Chapter 159
Amelia struggled to accept the situation. "If Joanna hadn’t taken the man my mother loved, would Mom have lost her mind like that?" Amelia thought bitterly.
If her daughter had been bullied in that manner, she would have regarded them as enemies and severed all connections. Yet, the Hughes family maintained their relationship with the Meyers family, and their daughters even became close friends.
Amelia could no longer hold back her anger. She turned to Edith and asked sharply, “What is Giovanna like?”
Edith winked playfully. “Giovanna is my best friend, but my aunt and the rest of the family have no idea,” she said, a mischievous glint in her eye. She was thrilled to have made a secret friend.
Hearing this, Amelia frowned. “So they’ve been keeping this friendship a secret? That means Giovanna and Edith have been acting behind their families' backs, without the elders knowing,” she thought.
However, as Amelia reflected on Edith’s past fashion missteps, she felt a twitch in her eye. ‘Could it be that Giovanna is just as lacking in taste?’ she pondered.
“Edith,” Amelia inquired, “what does Giovanna look like? Do you have a photo of her?”
“Sure,” Edith grinned as she pulled out her phone. With a confident smirk, she began scrolling through her photos to share with Amelia.
“Giovanna and I have been classmates since kindergarten,” Edith said excitedly. “We stuck together throughout elementary, middle, and high school. Even though we attended different universities, we both studied traditional medicine and always stayed in touch–secretly, behind our families' backs.”
Edith chattered away, her face radiant with excitement. Amelia couldn’t shake the feeling that something was amiss.
To her surprise, Giovanna bore a striking resemblance to Amelia, with similar features and icy beauty. Despite Giovanna’s great taste, Amelia questioned why she always dressed Edith in such tacky outfits and wondered if it was intentional.
Amelia’s heart raced, leaving her momentarily speechless. Edith was the purest and innocent girl she had ever met. After experiencing betrayal in love and friendships, she felt a complete loss of her sense of beauty.
Edith asked with concern, “Amy, Daniel mentioned that you’re Catherine’s daughter, which means you’re also part of the Hughes family. When will you be going back to Lunova to meet them?”
“I…” Amelia sighed and shook her head. “I’m not going back.”
“Ah?” Edith was stunned. “But they are your family!”
“My husband is everything I need,” Amelia stated firmly.
Velmira’s incident caused quite a stir in Lunova, and the Hughes family must have been aware of it. Yet, not one of them reached out to her. Their cold indifference spoke volumes. She had no intention of approaching them awkwardly when they were so distant towards her.
Edith, displaying rare insight for once, gently asked, “Amy, are you worried that the Hughes family won’t accept you?”
“No,” replied Amelia, offering a slight smile.
“Why is that?” Edith asked, genuinely confused.
Amelia smiled and said, “Life is too short; we must live for ourselves.”
Edith looked confused and said with innocent certainty, “Giovanna is nice. She must not know about you yet–otherwise, she would have come to find you by now.”
“We’ll see if she ever comes looking for me,” Amelia said with a wry smile, shaking her head.
Amelia thought, ‘Silly Edith, they betrayed you and you are still grateful!’
She thought, ‘If Giovanna were truly a good friend, she wouldn’t have shaped Edith into such a gaudy mess! What is the Hughes family’s attitude towards the Meyers family? And what about me?’ She felt a mix of curiosity and unease.
Just because she chose not to acknowledge the Hughes family didn’t mean she could completely ignore them; after all, they were her mother’s relatives.
“Mrs. Kingsley!” At that moment, a burly stranger stepped in front of them, blocking their path.
Amelia immediately tensed, positioning herself to shield Edith while preparing her concealed weapons! “Who are you?” she demanded sharply.
“You must have heard of me, Mrs. Kingsley. I’m Carlo Baker,” Carlo said, sizing Amelia up with a broad, forced smile.
Amelia’s face paled in shock. “You’re the one who purchased my family’s antiques?”
“That’s right,” Carlo nodded. “It’s been a long time, Mrs. Kingsley. So your family has moved to Norava, huh? Do you have any more antiques you’d like to sell?”
Instead of answering, Amelia responded sharply, “What happened to all those antiques you bought from my family back then?”
In a place like Pinecrest, someone truly invested a significant amount to acquire several antiques from Walter. Amelia thought, ‘There’s definitely more to him than meets the eye!’
“Where there are buyers, there are sellers. Naturally, everything went to the highest bidder–I sold them all,” Carlo said with a grin as he assessed Amelia. “You do resemble your mother a lot.”
