Jenna sat in the office in the Ink Garden, skimming through the accounting books.
Maud hurried over.
“Madam, someone asked me to give this to you.” Maud came over with an envelope and handed it to Jenna with both hands.
Jenna was taken aback. She took it over and opened it. It was a delicate invitation letter. When she opened it, it clearly wrote, “Greetings, Mrs. Richards! Madam Lilian will be coming to the Ink Garden to visit Vivian at nine o’clock tonight. Please see to the full execution of the security work and ask everyone to leave. Please ensure no word is leaked. Pay extra mind to this. Regards, Quina.”
Jenna was so shocked that she was at a loss at what to do.
Madam Lilian was actually coming to visit Vivian at Richards Manor?
Did Madam Lilian know Vivian?
How would Madam Lilian think of paying a visit to Vivian? Jenna would never admit that Madam Lilian wanted to visit Vivian at Richards Manor because of her. What surprised her, even more, was that Madam Lilian actually went to the Francist Community to visit Sara because of her. This made her feel very excited and moved.
Such a noble person actually went to see Sara, an ordinary person, and also went to see her in person. This really made her feel fond of Madam Lilian.
When she heard the call from Sara, she was incredulous.
She picked up the phone immediately.
Whenever Jenna encountered anything, she would immediately think of Hansen and want to tell him everything.
“Hansen, let me tell you something. Madam Lilian will be visiting Grandma at nine o’clock tonight.” Jenna informed in a pleasantly surprised voice over the phone.
Hansen was in his office and was washed over by surprise to hear this news.
It was unlikely that Madam Lilian would come to visit Vivian, as the Richards family was not familiar with her. Did they come for the sake of Jenna, an unassuming woman? It was said that Madam Lilian had regarded Jenna as her granddaughter!
“Jenna, that’s great.” Hansen smiled and teased her. “It looks like my wife is an important figure!”
“Come on. I’m not that well-known. I don’t know why Madam Lilian wants to see Grandma. I think it may be because Grandma is famous. After all, she is also a reputable woman.” Jenna laughed in embarrassment.
Hansen chuckled. “Alright, no matter what, as long as she steps foot into our home, we will welcome her warmly.”
“Yes, Hansen. However, she is a big shot, and we have to prepare for our security detail. Her secretary has already stated that we must do a perfect job when it comes to confidentiality and also order all the others to leave,” Jenna notified him seriously.
“Yes, my wife. I’ll return home immediately to help you arrange for it,” Hansen immediately answered on the phone. “Rest all you want. Don’t worry too much.”
Hansen was afraid that she would worry. So, he quickly packed up everything while he was on the phone. He then asked, “Did you drink the soup today? Did you throw up?”
Jenna smiled sweetly. “It’s okay. Since there’s nothing else, I’ll hang up first.”
Without waiting for Hansen to speak, she hung up the phone in advance to avoid hearing him blabbering. It had to be said that Hansen was too serious about her pregnancy, and he was overly worried about it.
“D*mn, woman! How dare you hang up on me.” Upon hearing the beeping sound from the phone, Hansen scolded her fiercely, but there was a slight tender smile on the corner of his mouth.
It was quiet in the night, and the bright moon hung in the sky, covering the Ink Garden with a layer of faintly discernible mist.
Many of the candles in Richards Manor had been extinguished in advance. The main lamps in the Ink Garden were still on.
Trevor, Hansen, and Jenna were standing at the Ink Garden’s entrance.
A tour bus slowly drove over and stopped.
“Madam, we’re here.” Quina informed in a low voice.
Ever since entering Richards Manor, Madam Lilian had been sizing up the hundred-year-old manor. Deep in her heart was a myriad of emotions. Just how many years had it been since she’d entered the place? She only had the same memory of Richards Manor in her heart.
The garden didn’t seem to have changed much. The small trees in the past had grown into towering trees, and the scenery in the garden was even more verdant and vibrant. Even though many places had been modernized, they were still filled with a familiar feeling from the depths of Madam Lilian’s memories.
It seemed that since she entered the garden, her thoughts were full of eagerness, and the feelings deep in her heart were very complicated.
The last time she came to this garden was the night before 50 years ago when she got a divorce.
She especially came over to bid farewell to Vivian and asked her to take care of Emily in the future. At that time, Vivian felt helpless at the thought of Johan’s deep-rooted traditional mindset. However, Capital City’s unspoken rule concerning family status was really too strong back then.
The wealthy Moore Family could not accommodate women from the entertainment industry. The movie stars at that time were far less respected than the celebrities in the present. In the eyes of Johan and many big families, Lilian’s status was similar to that of women in brothels. Therefore, his opposition was expected.
The open-minded Vivian had no other way. When she heard Madam Lilian’s request, she immediately agreed and requested that she be at ease. She would do her best to help her and take good care of Emily.
In fact, she really did it.
