Chapter 463: A Guest

Upon hearing the news, Martha remained silent, embracing Cecilia and gently patting her back. Cecilia swallowed back her tears. "So, she's been deceiving me and Dad all along," she whispered. In the past, Cecilia had felt guilty about her birth causing her mother to relinquish her career. Her father often reminisced, "Your mother was stunningly beautiful on stage in her youth, the epitome of every man's dream. I feel like I held her back." Even until his death, Dad believed he had let her down. Yet, she had likely been unfaithful from the start. Martha never expected Paula to be such a person. "There's no justice in this world," she murmured.

"Ceci," Martha said softly, "such individuals aren't worth our sorrow."

"Mmm-hmm," Cecilia nodded. "I just can't believe she's my biological mother." Long ago, Cecilia had undergone a DNA test—confirming Paula's parentage. But why, she wondered, was Paula so biased, so harsh toward her, despite both being her daughters? Some questions, Cecilia realized, might remain unanswered. Determined to reclaim what was rightfully hers from the Evans family, Cecilia insisted on further investigating Paula's past.

Elliot appeared in the doorway. "Mommy, Granny Martha, what's wrong?" Cecilia quickly disengaged from Martha's embrace, concealing her distress. "It's nothing," she said. "Just chatting with Granny Martha."

"Oh," Elliot feigned ignorance. "Then why don't you chat downstairs? We have guests."

Guests? At this hour? "Who is it?" Cecilia asked.

"Someone who's the spitting image of Uncle Nathaniel."

Nicholas?

After helping Martha to lie down, Cecilia instructed Elliot to remain upstairs before descending herself.

In the living room, Nicholas sat on the couch, his long legs outstretched, clad in a black coat. He looked up as he heard footsteps. Cecilia's calm presence met his gentle gaze.

"Cecilia," he greeted, ignoring Elliot's presence.

Unlike Nicholas's composure, Cecilia's was far from indifferent. "Nicholas," she asked politely, "are you here to see Nathaniel? He's out working." Her polite greeting subtly acknowledged their relationship. Nicholas's eyes darkened slightly, though his expression remained unchanged.

"I came to see how you and my brother are settling in. Do you need anything?"

"No," Cecilia replied, then added thoughtfully, "However, you're now CEO of Orion Corporation. Could you transfer the contract payment Nathaniel signed to the client?" She felt Nathaniel, being reserved, wouldn't bring it up himself. She didn't want to be burdened by his massive debt.

Nicholas looked confused. "What payment?" He immediately corrected himself, realizing something. "Did Nathaniel misunderstand? Even though I've taken over Orion, thirty percent of its shares still belong to him."

Thirty percent? A substantial amount! Cecilia was bewildered. "Didn't Nathaniel sign a contract giving you all his shares?"

Nicholas had received the shares, but explained, "On the surface, it appears that way, but the company will distribute shares according to the original allotment to Nathaniel. Didn't he tell you?"

Cecilia felt she needed to clarify this with Nathaniel. "I wasn't aware of this."

"After marriage," Nicholas said, taking a sip of water, "it's best to have a clear understanding of shared property. If it were me, I certainly wouldn't hide anything from my wife."