder, don’t let your guard down easily against outsiders, I don’t want you to get hurt again."
Wilder Sheridan froze, the shadow of his childhood creeping back, yet upon hearing Jane’s last words, his heart softened a lot.
"Sis, I know you’re looking out for me, but the Longevity brand wasn’t broken by Ann Vaughn. I’ll get to the bottom of this."
It was rare to see the usually carefree Wilder Sheridan being so persistent about something, Jane Sheridan’s eyes flashed, "Do you still suspect she might actually be your real sister?"
She was well aware of what Wilder Sheridan had done before.
Luckily, it was just a false alarm, someone had tampered with the DNA test report, which surprised even Jane Sheridan at the time.
Nevertheless, it worked in her favor.
"No." Wilder Sheridan denied firmly and quickly, "The DNA results are right there in front of us, leaving no room for doubt. I simply believe she’s not a thief."
"Alright. Even though I don’t trust her, I trust you." Jane Sheridan gave a gentle smile, "After all, you’re my brother, aren’t you?"
...
Inside the detention room at The Imperial Capital Police Department.
"When you used to work at the clinic, I don’t think I ever treated you unfairly." Ann Vaughn sat on the other side of the interrogation table, her gaze calm as she looked at the woman across from her, "By rights, it should be me who’s furious about the recipe leak and seeking revenge."
Contrarily, those who betrayed Vaughn Clinic and leaked the recipe had all joined forces to retaliate against her.
This woman was the mastermind among them; it was she who had someone disguised as a waiter deliberately push the cart down the stairs that day.
Their plan was cunning; they would leave The Imperial Capital if successful, creating fake identities for themselves to hide their tracks later.
But how could they possibly escape Cyrus Hawthorne’s intelligence network?
The woman, her hair messy and scattered over her face, looked sallow, yet she smirked ironically in response to Ann Vaughn’s questioning.
"You never mistreated us, but you hoarded the profitable recipe and all your medical skills, when did you ever share with us? Teach us a bit? Since you have them but wouldn’t give them to us, we had no choice but to fend for ourselves."
Ann Vaughn chuckled softly; this was likely the worst misuse of the term "self-reliance."
"Fine, I don’t feel like wasting words on someone like you." Ann Vaughn stood up, speaking lightly, "And one last piece of advice, don’t think sending your family to Elmsworth means no worries."
The woman’s face changed dramatically, "What have you done to them!?"
Ann Vaughn’s red lips curled, her bright eyes gleaming coldly, "Didn’t you work for me at one point? Haven’t you realized that aside from my superb medical skills, I’m equally adept at using poison?"
"You..." The woman had never seen this side of Ann Vaughn; she always thought her boss was too gentle, even weak and vulnerable.
Otherwise, why would she have joined forces with others to betray her?
"You’re not dead, the most the law will accuse us of is attempted murder." Whether to comfort herself or to numb Ann Vaughn, the woman feigned calmness, "If you harm our families, the law won’t spare you either."
Ann Vaughn’s smile deepened, she didn’t bother arguing and turned to leave.
Seeing her departing figure, the previously composed woman immediately panicked.
While she might believe no one else had the skill or courage to make her family disappear from the world, she couldn’t say the same if it were Mr. Hawthorne.
With just a wave of his hand, there would be plenty eager to help him make her family’s life miserable –
"Wait! I haven’t said everything!" The woman, breathing rapidly, hurriedly stopped Ann Vaughn who was about to leave the interrogation room.
Half an hour later.
Ann Vaughn stepped out of the interrogation room holding a sketch, briskly walking to the side of the man who was casually leaning against the railing, his posture regal and imposing, her voice full of excitement.
"She described the person she made a deal with to me, and I sketched him."
Seeing her proud little expression, Cyrus Hawthorne couldn’t help but raise his hand to ruffle her furry hair, a hint of smile crossing his narrow eyes.
"Well done."
"Not really well done, just used some slightly unscrupulous tactics." Caught off guard by the praise, Ann Vaughn bashfully stuck out her little red tongue, "Leveraging weaknesses and psychological tactics."
From the moment the woman called out to her, the outcome of this psychological battle had already been decided.
Cyrus Hawthorne looked mildly satisfied, "It’s not about the means, but the result."
Then, he handed the sketch to Mark Joyce, "Have this person brought before me by tomorrow."
"Yes, President Hawthorne." Mark Joyce took the sketch, then asked, "Since we have the sketch now, should we still investigate the cart?"
Cyrus Hawthorne nodded slightly, "Continue the investigation."
Ann Vaughn, who had been distracted by Cyrus Hawthorne’s earlier words, came back to herself and asked puzzled, "Why investigate the cart?"
"Miss Vaughn, the cart was custom-made; the items on it were specially positioned to ensure it would successfully slide down the stairs, causing injury with the dishes to stab or hit you," Mark Joyce explained.
Ah, so that’s how it is...
With understanding, Ann Vaughn nodded, her peripheral vision catching Cyrus Hawthorne’s brief expression of cold severity, her bright eyes twinkling.
"No wonder I thought at the time, if Newton saw this cart, he’d come back to life in anger."
Completely defied the laws of gravity.
The haze in Cyrus Hawthorne’s dark eyes dispersed slightly, he gently squeezed her small, soft hand and murmured in a low voice, "Cheeky."
Feeling a sudden thrill in her ears, Ann Vaughn pressed her red lips together to suppress the blush, and asked in a small voice, "Can I go see Aidan Keating?"
Hearing this name from Ann Vaughn’s lips, Cyrus Hawthorne was slightly surprised, raising his eyebrows, "Who told you that?"
Before the bone marrow transplant surgery was confirmed, he hadn’t told Ann Vaughn about it, worried she would be disappointed or anxious if something changed.