Mrs. Lewis had worked as a servant for Mrs. Hunt’s family back then, so she was on very good terms with Mrs. Hunt. When Mrs. Hunt got married, she had also followed her to the Hunts. After so many years of working as a housekeeper, she had already reached an annual income of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Therefore, $150,000 wasn’t really an amount that would shock her this badly.
She looked at the pills in the metal box and swallowed again. “Ma’am, these don’t look like Carefree Pills to me. Why do they look so much like Calming Pills?”
Mrs. Hunt was taken aback when she heard that they were Calming Pills. After falling silent for a moment, she said, “They’ve done the right thing by giving me Calming Pills since they are suitable for my condition. It’s not like the Andersons can’t afford to give me Carefree Pills, yet they still gave me Calming Pills instead. I suppose they are still rather considerate. What’s there to kick up a fuss over Calming Pills, though? They are cheap. Besides, no matter how amazing their Calming Pills are, they can’t be worth as much as Carefree Pills, right?”
A dumbfounded Mrs. Lewis looked at her. “They are… Zabe Corporation’s Calming Pills.”
Thud.
The water glass in Mrs. Hunt’s hand fell on the table. She looked at Mrs. Lewis in astonishment. “What?”
Mrs. Lewis looked at the box in her hand. “These are Zabe Corporation’s Calming Pills. The smell and all that are very similar, and their name is also written on the pills. Also! There are 64 of them here!!”
Everyone had already sung so many praises of Yvonne just because she gave one, but Nora had actually given a full 64 of them?!
Mrs. Hunt got up at once. The elderly woman walked up to Mrs. Lewis in just a few steps. She grabbed the box in her hand and said, “Let me have a look!”
Mrs. Hunt was a very well-informed woman. She examined the pills closely. Then, she broke off a small piece from one of them and put it in her mouth to taste it. At last, she confirmed it. “These are indeed Zabe Corporation’s Calming Pills.”
1
She and Mrs. Lewis looked at each other after she spoke, and both of them were dazed for a while.
After waiting for a whole ten seconds, Mrs. Hunt finally asked, “How did the Andersons get their hands on such expensive pills?”
Mrs. Lewis was utterly stunned. “The Andersons have been dealing in traditional medicine for many generations. When you think about it carefully, it’s actually not that surprising that they would have these pills. After all, they are also a family with a solid foundation. But if that’s the case, then why didn’t Ms. Smith just say so in front of everyone just now? Because of that, they ended up secretly being mocked for nothing.”
Mrs. Hunt frowned at her words. “Either she really doesn’t care about things like reputation and so on—it has long been said that Melissa Anderson is indifferent to fame and fortune, and is very humble—or… these pills may not be the Andersons’, so they have to be low-key about it.”
Mrs. Lewis understood at once. “They aren’t the Andersons’? That means Mr. Hunt gave them to her so that she can give them to you without embarrassing herself?”
Mrs. Hunt had already thought of that when Mrs. Lewis was speaking. She realized something and said, “No wonder Justin didn’t show any sign of hesitation or apology when he came to me for the pill just now. He already knows!”
She felt a lot better now and felt that her grandson was still her grandson, after all. He hadn’t changed just because he had a girlfriend now.
She looked at Mrs. Lewis with some relief. Then, she sighed and said, “Justin sure is going through such pains for her! Say, am I being too harsh on her?”
Mrs. Lewis comforted her. “It’s mainly because you don’t understand her character.”
A lot of people resorted to unscrupulous means in order to marry into a wealthy family. They feigned purity, acted innocent, and put up all kinds of pretenses. Mrs. Hunt had also been through it all and had seen many like that.
When a stray girl from the countryside suddenly appeared with an illegitimate daughter she had with someone else, how would Mrs. Hunt possibly not have anything against her?
Mrs. Lewis said, “What you care about the most is actually still Mr. Hunt. It’s because you’re indignant on his behalf. After all, he’s so outstanding. There are so many outstanding women from good families who want to marry him, so why did he simply have to choose a woman like that…”
Mrs. Hunt sighed. “Let’s observe her for a while more! If her character is passable, for Justin’s sake, I’ll still show her some courtesy when we’re in front of outsiders, even though I don’t like her! But if she doesn’t have a good character, or if she mistreats Pete, I definitely won’t let her marry into the family! Pete is the Hunts’ future!”
Mrs. Lewis nodded. “You’re right.”
—
Ian gradually regained consciousness after taking the Zabe Corporation’s Calming Pill.
In order to prevent him from having another emotional breakdown, Joel left in advance and took Ian back to the hospital. After all, the doctors and nurses in the hospital would be able to keep his bodily functions alive for sure.
By the time Justin and Nora went back downstairs, the way everyone looked at Nora had already changed.
All of them were talking about the woman who became Cinderella. She was so lucky! To think she actually turned out to be Ian’s daughter!
No one thought otherwise.
After all, Yvette had been in a relationship with Ian back then. On top of that, he even stayed single for life because of her, so everyone naturally brought Ian into the picture.
They completely didn’t notice that Ian had said just now that she was a daughter of the Smiths.
Nora didn’t know any of this, though. She was still frowning and thinking about what had happened back then.
She hadn’t just been sleeping all this time she was at the Andersons’.
Occasionally, she would look through what her mother had left behind.
Some of the books even contained notes and interpretations that her mother had made.
Through those writings, she had gained a general understanding of Yvette’s character.
The woman was aggressive and stubborn by nature. In the patriarchal environment back then, it was definitely no easy feat to rise to the challenge and become the head of the Andersons.
How would a woman like that possibly get together with Ian’s brother while she was in a relationship with him?
If she had really fallen in love with Ian’s brother… Given her personality, she would have simply gotten together with that man instead, and been as decisive as how she had rejected Justin’s father. Why would she run away from home after she became pregnant and flee New York?
She couldn’t help feeling that her mother didn’t seem like someone who would do that.
When the party came to an end, Nora got Melissa to take Cherry home while she followed Justin to the hospital to visit Ian.
After all, they hadn’t sorted out the issues they were talking about just now. They hadn’t told her which of Ian’s brothers her father was yet.
It was already late when they arrived at the hospital.
Joel sat quietly in the hallway late at night. He seemed to know that the two of them would come over, so he was waiting for them.
Ian was already asleep.
Joel said, “You can just ask me if you have any questions because I was the one who handled everything.”
Nora lowered her head. “I want to know how you got my DNA samples.”
Joel said unhurriedly, “Someone took a few strands of your hair when you were at the medical university the other time. The person I sent to protect you happened to be nearby, so he chased after the person and snatched the hair from him.”
“… Then have you guys ever considered that the hair might have been switched?” asked Nora.
Joel was a little taken aback by her suggestion.
Nora looked at the ward and said slowly but firmly, “I want to redo the DNA test.”