Chapter 124
Chapter 124
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“Shari, how did you get to know the owner of the Hunter Forum?” Edward asked bluntly, holding nothing back. He figured they were going to be family soon anyway, so there was no need to tiptoe around.
At that, everyone turned to look at Sharon, all waiting for her answer,
Sharon cleared her throat before replying, “It was years ago, back when he wasn’t the forum’s owner yet. I happened to save him once, completely by
accident.”
She wasn’t lying. That really was how she met the founder of the Hunter Forum back then.
Edward nodded. “I see. Looks like you’ve got a good heart, Shari. Kindness always finds its way back.”
Malcolm echoed the sentiment, though something about it didn’t sit quite right with him.
Hearing that, Richard finally seemed satisfied, clearly convinced by what she said.
Sharon nervously sneaked a peek at her brothers and thought, ‘I didn’t really lie, right? I just left out the part where the founder handed the whole forum over to me later on.‘
Wallace checked the time and said, “Alright, if there’s nothing else, let’s head back and get some rest. You’ve had a long day.”
“I’m not tired,” Sharon said with a bright smile. She turned back to the two elders. “Mr. Edward Baxter, Mr. Ernie Dolan, I’ll come visit you both again sometime.”
Ernie waved her off gently. “Go on, child.”
Edward nudged Nicholas and asked, “Don’t you have anything to say to Shari, Nicholas?”
It took Nicholas a moment to recover, but when he looked at Sharon, he realized she’d truly changed how everyone saw her today.
The eight Vance brothers all turned to glance at him, grumbling inwardly, ‘You better think before you speak, punk. One wrong word, and you’re done.‘
Then, Nicholas simply said, “Get some rest.”
“Okay. Bye.” Sharon nodded and left with her brothers.
Edward huffed and glared at him. “I gave you a perfect opening, and you didn’t even take it.”
Nicholas rolled his eyes, thinking, ‘You sure you weren’t just setting me up? Of course, I’ve got something to say, but it’s gotta be in private. I’m not about to say it in front of all eight of her brothers. I’m not an idiot.’
Before long, the courtyard fell quiet again.
Malcolm rubbed his temples, murmuring, “Right. Where’s Mrs. Vance? We still need to get the head–of–family token from her.”
Someone answered, “The room is empty. Looks like Mrs. Vance already left.”
Malcolm covered his face and groaned, “I freaking knew it. She really thought hiding would work? How naive can she be?”
Right then, his phone buzzed. He pulled it out, unlocked the screen, and saw an unread private message on the Hunter Forum from someone named “LittleSunshine.”
Malcolm immediately sat up straight, a sense of unease tightening in his chest. He tapped into the message. It was short and to the point: [I’ve transferred the coins.]
He let out a long breath, thinking, ‘Man, that scared the hell out of me. I thought the boss was coming after me or something.”
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Chapter 124
But then, another message came in: [Just so you know, people who know too much don’t tend to live very long.]
The moment Malcolm saw that, a chill shot down his spine.
Panic kicked in immediately, and he wondered, ‘Wait, what does that even mean? What do I know? Why wouldn’t I live long? That’s got to be a threat, right?
‘Oh, how can Sharon be so heartless? Why would she rat me out? I just helped her out! Even if I didn’t do much, I still put in the effort. Is it really this hard to be a decent person these days?
When Sharon returned home that evening, she suddenly felt like the day had dragged on forever.
One of her brothers said, “Go get sonte rest, Shari.”
“Alright then. Good night, guys.” Sharon gave a cheerful little wave and headed off to her room.
Once inside, she was still smiling as she turned to Joan. “You handled that pretty well just now.”
“Thank you for the compliment, Ms. Vance,” Joan replied. “I was just doing my job.”
Just as Sharon stretched and let out a yawn, her phone buzzed with a message from her boyfriend. It reads: [Good night.]
She clicked her tongue in amusement, thinking, ‘Well, would you look at that? I never thought the cold and stoic Mr. Baxter could be this romantic.”
Sharon then replied with a sticker.
Downstairs in the living room, none of the eight brothers had gone to bed. With everything that had gone down today, they were having a hard time digesting it all.
Richard glanced around at the others, asking, “So, what do you guys think about what happened with Shari?”
Marvin shrugged. “What’s there to think about? Shari is amazing, and she’s got a ton of Hunter Coins. We should be clinging to her for dear life. What’s there to worry about?”
Richard frowned, “Oh, shut up. I’m the oldest, so of course I’m going to worry about her safety. Do you guys seriously not realize what kind of place the Hunter Forum is?”
At that, the room went quiet. Everyone fell into a brief, heavy silence.
Patrick said, “Shari got her invitation from Oriston Academy when she was just ten. That means something must have happened to catch their attention, right?”
That got them all thinking about what exactly had happened back then. With Sharon’s lineage, though, it wasn’t much of a mystery.
Wallace looked remorseful as she sighed, “We should’ve found her sooner. Maybe then she wouldn’t have had to suffer so much.”
Richard let out a frustrated breath and buried his face in his hands. “It’s my fault. I waited twenty years to bring her home.”
Marvin, who usually wore a carefree smirk, suddenly turned serious. “It’s not your fault. Shari has been standing up for us this whole time. You can tell she doesn’t blame us. And she’s strong now–no one can mess with her anymore. Isn’t that a good thing?”
Julian nodded. “Yeah. What’s done is done. Once Shari becomes head of the family, no one will be able to challenge her.”
Wallace spoke slowly. “I don’t think Shari has told us everything. There is probably more to her than she’s letting on.”
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Marvin rolled his eyes. “Don’t start acting like some grumpy old man, Wallace. Shari is a grown woman. She’s allowed to have secrets. As long as she’s happy, that’s all that matters. No matter what her background is, she’s still our little sister, isn’t she?”
Wallace rubbed his temples, agreeing, “Yeah, I’m probably overthinking it.”
He mused, ‘Mav is right. Whatever Shari’s past may be, she’ll always be our sister. That will never change.
Next day, the news went wild again. It wasn’t just about celebrities this time. It was front–page political news. “The Vance family switched leaders last night. Who took the throne?”
“The Vance family changed heads in the middle of the night. What really happened?”
Not long after, acclaimed actor Patrick shared a tweet: [Congrats to Shari for becoming the new head of the Vance family. She truly deserves it.]
The post instantly blew up online, and one stunned netizen pondered, ‘No way. The Vance family’s new head is actually the heiress? Are we sure this isn’t the plot of a drama?
‘I mean, there has never been a woman as the head of the family before. Who exactly is Ms. Vance, and where did she come from?”
