"Dad, what's wrong?" A drowsy voice with a hint of sleepiness emerged from the man's embrace, and he slightly lowered his head, looking at the boy in his arms with messy hair, delicate and lovely features, appearing still somewhat dazed from just waking up. He gently patted the boy on his back.
His usually cold voice carried a subtle warmth: "It's nothing. Go back to sleep."
"Mm, okay." The little boy obediently nodded, glanced at him with watery eyes, and continued to sleep in his arms.
George Flack patted the boy's back lightly, leaning back in his chair, his long eyes veiled in emotion by his thick lashes.
He must have been mistaken just now.
She had been missing for so long, and he couldn't find any trace of her no matter where he looked. It was impossible for her to simply appear just like that.
George closed his eyes slightly, suppressing the emotions in his eyes, and held the boy quietly while reading the documents.
—
Grant's Mansion.
Aria Grant had just entered the main gate with Ivy Grant when a fiery red figure came rushing toward her, accompanied by a scream: "Ahhhh! Aria Grant, you bastard!!"
Seeing the figure rushing over, Ivy instantly let go of Aria's hand and subtly moved to the side. Seeing her mother being hugged by the figure, she patted her small chest.
Mrs. Liana was too enthusiastic for her to handle.
Aria Grant noticed Ivy's movements, twitching the corners of her mouth slightly, looking helplessly at the woman in her arms who was fake-crying and rubbing her temple: "Liana Lewis."
She was already an adult and still faking tears.
"What?! You heartless, debauched, and despicable bitch, stop talking to me!" Liana Lewis grabbed Aria's clothes, whimpering and pretending to cry.
This woman was truly ruthless.
She disappeared for three years upon graduation, causing Liana to be worried for her for three years, until finally contacting her two years ago, but not showing up in person.
Just like a flirty and irresponsible girl, completely unaccountable.
If Aria hadn't contacted her, she would have thought something happened to her.
Aria's mouth twitched, speechless.
What a mess of adjectives.
Liana Lewis didn't bother Aria for too long. She knew when to stop, and she knew why her bestie had appeared this time.
She exchanged a glance with Aria and didn't mention it directly. Liana moved on to pampering Ivy instead.
When Ivy saw Liana coming towards her, her scalp tingled, and she backed away nimbly before bolting off, shouting from afar: "Mommy, I'm going to my room to sort out my things. You can chat with Mrs. Liana."
Aria responded, watching the frustrated Liana who had failed to grab Ivy and laughing unkindly, her gloomy eyes brightened a bit.
Liana pursed her lips, giving Aria a sidelong glance, and said irritably, "You dare laugh when you've taught her so poorly, she's not even like a child anymore."
Aria restrained her laughter: "It's indeed my fault."
Her situation was terrible at that time, fearing it would affect Ivy's growth, she wanted to send her to a friend's place for a while, but...
It was then that the somewhat naive Ivy gradually became more sensible, her personality turning cold like Aria's.
Liana became silent, gazing at Aria, wanting to speak but hesitating.
"Let's talk in the study." Aria nodded slightly and walked towards the study upstairs.
In the study.
Aria Grant and Liana Lewis sat facing each other, both holding cups of tea brought in by Butler Jones, neither speaking.
Liana and Aria had been playmates since childhood, having a great relationship and similar personalities.
But after experiencing so much, there was no trace of the childhood Aria anymore.
After an unknown period, Liana finally put down her tea cup, looked at Aria with a complex expression, and asked, "Aria, do you really want to investigate your sister's death?"
Aria sipped her tea lightly: "I came back to this country for this matter."
In other words, she had to investigate.
"But, but..." Liana hesitated to speak.
"Whatever you want to say, just say it." Aria looked at her, her eyes calm.
"If, I mean if..." Liana struggled for a while before cautiously asking, "If you find out that Kelly's death has something to do with George Flack?"
Hearing this name after so many years, Aria wasn't able to react immediately. Her hand holding the coffee cup trembled slightly, but her eyes remained calm: "What did you say?"
Liana pursed her lips and repeated her previous statement.
When she found out this news, she too was shocked. It seemed impossible that Kelly's death might have something to do with George Flack.
Not to mention the Flack family and Sawyer Clan's past friendship, even based on Aria's previous relationship with George Flack, it couldn't be possible that he was responsible for Kelly's death.
But...
Thinking of the news she had discovered, she felt very uncertain.
Aria's eyes narrowed, and she didn't say anything, but her brows were gradually filled with hostility.
She closed her eyes, forcibly suppressing the raging emotions in her mind and said with a slightly hoarse voice: "Go on."
"You asked me to investigate who she had been in contact with in recent years, and her abnormalities, right?" Liana said without hesitation and reluctance, taking out some documents from her bag and handing them to Aria.
"I found out that in recent years, besides being close to the Mamet family's Joshua Mamet, she was also in contact with George Flack."
"The night before Kelly's accident, someone saw her coming out of George Flack's private villa."
"On the day Kelly died... George Flack was the last person to see her. The information is all here; have a look."
Aria didn't speak or react throughout; her face appeared calm, but her hand gripping the coffee cup with whitened knuckles clearly showed that her heart wasn't as composed as it seemed.
She took the documents, and Liana hesitated before telling her, "And... George Flack has a fiancée now and a... child out of wedlock."
"I know." Aria didn't have a strong reaction to this, giving a faint response, then stuffed the documents into the drawer, saying, "You go back first, and have Ivy come over to me."
Liana noticed the strangeness in Aria's demeanor, frowned but didn't say more, getting up and leaving the room to call Ivy who was playing video games.
Ivy walked over, and when she saw Aria trembling slightly on the chair, her delicate and lovely little face instantly changed; she hurriedly ran back to her bag to find a medicine bottle, and then quickly ran towards the study with her short legs.