The Goldenwater Bay Villa. The driver arranged by Vincent Hawthorne dropped Cindy Lynn off at her doorstep. "Thank you for your trouble." Cindy Lynn smiled politely, and after getting out of the car, she watched the driver leave. She turned around, her expression changing in an instant. With a face full of anger, she stepped into the house. The vast living room was opulent, with a glass display cabinet filled with priceless antiques. Shelly Sullivan emerged from the neighboring prayer room, holding a strand of small-leaf red sandalwood Buddha beads. Seeing Cindy Lynn’s expression, she instructed the servant to bring a bowl of bird’s nest from the kitchen. But Cindy Lynn was in no mood to drink, "Please, all of you go out." With only her and Shelly Sullivan left in the living room, Cindy Lynn finally spoke with a serious face, "Mom, I’m worried that Tanya Sinclair has figured out that I am your daughter!" Shelly Sullivan leaned back on the sofa, idly fingering the Buddha beads. "So what if she knows? How can a useless person like her think of seeking revenge?" Shelly Sullivan scoffed with disdain, not taking Tanya Sinclair seriously at all. "Everything of The Sinclair Family changed its name to Lynn twenty years ago! Tanya Sinclair has nothing now. If she dares to compete with my daughter, she only has one outcome!" Shelly Sullivan’s eyes were malicious, "—to go down and meet her dead mother!" Cindy Lynn still had her eyebrows furrowed, somewhat worried. "Mom, that bitch Tanya Sinclair also went to the base today. She is very familiar with Professor Carter, and I am afraid she’ll ruin my collaboration with him! Vincent is already unhappy; if this collaboration doesn’t succeed, he will surely be disappointed in me!" "What’s there to panic about?" Shelly Sullivan said, "Vincent Hawthorne owes you a life debt! As long as he continues to believe that you were the one who risked your life to give him a blood transfusion back then, he will always feel indebted to you! Besides, this project was secured by Julian Poole for you, and Ethan Carter won’t refuse to give Julian face." Mentioning Julian Poole only fueled Cindy Lynn’s anger. That bitch Tanya Sinclair, she even managed to seduce Julian Poole! As Cindy Lynn was about to speak, she received a call from Sam Sawyer. Cindy Lynn frowned slightly and immediately answered the call. "Senior Brother Sawyer." Her voice was sweet. Across from her, Sam Sawyer barely contained a frown, feeling a bit disgusted. He spoke formally, "Hello Ms. Lynn, I’m here to inform you that the collaboration between Zenith Group and The Veridia Project is proceeding as planned. The contract, already signed and sealed, will be personally delivered to your company by me tomorrow. Additionally, you’ve been specially invited to join the core project Group A of The Veridia Project." "Really?!" Cindy Lynn jumped up from the sofa, elated, "I get to join the core project Group A!" The core part of The Veridia Project is divided into three groups, a secret within a secret, with Group A being the most critical! Cindy Lynn had thought that with Tanya Sinclair’s disturbance, she would be rejected by Ethan Carter. Unexpectedly, she was instead brought into the core project group! She suppressed her excitement and tried her best to remain calm. "Senior Brother Sawyer, may I ask who specifically invited me?" "The person who will soon be assuming the role of leader of Group A named you specifically, but I am not at liberty to disclose their identity." The soon-to-be project leader... and they favor her so much! Julian Poole’s image flashed in Cindy Lynn’s mind, and a proud smile appeared. "Alright, thank you, Senior Brother Sawyer. Please continue to look after me in the future." Sam Sawyer wanted to avoid the topic, "By the way, Ms. Lynn, since this project is a national secret, you need to submit a detailed report of your family members, assets, and asset sources for us to review in advance." "Understood." Cindy Lynn naturally cooperated. Hanging up the phone, Cindy Lynn was ecstatic. Halfway through, she had put it on speakerphone, and Shelly Sullivan beside her heard everything clearly. With eyes full of praise, Shelly Sullivan proudly said, "Truly, you are my daughter, Shelly Sullivan! It must be Julian Poole helping you this time; you really are still the white moonlight in his heart." Cindy Lynn leaned on Shelly Sullivan’s arm, acting coquettishly, "It’s