Chapter 126 For Your Sake

Chapter 126 For Your Sake

He read through it several times, but still found it hard to accept what his grandmother had done.

Shawn sat there thinking for a long while before finally grabbing his car keys and driving to Old Grey Manor.

Brenda was sitting in the living room having tea. When she saw him arrive, she looked puzzled. "Why the sudden visit? How are things at the company?"

Shawn didn't answer. He simply handed her the document he was holding.

"Grandma, take a look at this."

Brenda glanced down, her expression freezing for a moment before quickly returning to calm.

She asked lightly, "Are you here to apologize?"

Watching Brenda's unhurried demeanor, Shawn felt his chest tighten with frustration.

His voice came out hoarse. "Grandma, why would you do this? He's always respected you, treated you like family. If you didn't like her, you could've just said so. Why resort to something like this?"

Brenda looked up at him and said bluntly, "Everything I've done has been for the Grey family. Ruth's background isn't good enough, and she can't have children. Her taking up the position of Mrs. Grey does nothing for the Grey family. Vivian may be trashy, but at least she's carrying your child. Once she's brought into the family, the Grey family heir will be secured."

Shawn's voice dripped with sarcasm. "So you schemed to have this woman get close to me?"

Brenda was silent for a few seconds before speaking. "You've had other women around you too. What's one more? Besides, I'm your grandmother—how could I possibly hurt you?"

Staring at that familiar face, Shawn suddenly felt like he was looking at a stranger.

In the end, he said nothing. He just turned and walked out of the manor, exhausted.

Some time passed.

Egged on by her friend Maggie, Vivian—her belly now visibly rounded—showed up at the Grey family estate once again.

Wearing a loose maternity dress, her eyes filled with determination, she ignored the guards' attempts to stop her and barged straight into the living room.

Brenda had thought it was Shawn. When she opened her eyes, she was surprised to see Vivian instead.

"What are you doing here?"

Vivian walked up to her. "Grandma, you promised me before that once I had this baby, you'd give me status. The baby's almost here now. Shouldn't you keep your promise? Make Shawn marry me and erase Ruth's name from the Grey family."

Brenda said flatly, "That's not my decision to make. You need to talk to Shawn."

Vivian bit her lip. "Shawn won't even see me right now. Grandma, you're the person he respects most. You're the only one who can convince him."

If she had any other options left, why would she come crawling to this old hag? If she'd known it would come to this, she should've focused on squeezing money out of them from the start.

Brenda looked up at her, her tone dismissive. "You're carrying the Grey family's child. He's not going to abandon you completely. If you keep making scenes like this, you'll only make him hate you more."

Standing there, watching Brenda's half-hearted response, Vivian steeled herself and asked directly, "Grandma, are you planning to throw me under the bus?"

Brenda said nothing.

Vivian's voice grew more agitated. "You're the one who told me to get close to Shawn in the first place! Now that things have blown up, you want to wash your hands of it? Don't think I won't go to the media and expose every dirty trick you pulled!"

Mrs. Grey's hand paused mid-sip. She hadn't expected to be threatened by someone so young.

"Vivian, how dare you speak to me like that!"

Vivian straightened her back. "Grandma, I just want what I'm owed. What's wrong with that?"

The living room fell silent for a few seconds.

Mrs. Grey lowered her gaze, thinking. If this got leaked online, it would only hurt the Grey family more.

She said, "I'll handle it. Now go home. Stop making a scene here."

Vivian had wanted to force Brenda to pressure Shawn into marrying her right now, but she realized that if things got too ugly, it would hurt them both in the end.

She gritted her teeth and reluctantly left.

Not long after she was gone, Brenda called Shawn. Her tone left no room for argument. "Shawn, Vivian's baby is almost due. You can't let that child be born into shame. Ruth is gone now. You need to think about yourself. Marry Vivian as soon as possible and give that child legitimacy."

Shawn felt like he was hearing things. Ruth had only been missing for a few months... and they still hadn't even found her body. Yet here his grandmother was, telling him to marry Vivian.

His voice was heavy. "Grandma, Ruth and I aren't divorced. She's only missing, not dead. Legally, our marriage still exists. If I marry Vivian now, that's bigamy."

Brenda's tone darkened. "Just file for a death certificate. Shawn, are you telling me you won't even listen to your own grandmother anymore?"

The two of them were at a standoff.

Shawn's position didn't waver. "Grandma, I won't hold what you've done against you. But if you're asking me to marry Vivian, that's never going to happen."

Brenda started to say something, but the call was already disconnected.

Staring at the ended call screen, Shawn figured Vivian must have gone to Brenda again to make trouble. Otherwise, why would his grandmother be calling him now?

That bitch.

He couldn't help wondering—if Brenda had deliberately sent Vivian to get close to him, had Ruth known about any of this?

If she'd known early on, then...

He didn't dare continue that line of thought. He muttered to himself, "Impossible... She couldn't have known about him and Vivian sleeping together."

Still, the priority now was to stop Vivian from causing more trouble.

He scrolled through his contacts and sent a message to someone.

The next day, not long after Vivian woke up, someone knocked on her apartment door.

Thinking Brenda had talked to Shawn and he'd come to discuss marriage, she opened the door—only to find two burly men standing there.

Without a word, they grabbed her and started dragging her out.

She immediately realized—these men had to be sent by Shawn.

Vivian screamed, "I want to see Shawn! Let me see him!"

No one answered. The car drove all the way to an inconspicuous private residence on the outskirts of New York, surrounded by high walls with guards posted at the entrance.

The place looked like an ordinary home, but in reality, it was a holding facility.

When Vivian was brought inside, she immediately spotted Shawn standing in the living room. Tears spilled down her face.

"Shawn, what is this? You're locking me up?"

Shawn's eyes were cold. "Stay here until the baby's born. You won't lack for food or shelter."

Vivian rushed toward him, her voice breaking into a furious shout. "All I want is to be recognized! And you're going to treat me like a prisoner?!"

Shawn yanked his hand away sharply.

"If you weren't carrying that child, I would've shipped you overseas already!"