Early the next morning. In the VIP ward of Marinia Hospital. A piercing sound of something being smashed came from beside the hospital bed, accompanied by weak sobbing. "Cry, cry, cry! Why are you crying? I’ve turned into this, and I still haven’t cried! What do you have to cry about!?" Jane Sheridan swept the bowls and chopsticks off the table onto the floor, her face full of anger, with several scratches, no longer gentle. The bowls and chopsticks fell at the feet of the nurse sobbing in front of the bed. Startled, the nurse was about to scream but quickly covered her mouth under Jane Sheridan’s fierce gaze. The ward door suddenly opened, and hearing the commotion, Jane Sheridan’s expression shifted, and she gently said to the nurse, "It’s okay, I don’t blame you, just clean it up again." As soon as she finished speaking, Stanley Sheridan walked in, frowning at the mess, "Why so careless?" "It’s alright, Dad, she didn’t do it on purpose." Jane said magnanimously. The nurse felt deeply wronged but dared not argue with Jane Sheridan, knowing she was the beloved daughter of the largest shareholder of this hospital. After the nurse finished cleaning and left, Stanley Sheridan asked, "How is the injury?" Jane’s expression turned sorrowful, "My leg injury has worsened a bit. I accidentally bumped my hands and feet when I fell into the water. I don’t even have the strength to get out of bed. The doctor suggested I stay in the hospital for a while for observation." She said this to garner some pity and guilt from Stanley Sheridan, but unexpectedly, he said— "The Sheridan Family is this hospital’s largest shareholder. You can stay as long as you want." Jane almost spat blood. Who wants to stay in a hospital forever!? Forcing back her frustration, Jane managed to squeeze out a smile, "Dad, is what you said the other day true? Ann Vaughn is your daughter, and Cynthia is not?" "Shouldn’t you be the most clear about this?" Stanley Sheridan glanced at her. Jane’s heart trembled, and her expression was as aggrieved as could be, "Are you doubting me?" "Yesterday, I was pushed into the water by Ann Vaughn and nearly drowned. Do you know how touched I was when you and my brothers arrived? But you only cared about Ann Vaughn and never asked if I was hurt or felt unwell." "It wasn’t until now that I was brought to the hospital that you appeared, and the first thing you did was question whether Cynthia’s impersonation was related to me. Do you know how hurt I feel?" She sobbed as if pouring out all the grievances from yesterday until now. Her appearance always gave her an edge, making her cries pitiful but not annoying, easily evoking sympathy. Stanley Sheridan’s face looked compassionate, but his words were like a blow to Jane: "The nearby surveillance footage captured part of the scene at that time, but Ann didn’t reach out to push you; instead, you suddenly lunged forward yourself and fell into the water." Jane almost couldn’t continue crying. The spot where she was kicked yesterday seemed to ache again. Ann didn’t push her because she used her damn foot! "Dad, listen to me..." "Besides, didn’t you say before that your relationship with Ann is neither good nor bad? Why would she push you?" Stanley Sheridan continued to ask. Jane was suddenly choked, "Because she..." envies me. Those three words stuck in her throat, refusing to come out. Would the real daughter of the Sheridan Family envy an adopted one? Seeing her silent, Stanley Sheridan gave her a meaningful look, "Take good care of your injury." Not only did Stanley Sheridan not believe that Ann Vaughn pushed Jane into the water, even those who initially believed Jane started questioning her story. Because it simply didn’t hold water. Jane initially wanted to use this opportunity to make Ann Vaughn lose face, hoping she’d stay away from the Sheridan Family, preferably never appearing in front of her again. However, she miscalculated, suffered needlessly, felt wronged, and yet no one believed she was innocent. Ann Vaughn hadn’t slept all night, only sorting out her thoughts just before dawn, immediately booking a flight back to The Imperial Capital. Whether or not Cyrus Hawthorne despised her was his issue, but she couldn’t just stand by while something happened to him and do nothing. After that realization, the frustration bottled up in Ann’s heart dissipated a lot. She retrieved the switched-off phone she’d left ignored in the drawer and then went to wake up the still-sleeping Kenny. A few hours later, the plane landed at Imperial Capital Airport. Back at the apartment, Little Dumpling helped Ann Vaughn pack up their luggage before taking his things into the room to draw. Seeing the phone on the table still powered off, Ann Vaughn decided to turn it on this time. Hundreds of missed calls and messages nearly overloaded the phone, with notifications ringing non-stop. [Sister-in-law, don’t listen to my brother’s words, in my heart, you’ll always be my one and only sister-in-law!] [If I cut ties with my brother, will you pay attention to me, sister-in-law? QAQ!] [I’m so angry! When I went to the company to reason with my brother, the secretary said he hasn’t been to the office in a week! And I even specially got a fierce Tibetan mastiff with great teeth!!] Bella Hawthorne had been sending her dozens of messages every morning, noon, and night over the past few days, never discouraged despite not getting a response, fearing Ann would ignore her from then on. Ann immediately replied: I wasn’t ignoring you; I went out for a short break a few days ago. I just turned my phone on today. You mentioned your brother hasn’t been to the company for a week; do you know where he is now? As it happened, Bella was online at that moment and almost shouted "The Virgin Mary" when she received Ann’s response. [Sister-in-law, you finally replied to me! So happy! I’ll go immediately find out for you, wait for me!!] Perhaps having been mistreated by not getting replies from Ann these past few days, Bella’s tone returned to its original lively and carefree state when talking to her. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ novel(ꜰ)ire.net Ann Vaughn raised an eyebrow; could something have happened during Bella’s closed training to change her mindset? [Sister-in-law, I found out! My brother has been frequently going to this place recently!] Bella then sent a location pin. [Although my brother might not always be there, the chances are quite high! If there’s any new information, I’ll immediately let you know, sister-in-law!] Ann sent her a panda emoticon: Thanks, Bella, you really helped me out. I’ll treat you to a feast one of these days. [It’s a small matter! Happy to serve sister-in-law!] Ann chuckled, opened the location pin Bella sent, and saw it was the familiar villa halfway up the mountain. Is it really okay to go there? Will he just throw me out? Thinking of this, Ann couldn’t help but hesitate, taking a long pause before finally making up her mind.