Slender fingers picked up the phone and saw it was an unfamiliar number.
She didn’t answer and was about to put the phone away when the number called again, persistent.
With a sigh, she answered, “Hello.”
“Miss Andrews.” Sierra’s familiar voice came through, surprising Sylvia. “Sierra?”
“It’s me. Vaild and Mark have already sent Fatima and Adeline over, and I’ve arranged everything. Naturally, I need to report to you,” Sierra said with a smile in her voice.
“Thank you for your hard work,” Sylvia replied, still surprised. “Is this a new phone number?”
“Yes, I just changed it recently. Miss Andrews…” Sierra hesitated, sounding a bit embarrassed. “Miss Andrews, I have an… awkward request. I’m not sure if I should ask.”
Sylvia took a bite of mushroom. “What’s the matter?”
Sierra sounded even more embarrassed. “Alex has been missing you a lot lately, Miss Andrews… When might you have time to visit him?”
“I see. I’ll come by when I have time. How is Alex doing lately?” Sylvia remembered Sierra’s child Alex, a handsome and clever boy.
“Sylvia Auntie,” Alex’s childish voice came through the phone, “Can I video call you?”
Sylvia glanced at the people around the dining table. “A little friend wants to video call me. Do you mind?”
“We don’t have so many rules at our table. How could we hurt a child’s feelings?” Queena said, fantasizing daily about her future grandchildren.
Austin chuckled, “The old lady is right. Go ahead!”
Seeing the kind faces of the elderly couple, Sylvia smiled and told Alex, “I’ll video call you. Hang up this call first.”
“Okay,” Alex replied cheerfully and hung up.
Sylvia was about to initiate the video call when Sierra’s number popped up with a video request. She answered and saw the little boy, just over two years old, sitting properly on the other end.
Two years had passed without her noticing; Alex was already over two years old.
Sylvia felt a bit sentimental. “Alex, have you had dinner? Have you been behaving well with your mommy?”
“I’ve eaten. I’ve learned to use a spoon,” Alex replied seriously.
“How well he answers!” Queena exclaimed, leaning in to see the pretty little boy. “Oh my, he’s so handsome.”
“Hello, Grandma,” Alex greeted Queena sweetly.
“What a sweet boy,” Queena said with a smile, instructing a servant, “Pack some king crabs and cherries to send to this child. Sylvia, what’s his address?”
Sylvia was taken aback by Queena’s enthusiasm. “I’ll send it to you later.”
Sierra quickly declined, “Madam, there’s no need to send us anything. Although Middle Evroya’s climate isn’t as comfortable as home, we lack nothing here. Miss Andrews pays me very well…”
“Oh, it’s just a small token of my goodwill,” Queena said with a smile, looking at Sierra on the screen. The woman appeared to be in her early thirties but was actually nearing forty.
Queena had heard some of Sierra’s story from Sylvia and felt quite sympathetic towards her.
At least she had a child by her side; life hadn’t been easy for her.
After chatting with Alex for a while longer, they ended the video call.
Sylvia couldn’t help but think of EMPEROR’s flawless face. That face was incredibly handsome but somehow unsettling.
It seemed plastic? Swollen? What was wrong with it?
Why did seeing Alex make her think of EMPEROR?
Sylvia found it strange and couldn’t quite put her finger on it.
As she pondered, she heard a WhatsApp notification. She glanced at her phone and saw it was from Evie.
It was a photo of Jasper and her taking little Jaime out for hotpot.
The family of three looked very warm and happy.
She shook her head with a smile and sent Evie a photo of the lavish spread on their dining table. “I’m having lunch.”
“Wow! So sumptuous! I won’t disturb you then. We’re having hotpot too,” Evie replied before disappearing.
Sylvia put down her phone. “Mr. Howlett is back; Evie is very happy. The feeling of family reunion is really nice.”
Queena smiled too. “Indeed, the most important thing for a family is health and peace. Everything else is secondary.”
