“Dad, please rest assured. I have my own plans. You don’t have to worry too much about this matter.” Hansen’s expression was indifferent as he replied in a seemingly casual manner, and his eyes were full of shrewdness.
“Hansen, you can’t be so willful about this matter.” Trevor realized that Hansen was not nervous at all and sighed in his heart. Indeed, as long the matter didn’t concern Jenna, no matter how big the problem was, he would be laid-back and not be bothered about it.
However, the matter at hand was not something insignificant. It was related to the life and death of the Richards Group.
“Dad, I’ve already overcome my headstrong years. You should believe in me.” Hansen shrugged. He was confident, but he didn’t seem arrogant.
Trevor looked at him, and after a while, a smile emerged on his face.
“Dad, don’t worry. If I’m forced to fight with Yadriel and Sergio, there’s nothing I can do about it. It is how it is, and I’m happy to oblige. I don’t believe that Yadriel will be able to hide the truth from the people.” Hansen’s tone was relaxed and a hint of icy glint flashed across his sharp eyes.
Trevor nodded in agreement, but the atmosphere in the air was vaguely gloomy.
“Hansen, this is the last hurdle. If we can get through this, I believe that the Richards Group will live in peace for another period of time, and our future will be glorious again. Right now, we can do whatever we want. After all, both Jenna and Claude are safe. This is a great thing for us,” Trevor responded.
“Dad, that’s true. Nonetheless, you’re not as young as you used to be. So, please don’t get too worked up. Leave everything to me, and I’ll take care of them. You have to trust your son.” Hansen comforted Trevor gently with smiles all over his face.
Although Trevor’s life was full of glory, he had experienced many trials and tribulations. At his old age, he still had to worry about such a matter. It seemed cruel and unfair to him. Thus, Hansen really couldn’t bear to allow him to be troubled about it anymore.
Trevor let out a slight sigh.
That was right. If Hansen couldn’t handle such a matter, how would he take on the responsibility of the Richards Group in the future?
He had a reason to trust his own son!
In the suite of a five-star hotel, Madam Lilian was sipping her morning tea.
She gently held the porcelain cup with her pale fingers. The aroma of the tea lingered in the air, and it made her feel refreshed.
After her morning exercise, she liked to drink a cup of fine green tea to brighten up her mood for the day. It has almost become a habit for her to do so.
She loved drinking A City’s green tea. This type of tea was grown in Green Mountain Lake. Although it was not very well-known, its taste was very authentic and had a light, refreshing aroma. When the green tea entered her mouth, the taste it gave off was not too sweet. In fact, it was slightly bitter, and didn’t really moisten her throat. Nevertheless, she loved this taste.
After taking a sip, she would be in high spirits for the whole day!
That might be a habit!
This kind of tea could be bought in a small country in Europe. Every year, her subordinates would buy her a lot of tea to stock up. After drinking the tea for a long time, the benefits were evident. Although she was already 71 years old, her body was very healthy, and she did not have any heart diseases. What was more important was that every time she had the tea, she felt a certain kind of feeling. It was a deep longing for her hometown.
Quina came in quietly with a notebook in her hand.
“Ma’am.” She approached her and stood by her side, leaning over and calling out to her softly.
Madam Lilian took a sip of tea and looked up. Her skin, which was so flawless, didn’t even have any trace of visible wrinkles.
“How’s it going? Any progress?” Madam Lilian asked.
“Ma’am, we’ve searched for ‘Emily Moore’ in the entire A City. We found a few people, but they don’t match Miss Emily’s identity, features, and age. This shows that Miss Emily may have changed her name,” Quina reported softly.
“Changed her name?” There was a fleeting flash of light in Madam Lilian’s eyes. “Why would she change her name?”
She muttered to herself with pain in her eyes.
He had refused to forgive her and changed Emily’s name, so that it was impossible for her to find her daughter back.
“Ma’am, according to our investigation, Flavian Moore was expelled from the family by Johan, and in addition to that, he divorced you. Soon, his depression worsened, and he passed away from it. Even on his deathbed, Johan didn’t identify with him. It seems that Johan is really heartless and cold-hearted to his own son.” Quina sighed cautiously.
The light in Madam Lilian’s eyes dimmed, and the pain in her eyes turned horrifyingly poisonous.
The Moore family was a family of officials for generations in Capital City. Johan had achieved great military exploits at the beginning of the liberation. Thus, the people loved him. In that period of time, his power was terrifying, and he had an esteemed reputation.
However, this old master was a typical traditional parent. He was a stubborn person and knew precisely whom he loved and hated.
He had four sons in total, all of whom were obedient and filial to him. Three of them had been trained by him to pursue a political career and were leading a successful life. Having said that, only Flavian was handsome, and he had an unconventional approach to life. His personality was free and unruly, and he didn’t like to mingle with the officialdom. He left home in his early years and went to A City to start his own business, which was inconsistent with Johan’s expectations of him. So, he wasn’t fond of Flavian.