all thanks to your foresight back then, making me appear when Julian Poole was at his lowest, so he’s never forgotten all these years!" Shelly Sullivan said, "Keep Julian Poole on a string; he still has value." "Don’t worry, Mom, I know what to do," Cindy Lynn thought of Tanya Sinclair, knitting her brows in envy and hatred, "Mom, we can’t let that troublemaker Tanya Sinclair stay around! Recently, she’s been trying hard to get close to Vincent! Even the two kids are starting to be nicer to her. I’m worried..." "There’s nothing to worry about," Shelly Sullivan smiled slightly, pressing the Buddha beads one by one. She spoke with hidden meaning, "Someone who can remove Tanya Sinclair for us is on their way to Aris. That bitch, Tanya, won’t be around much longer!" Dusk fell; the history exhibition hall at Northwood University. The administrator was checking each row when suddenly, he saw a silhouette. "Why are you still here? It’s closing time, aren’t you leaving?" Vincent Hawthorne was staring intently at a photograph! In the photo, it was Tanya Sinclair as the representative of her graduating class seven years ago. She stood on the lush green field in her graduation gown, her smile serene. Behind her, in the corner, a young boy in black clothes and hair passed by, casually turning his head to look at her. Even with just a side profile, Vincent Hawthorne recognized him as Declan Pierce! It finally dawned on him that he had heard the name Declan Pierce from Tanya Sinclair years ago! ’There’s a boy in our class who is such a nuisance; he always bothers me...’ ’Vincent, I’ll be a little late today,’ she complained, ’Still collecting group work, and a book of Declan’s was left behind. I’m the team leader, so my credits will be deducted if he doesn’t submit it, and I might lose this year’s special scholarship.’ ’Declan Pierce is just so annoying...’ Tanya Sinclair’s helpless complaints, combined with the appearance of Declan’s photograph, reignited the memories in his mind! It turned out Declan Pierce had known Tanya Sinclair since their university days! "Hey, I’m talking to you?" The administrator already approached, slapping Vincent Hawthorne on the shoulder. "Are you a teacher or a counselor from another department?" Vincent Hawthorne turned his face, his handsome face dark, and squeezed out a sentence, "I am not from your university." With that, he strode out without another word. The administrator muttered behind him, "Not from our university, but you’ve been studying our history exhibits all afternoon, are you a spy?" Vincent Hawthorne walked out of the exhibition hall, heading out. When he passed the field, he paused. Many students were strolling and night jogging on the field. Among them were some young couples, holding hands while walking in circles, whispering sweet nothings. The pair closest to him was having a tiff. The girl, angrily: "You haven’t come to see me for a whole week! Do you not love me anymore?" The boy, defensively, "Crestwood is an hour and a half bus ride from Northwood, madam, where do I have so much time? Besides, haven’t I come whenever I had time? Don’t be mad, okay..." "Go away! If you loved me, you wouldn’t complain about the distance!" The girl shook off the boy’s hand, storming off, and the boy chased after her. Vincent Hawthorne watched the backs of the two, the sky in the distance painted with a large swath of flaming clouds at the sunset’s final splendor. So, Crestwood is an hour and a half bus ride from Northwood? During the two years he was with Tanya, he never went to Northwood University to see her, not even once. Each time, it was she who took the initiative to come to Crestwood to see him. Even if they had an appointment, he would not necessarily meet her every time. Sometimes he suddenly had something to do, or a friend suddenly invited him out... Tanya Sinclair’s priority was always at the bottom of his list. The reason he was so confident was that he knew Tanya would never be angry with him. She would never walk ahead of him in a huff like that girl’s partner, leaving him to chase after. Tanya would always trail behind him, no matter when he turned around, she would be there. She would look at him with a gentle smile, her eyes full of love. Only looking at him... Vincent sat in the car, not driving off immediately. He took out a cigarette and lit it up, smoking nearly half a pack in succession. In his