“Evie has had a tough life; we still don’t know who her biological parents are, and the Anto Family used to exploit her constantly,” Austin sighed. “Luckily, adopting Jaime has given her some comfort; otherwise, she would be too pitiful.”
“She no longer has any desire to find her biological parents. What difference does it make whether she knows or not? As long as she’s living well now,” Sylvia said as she served Queena and Austin some food.
“Fortunately, Jasper is a good man, and Mrs. Howlett treats her well,” Queena sighed again before continuing to eat.
Jenna listened quietly to everyone’s conversation and suddenly felt that everyone seemed to have their own struggles.
“Ouch!” Mollie exclaimed softly, holding her belly.
Everyone was startled and looked at her in unison.
Clare grabbed her hand nervously. “Honey, what’s wrong? Is your stomach hurting?”
Mollie blushed. “The baby just kicked me really hard…”
“Haha,” Clare chuckled at her embarrassment. “The baby is being naughty and kicking you already.”
“Oh, stop it. It’s embarrassing,” Mollie tugged at his sleeve. “Let’s eat.”
As Sylvia ate, she wondered how Franklin was doing on his end. Was the President giving him a hard time?
Meanwhile, at the Presidential Palace…
“Sir!”
“Mr. President!”
An assistant ran towards the President’s office as if competing in a hundred-meter dash.
The President looked up at him and frowned. “Why are you shouting? What happened?”
This assistant was usually quite composed; what was going on today?
The assistant panted heavily. “Mr. Maskelyne is back.”
“Franklin is back?” The President was momentarily stunned before standing up abruptly. “Where is he? Bring him to me!”
“What? Are you planning to scold me as soon as I return?”
A deep, magnetic voice came from the doorway, and the President glared at Franklin.
“You still know how to come back? You might as well not come back! Don’t even acknowledge me as your father!”
He shouted angrily at Franklin.
Franklin raised an eyebrow, his narrow eyes filled with faint mockery. “Seems like you’re quite angry. So… do you not want these things either?”
“What things? What could you possibly give me?” The President sneered but softened his tone slightly. “Don’t think that bringing me some gifts will make me overlook your sneaking out.”
This brat still had some conscience.
He felt slightly better knowing Franklin had brought him gifts.
Franklin clapped his hands, and several men carried in five boxes.
They placed the boxes in front of the President and stood behind them in formation.
The President looked puzzled at the boxes. “What’s inside? These boxes look old!”
The iron boxes were very worn out; some even had moss growing on them.
What good could come from these?
He felt disappointed and shouted angrily, “Are you messing with me? Bringing me a bunch of old boxes as gifts? You’re too much.”
“You won’t even look inside before rejecting them? Don’t regret it later,” Franklin said coldly and motioned for his men to take the boxes away.
The President looked at him suspiciously. “Are they really valuable?”
“If you don’t want them, my wife would love them!” Franklin said expressionlessly and instructed his men to take the boxes away.
“Open them! Open all these boxes! I want to see what’s inside,” the President’s curiosity was piqued.
Franklin’s men began prying open the boxes one by one.
The President was stunned!
He couldn’t believe his eyes as he looked at the five boxes in front of him.
He wasn’t blind; not at all.
He picked up a porcelain bottle. “Is this… an artifact?”
The craftsmanship was clearly not modern; it was exquisitely detailed beyond belief, more artful than art itself.
He put down the porcelain bottle and picked up a bronze vessel that was perfectly preserved and clean.
The five boxes were filled with items that exuded an ancient aura.
These were genuine!
They were definitely not fakes!
Though he wasn’t an expert on artifacts, it was clear these were real.
He picked up a translucent jade bowl and examined it under the light. “So fine and lustrous. How could something be so beautiful?”
Franklin glanced at him indifferently. “These are artifacts from a thousand years ago that Sylvia and I stumbled upon during our trip. We don’t want to keep them for ourselves; we decided to donate them to museums for exhibition and research purposes. These artifacts hold historical significance and research value. Keeping them hidden away would be a waste.”
The President was shocked; he hadn’t expected Sylvia and Franklin to think this way.