After Flavian’s death, the ten-year-old Emily exhibited threadbare survival ability. After thinking about it for a day, Vivian decided to go to Capital City to find Johan.
What she didn’t expect was that the old, arrogant, and stubborn Johan would immediately fly into a rage the moment he heard Flavian’s name. Moreover, he immediately roared, “Whoever dares to mention Flavian or anything related to him in the future will be cut off. I’ll never come into contact with them ever again.”
With that said, he left abruptly.
Vivian stood there, stupefied. Her expression was thrown off, looking as if she was in a dilemma.
Johan’s stubbornness was well-known. Everyone in the circle knew that he was a man of his word. Vivian knew that she couldn’t convince him, but she couldn’t break off the relationship with the Moore family because of this. After all, the relationship between Old Master Richards and Johan had been forged on the battlefield.
In actuality, Johan was more furious at Flavian’s attitude. After so many years, Flavian had never visited them, regardless of festivities. He never asked about them, much less apologized to Johan. Therefore, the prideful Johan felt that he had been disrespected. He was even furious at Flavian’s actions. He had long since told the public that this was no son of his.
At the end of her rope, Vivian had no choice but to return to A City.
If she helped him out in the open, then she would offend Johan. If she didn’t help him, how could such a young girl survive? What was more, she had already promised Lilian.
Therefore, she came to Flavian’s home that night.
At this time, Flavian’s family was downright destitute. Flavian, who’d lost the love of his life and family, turned into an alcoholic and didn’t care about his business. He was withering away in poverty.
The most unexpected event was that Flavian despised Johan’s ruthlessness so much that he changed Emily’s name to Sara. Even her surname was changed to Garver. As such, it was obvious that Flavian did so to prove that Sara was not the Moore family’s granddaughter but Lilian’s daughter. Since then, she had nothing to do with the Moore family.
At that time, Vivian secretly sighed. The father and son duo really bore the same character. They were stubborn people. Such a father and son were born enemies. Even if they survived, it was impossible for them to recognize each other.
After giving it some thought, she felt that it would be best if Emily changed her name. This way, she would be able to assist her discreetly. She wouldn’t have to be blamed by Johan, and she could even avoid the rumors and grow up happily.
At that moment, she took Sara and Bailey, who had been accompanying her for a while, to an old family house in A City. Bailey had been staying with Lilian all the time. She was an orphan and grew up with Lilian. She was only ten years older than Sara.
Sara had always called her Bailey.
In this way, Vivian guided Bailey in taking care of Sara and provided them with the monthly living expenses. It was not until Sara had turned 20 that the Old Master of the Murphy family took a fancy to her and married her to Javon. Then, Vivian completely let go of her.
Since she sent Sara to the old house, Vivian had never visited them to avoid suspicion, but she would secretly send someone to help.
Therefore, even though Sara knew of Vivian, she wasn’t very familiar with her. She didn’t know that in the ten years after Flavian passed away, it was Vivian who had been secretly assisting them. She still thought that it was the inheritance left by her father, and she didn’t know much about her original identity either.
Since Bailey was also not much older than her and was always beside Lilian, she wasn’t aware of most of the arrangement.
As a result, Sara still didn’t know that she was Johan’s granddaughter. When she was a child, she only knew that she was an orphan. Her mother was dead, and there was no one in her family, which was the only vague concept she held on to.
Vivian had always believed that Johan would one day get Sara back since the same blood flowed in them. Nonetheless, time proved that she was getting ahead of herself.
In the next few decades, Johan had never asked about Emily, not to mention acknowledging her.
Until today, Vivian couldn’t be sure if Johan knew that Sara was his granddaughter.
She could only feel that the matter was exasperating.
Javon’s tragic death was deliberately covered up. Vivian was also very anxious when she dealt with Earl. She didn’t know if this stubborn old man would lend a hand.
Yet, just as she hoped, Earl helped her.
As for whether he was helping Sara because he knew she was Johan’s granddaughter, or for the sake of the Richards family, that remained unknown.
It had been so many years, and Sara was still mired in such a miserable situation. At this time, even if they recognized each other, they would feel nothing but pain. In fact, at times, Vivian thought, “We’d better just put it behind us. Everyone can still live relatively peacefully.”
This must be a cruel reality.
Therefore, Vivian never told anyone about Sara. Neither did anyone know about this fact. The Richards family had plenty of money. It was a drop in the bucket for them to help a little girl like Sara. If she didn’t say anything, then no one would know either.
It could be imagined that if Sara’s family background were exposed too early, then it would absolutely not be a good thing for her. Vivian was afraid that Sara would live in a plague of gossip from then on. Moreover, Johan had been involved in the political circle for so many years. It was inevitable that he would have a few feuds. If political opponents came to seek revenge and threaten him because of this, then the most miserable one would be the innocent Sara.
One should know that it was better to live a peaceful and happy life!
Since that was the case, Vivian’s heart was already as tranquil as still water. Her hope for Johan and Sara to reconcile was also diminished.