When Ethan Sutton woke up again, he was completely alone.
Amy and Louise were gone. Only the faint scent of their perfu lingered on the sheets.
The hangover from last night left him with a pounding headache. He slowly raised a hand to massage his temples, feeling as if countless steel needles were stabbing inside his skull.
Ethan Sutton lay paralyzed in bed for a while longer. Only after the sharp pain in his head subsided did he struggle to get up.
He first pulled out his phone and glanced at it. The missed calls were all from Mrs. Sutton.
Ethan Sutton sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance before calling Mrs. Sutton back.
The mont the call connected, Mrs. Sutton’s furious voice erupted from the phone. "You! Why haven’t you been ho these past two days? Where the hell did you disappear to?!"
Ethan Sutton didn’t dare admit he’d spent the last few days partying. He could only offer a vague excuse. "I’ve been talking business with a few friends. They’re partnering on an indoor cultivation project, and I wanted them to bring in. We were networking yesterday, and I accidentally had too much to drink, so I just crashed sowhere else for the night."
Mrs. Sutton sighed at his words and complained, "Don’t waste your ti talking business with them. Where are we going to find the money to invest? Anyway, have you been to the Lancaster family’s place? You need to go there and get back all the money we spent on that Sylvia Lancaster!"
Ever since the Sutton family’s youngest son, Elias Sutton, had perished in a volcanic eruption along with most of the family’s assets, life had beco difficult for them.
It was now the second year of the cataclysm, and the prices of food, water, energy, and dical resources had all skyrocketed.
Recently, the results of the paternity test had made Mr. Sutton sick with anger. He was taken to the hospital, where they discovered a heart problem and inserted a stent.
A heart stent—a procedure that used to be inexpensive after public and private insurance reimbursent—now cost a hundred tis more.
After the surgery, Mr. Sutton stayed in the hospital for a while, racking up another astronomical dical bill.
Mrs. Sutton found the bill staggering.
Not long ago, she had been lost in the pain of losing her son, crying her eyes out every day because his body was never found. She had no energy to deal with anything else.
But this astronomical bill was like a bomb, blowing away every last shred of her grief.
Seeing the reality of their situation, Mrs. Sutton quickly erged from her sorrow and reverted to her role as the shrewd matriarch of the Sutton family.
She quickly calculated the Sutton family’s remaining assets. She hadn’t realized until she did the math, and the result was a shock: the family was basically just an empty shell.
Everything had been expensive since the cataclysm began. At their current rate of spending, the Sutton family wouldn’t last more than a few years.
Mrs. Sutton imdiately dismissed all the maids, chefs, drivers, and bodyguards. She even took on the task of caring for Mr. Sutton herself.
Mrs. Sutton continued her tirade over the phone. "Ever since she got pregnant, I had the nanny stewing fish maw and bird’s nest for her every day! That fish maw costs millions per pound—I wouldn’t even eat it myself! Who would have thought the child in her belly wasn’t even a Sutton!"
Ethan listened, feeling a bit helpless. "Mom, you know the Lancasters’ situation. Where would they get the money? They’re completely flat broke. Even if I go demand paynt, I probably won’t get anything."
Mrs. Sutton had the phone on speaker. When Mr. Sutton heard what Ethan said, he was so angry his heart ached. He shot up, snatched the phone, and yelled at Ethan, "They still have a villa! A villa in that location is still worth sothing!"
Mr. Sutton felt a pang in his chest after shouting. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself, then said to Ethan in a low voice, "The Lancasters dared to let that adopted daughter co to our family pregnant with their own biological son’s child, passing it off as a Sutton heir. I see it now—they were after our family’s fortune! They wanted to use this trick to take over the nest!"
"The Lancasters have to give an explanation this ti, or I won’t let them off! You go and tell them: either they pay up, or they hand over the villa. Otherwise, we’ll report them to the authorities. This is marriage fraud! I’ll have their whole family thrown in prison!"
Mr. Sutton just couldn’t swallow this insult. Who would have thought that Sylvia Lancaster, with her innocent and gentle face, would do sothing like this—muddling the family bloodline.
If Holly Rhodes hadn’t kindly given them a heads-up, they might really have ended up raising soone else’s grandchild. The re thought of it made Mr. Sutton feel like he was going to cough up blood.
Resigned, Ethan could only reply, "Alright, I get it. I’m heading to the Lancasters’ now."
* * *
Sitting in the Lancaster family’s living room, Ethan Sutton scanned his surroundings impassively.
All the precious ornants and collectibles that used to adorn the living room were gone. The display cabinets were completely empty.
From where Ethan was sitting, he could see into the open tea room on the first floor.
He rembered there used to be several antique pieces of Huanghuali wood furniture in the tea room. Now, the room was bare; the Huanghuali furniture had been taken away.
Ethan sighed internally. ’The Lancasters really don’t have any money now,’ he thought. ’Looks like I ca here today for nothing.’
Sure enough, Robert Lancaster, sitting opposite Ethan, began to speak, wringing his hands awkwardly. "For Sylvia to do such a thing... the Lancaster family has wronged the Sutton family. It’s all our fault for not raising our daughter properly, but..."
As Robert Lancaster spoke, he glanced at Ethan, feeling he had lost all face.
He first cursed Sylvia in his mind as the scourge of the Lancaster family, then forced a smile and continued through gritted teeth, "But... Ethan, the family really has no money right now... Just consider it a personal debt I owe the Suttons. When we have money again, I’ll definitely compensate you. Just do Mr. Lancaster a favor and give us so more ti."
Ethan scoffed internally. ’Robert Lancaster is really clueless,’ he thought. ’Given the circumstances, does this guy really think his ’favor’ is still worth anything?’
In response to Robert Lancaster’s plea, Ethan just chuckled noncommittally.
Ethan hadn’t co alone today. He had spent money to hire two security guards from The Crestview Hotel.
At that mont, the two nacing guards stood expressionlessly beside Ethan, staring daggers at Robert Lancaster and Elaine Hughes. The sight made Robert and Elaine’s hearts tremble.
Seeing that Ethan wasn’t speaking, Elaine Hughes quickly chid in. "Ethan, you know Sylvia was never our biological child. She was switched at birth."
Elaine Hughes studied Ethan’s face. Seeing he was still expressionless, she continued, "Now she’s done this shaless thing. We’re furious, and we’ve already disowned her. Since she has nothing to do with the Lancaster family anymore... you should go to her for the money she owes."
Ethan was stunned by her words. He hadn’t expected Elaine Hughes to say that. When he processed it, he sneered inwardly—he didn’t believe a word she said.
’Sylvia was, after all, the daughter the Lancasters had raised for over twenty years,’ Ethan thought. ’How could they just sever ties with her like that?’
So he sneered and replied, "Mrs. Lancaster, spare the act. Where’s Sylvia? Tell her to co out and see ."
The thought of seeing Sylvia Lancaster’s face disgusted Ethan, but he couldn’t just let this go. All his sincere feelings had been wasted. He had always prided himself on being devoted—how could he possibly tolerate this?
Ethan thought, ’If the Lancaster family can’t co up with the money, then let Sylvia go sell herself! She has to pay a price, one way or another!’
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