Flavian was wild and unrestrained. He was naturally romantic and bold. At that time, Lilian Garver, who was a movie star, met him at a dance party. The young and beautiful Lilian was just his cup of tea. They were about the same age, and the handsome man and beautiful woman fell in love in no time.
After being in a loving relationship for quite some time, the sweet couple was blessed as Lilian became pregnant.
Flavian, who was overjoyed, brought Lilian home that very night to pay a visit to Johan. He had not expected Johan to hold onto very strong traditional values. When he discovered Lilian’s identity, he flew into a rage and immediately refused to acknowledge her. He was adamant in rejecting Flavian’s decision to find a movie star in the entertainment industry to be his wife.
Johan instantly found a young lady from a family of politicians in Capital City for Flavian and wanted to drive Lilian out of the house.
Flavian was deeply in love with Lilian. So, how could he be willing to betray her!
Just like that, for such a matter, the father and son broke off their relationship.
Flavian had threatened Johan with his life. How could the high and mighty Johan withstand Flavian fighting against him? He immediately gave Flavian a good beating and drove him out of the house.
Johan was very proud and stubborn, and Flavian took after his temperament. After the father and son had a falling out with each other, they never saw each other again.
Flavian and Lilian got married without the blessings of their families in A City. Soon after, she gave birth to their daughter, Emily Moore. Even then, no one from the Moore family came to visit them. The indifference and heartlessness made Flavian swear that he would never return to the Moore family residence in Capital City. From then on, he considered them strangers.
After Lilian gave birth to Emily, their simple life started to go downhill.
The main reason was that Flavian, who was estranged from the Moore family, became highly irritable. He drank and fooled around all day. One day, the news of a scandal between him and a celebrity broke out. Lilian’s eyes were brimming with tears, as she resolutely proposed a divorce.
She knew that the reason why their marriage had failed was that Johan looked down on her background. Although Flavian had the courage to break off his relationship with his family for her, he became depressed from the heavy burden after marriage. He often went out to drink and got drunk.
In terms of his business development, it took a devastating plunge.
These were all Johan’s efforts to suppress Flavian behind his back, as he couldn’t tolerate Flavian being disobedient and unfilial. At that time, Johan even threatened to make Flavian as poor as a church mouse.
Flavian’s business was not only plummeting as Johan wished, but he was also heavily in debt.
Their lives were very difficult.
Lilian knew that they would not be able to live unless she divorced and left him.
She thought that if she left, Flavian would return to the Moore family. Then, he and Emily would live a comfortable life and receive good care. If she continued to stay by his side, they would never see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Therefore, after the big fight, she resolutely proposed a divorce, with tears in her eyes. At that time, both of them were still young. The agitated Flavian was also hot-headed, and he agreed in a fit of rage.
That morning, it was drizzling.
Lilian only packed a simple suitcase and left A City. When she left, she gave Emily the fan imprinted with a red plum from one of the Twin Plum Fans, as she hoped that her daughter would be happy in the future. Lilian left A City in pain and never returned.
It was not until that year did she return to A City at the invitation of a social event with the embassy from Tamberland.
When she first came to Europe, she was unfamiliar with the place and had no money. So, she could only sell the Twin Plum Fan in a pawn shop. That was the only way for her to survive.
Up to now, fifty years had passed.
She was not young anymore. In recent years, she missed Emily a lot. She did not know how her unfortunate daughter had been and whether she was still alive.
There was no point in reminiscing about the past!
A lot of things had happened in the past, and they were like scars that would never heal. She had deliberately tried to forget about everything all these years. After arriving in Europe, she remarried a government official. Yet, it didn’t work out, and she got divorced soon after.
Through this marriage, she met those in the officialdom, and soon, she began to start her own political career and focused her entire life on public service. She no longer cared about marriage until she became the internationally famous and powerful Madam Lilian.
When she got older, the pain from the miserable past no longer stung as bad. She thought of Emily and only wanted to find her.
However, over the years, she had sent people back to A City to investigate, but the situation had changed drastically. Not to mention finding the original house, even the entire A City had changed, and Flavian had long passed away.
She had sent someone to inquire about the Moore family in Capital City. Alas, Johan was still unsympathetic. Not to mention acknowledging Emily as his granddaughter, even Flavian, his son, could not return to his ancestral roots even until his death.
In the vast crowd, she could no longer find any news about Emily.
Madam Lilian regretted the past several times, as she thought that she should have brought Emily along at that time. Yet, when she just arrived in Europe, she was living in poverty and did not have the ability to raise Emily. After marrying her European husband, he was determined to oppose her idea of going back to A City and identifying Emily. So, she had to give up. After the divorce, she was busy with all sorts of political affairs and did not have the energy to interfere in this matter. When she finally had the time and opportunity to find Emily, she was nowhere to be found.
She sat there, dumbfounded, with tears streaming down the corners of her eyes.
“Ma’am, Ma’am,” Quina gently called out to Madam Lilian, who was in a daze. In the last two years, she was often lost in her thoughts. Quina knew that she was missing Emily. Thus, she could not help but to sigh softly.
Everyone had a weak side. Even someone as influential and powerful as Madam Lilian was behaving that way, what more an ordinary person.