Chapter 163

Vivienne entered her grandfather's car, stealing a glance at him. She noted the slight sternness in his expression and obediently greeted, "Good evening, Grandpa."

"Something so serious happened, and you didn't even think to call me?" Benjamin huffed, but despite his scolding tone, his eyes held an unmistakable glimmer of concern.

Vivienne, sensing he wasn't truly upset, flashed a bright smile. "I didn't want to worry you, Grandpa. Besides, look at me—I'm perfectly fine." She wrapped her arm around him, resting her head on his shoulder, her voice laced with playful affection. "Grandpa, don't be mad. I promise it won't happen again."

Benjamin looked down at his granddaughter, and for a moment, it was as if he were seeing his beloved daughter. His cloudy eyes softened, and he gently ran his fingers through her silky hair. "You really do take after your mother."

Vivienne's smile faltered. It had been a long time since anyone had mentioned her mother. Both her uncles and grandfather avoided the topic, as if silence could erase the painful truth of her absence.

"Do you miss her, Grandpa?" she asked softly, gently clasping his hand.

To her surprise, Benjamin shook his head. "I've never felt like she's gone. She's always been with me."

Shortly after they arrived at the Sinclair mansion, the other three men of the household returned. They gathered in Benjamin's study. Benjamin sat, his hands resting on his cane, his gaze fixed on an oil painting depicting a forest bathed in the golden light of the setting sun, a lone deer standing at its entrance, as if silently guiding—or perhaps warning—those who dared to step forward. The painting, though not the work of a renowned artist, but of Hailey, the cherished Sinclair daughter, held a strange, almost haunting allure.

In the quiet, Cameron, the eldest, spoke first. "I've erased everything to keep Vivienne out of trouble."

"Have you figured out who's behind the reporters?" Benjamin asked, his gaze sweeping across his sons and grandson. His voice was steady but sharp.

Sinclair answered, "They admitted they were following Natalie Chambers' orders."

Benjamin reclined, setting his cane aside, and toyed with the jade ring on his thumb, his expression hardening. "Now that we know, you understand what needs to be done, right?"

The Chambers family, a small concern in the face of the Sinclair family's vast influence, was hardly worth a second glance. But Natalie's reckless targeting of Vivienne would have consequences. She thought she was acting in the shadows, but in Lyhaton, under the Sinclair family's watchful eyes, there were no secrets.

Sinclair nodded. "By tomorrow, the Chambers family will be all over the front page." His voice was unnervingly calm, carrying a chilling certainty. In the cutthroat business world, the Chambers family's survival of the financial crisis was a testament to experience, not chance.

Benjamin turned to his grandson, Owen. "Handle Brevard quickly, so we don't face more complications."

"Understood!" Owen responded.