A chill surged from Amelia’s feet to her heart, every nerve in her body tensing for a fight. “You knew my mother?” she demanded, her voice as sharp as steel. “How did she die?”
“How would I know? I’m just an antiques dealer.” Carlo’s gaze quickly moved past Amelia and fixed on Edith, a sly smile creeping onto his lips. “That young lady possesses such distinguished elegance. Does she happen to have any antiques to sell?”
Edith was surprised. ‘Many people used to describe me as elegant, and I believed them. But after escaping Lunova, I realized they were being sarcastic! Even with Amelia’s help today, I know I’m not elegant at all.’
“No,” Edith replied. Sensing Amelia’s unease, she instinctively moved closer to her. Leaning in, Edith whispered nervously, “Could he be someone my family sent to find me?”
“No way!” Amelia whispered urgently. “If he were part of your family, your aunt would have known about me and my mother a long time ago.”
Edith grew tense. “So… Is he after you?”
“Don’t worry,” Amelia reassured Edith before turning to Carlo with a serious expression. “You’ve already met Walter Edwards, haven’t you?”
“Yeah. He mentioned you’d pay a high price to reclaim those old antiques, and he sent me here to strike it rich,” Carlo said with a sly grin. “So, Mrs. Kingsley, are you truly serious about getting those pieces back?”
“Yes,” Amelia said confidently. “If you can help make the deal happen, I’ll give you a 10% cut.”
The antiques were worth a fortune–even just a small cut would amount to a hefty sum. Carlo’s eyes sparkled with greed at the thought of such a substantial profit. With a hungry grin, he eagerly stated, “With your word, Mrs. Kingsley, I’m fully energized. Just ensure the funds are ready, and I’ll bring you good news soon.”
“I don’t need to worry about the money–the Kingsley family will take care of it,” Amelia said.
“Deal!” Carlo said with a grin, casually waving before walking away.
Amelia let out a deep sigh of relief and leaned against Edith’s shoulder. “Let’s go home–now,” she said, her voice still a bit shaky.
“Alright,” Edith replied. Although she was still confused, she quickly steadied Amelia and assisted her.
In the Hughes family, Giovanna, who was tall and strikingly beautiful, bowed respectfully to the elders seated at the head of the room. Her features bore a resemblance to Amelia, and she carried herself with grace and confidence that would rival any man.
“Grandpa, Dad!” she greeted.
“Is that you back already?” Scott slowly lifted his heavy eyelids. Despite the cloudiness of his age-worn eyes, they still shimmered with keen intelligence. “I had to call you back on such short notice–hope it didn’t disrupt your studies?”
Giovanna nodded respectfully. “As soon as I received your call, Grandpa, I promptly arranged for the handover of my academic responsibilities with my advisor. It will not impact my studies.”
“Very well,” Scott said, nodding slowly as he gestured for Aarav to continue.
Aarav, who was Catherine’s elder brother and the current head of the Hughes family, was sixty-seven years old.
While the elite often maintain their youthful appearance, Aarav stood in stark contrast to them. His weathered face and frail demeanor made him appear a full decade older than his actual age.
“Gio, go to Norava and quietly observe Amelia,” Aarav instructed. “She’s your aunt’s youngest daughter.”
Giovanna gasped in shock. “Didn’t Aunt pass away?”
“Your aunt faked her death back then to escape the Zuckerberg family,” Aarav said with a heavy sigh. “But I never expected that after going through it, she would completely disappear.” If he had known how things would turn out, he would never have agreed to his sister’s desperate request to stage that elaborate death ruse.
“Dad,” Giovanna was momentarily taken aback, but chose not to inquire further. After a brief pause, Giovanna collected herself and asked, “Dad, should I bring her back this time?”
“No, go quietly and just observe her–make sure she doesn’t see you,” Aarav said. “We still don’t know who her biological father is, so for now, we can’t recognize her as family.”
“Alright,” Giovanna replied solemnly, accepting the mission.
“I’ll also send a few people with you to discreetly investigate a man named Carlo. He has purchased all of your aunt’s engagement gifts, and I suspect Porter may have planted him,” Aarav continued.
Giovanna was once again taken aback. “How could it possibly be him?”
“Or maybe it isn’t him. But…” Aarav stroked his beard thoughtfully, pausing as if weighing his words with caution. “Regardless, you should investigate. Your brothers stand out too much in Lunova–you’re the one who stays under the radar, so it will be easier for you.”
“Don’t worry, Grandpa and Dad. I promise I won’t let you down!” Giovanna said.