mind, it was all scenes of Tanya throwing herself in front to block Declan for him. No matter what Declan’s ulterior motives were, Tanya was still on his side... Vincent frowned slightly. After finishing the last cigarette, he was about to drive home when he received a call. The caller ID displayed, Zane Shaw. Vincent was even more annoyed and directly hung up, but Zane Shaw patiently called a second time. With a blank expression, he answered, "Barrister Shaw, what can I do for you?" Zane Shaw: "President Hawthorne, you’re truly amusing, I am your ex-wife’s divorce attorney, of course, I’m reaching out to discuss divorce matters. The revised divorce agreement, I’ve already sent to your email, please review it." Vincent sneered: "Zane Shaw, you really go to great lengths to earn your agent fee. Let me tell you, Tanya Sinclair doesn’t genuinely want a divorce! She still has feelings for me!" He had seen many narcissistic men, but those who still couldn’t face reality even when their ex-wife filed for divorce were a rarity. Zane Shaw calmly said, "It’s your freedom to think that way; after all, fantasizing isn’t illegal. But let me remind you one last time, tomorrow is your last chance to divorce Ms. Sinclair peacefully." After tomorrow, his lawsuit would be filed to the court, and the court date would coincide with the day Vincent is kicked out of the board in the afternoon. Vincent directly hung up the call. Just as he reached the villa’s entrance, he received a call from Cindy Lynn, delivering some good news. "Vincent, Professor Carter agreed to collaborate with us, they will send representatives to the company tomorrow to sign the contract! Moreover, Professor Carter specifically requested me to join the core project Group A!" Cindy couldn’t hide her excitement. The gloomy expression Vincent wore all day finally lightened up. "That’s excellent. Well done, Cindy!" Indeed, Tanya had been out of touch for five years and was no longer the genius everyone vied for back then! Though at the time Ethan Carter seemed upset, he must have later realized Tanya’s current capabilities weren’t up to par, and decided she was of no use. Considering reality, he still chose to continue cooperating with Zenith Group! Cindy was even specially recruited into Group A! It seems he had underestimated Cindy’s capability all along; after years of training, she’s probably surpassed Tanya long ago! ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵✦𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖✦𝙣𝙚𝙩 "Vincent, didn’t you mention giving me a reward for securing this project?" Cindy cooed. She indeed eased one of his burdens, so Vincent asked, "What do you want?" "I wish for us four to have a dinner celebration tomorrow evening, just like we used to, at my favorite restaurant, okay?" Before Tanya woke up, since Joy especially relied on Cindy, he would bring Caden and Joy to dine with Cindy at a restaurant every week, like a family of four. "Sure." Vincent agreed, "I’ll also get you a gift, what would you like? Jewelry or a designer bag?" She warmly smiled, "As long as it’s from you, I’ll like it." Elsewhere in the night. Tanya Sinclair stood by the printer, printing out the family member and background information emailed by Cindy Lynn, one by one. A total of thirty pages. There were also photos of the three of them together! Tanya expressionlessly pulled out Sean Lynn’s photo, yet her fingertips couldn’t help but shake slightly. Twenty years on, he had aged, wrinkles of time accumulating on his face. While her mother, Charlotte Sinclair, remained forever twenty years ago! Tanya closed her eyes, suppressing the intense hatred rising in her chest, and used magnets to fix the three photos onto the background board. She reviewed the remaining information. As she expected, Cindy cherished the regained cooperation opportunity and accounted for The Lynn Family’s current assets in great detail. All these, originally belonged to The Sinclair Family! Now they have all changed to the name of Lynn! Twenty years ago, Sean Lynn bullied her as a child, taking advantage of her grandfather’s grief-induced collapse after her mother’s death to take everything from The Sinclair Family while he lay unconscious in the hospital! Tanya stared intently at the three photos, her gaze full of deep-seated hatred growing. "Sean Lynn, it’s been twenty years. I’m here to collect The Sinclair Family’s debt!"