156

"How is your father... Mr. Johnson doing recently?"

Amelia, Vaughn, and Vivienne were sitting at a street-side barbecue stall. After hearing this, Amelia took another bite of the grilled meat and said, "I heard he's doing quite well. After all, the detention center provides food and shelter, and it's safe with no one chasing after debts."

After causing a scene at the Scott family that day, Hayden was taken away by the police on charges of causing trouble and trespassing.

The Scott family held a special status, and the police responded immediately without the Scott family even needing to call.

Hayden was beaten up by Alexander's men before he could react and was then taken away in a police car. It was said that he caused quite a commotion inside, but Amelia didn't go to see him.

Vaughn breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

He knew how badly the Johnson family treated Amelia. When she was young and injured, they ignored her, and when she grew up, they even used him, a stranger, to threaten her. Vaughn felt angry for Amelia when he saw Hayden using a five-year-old child to make money online.

Fortunately, the matter was resolved quickly; otherwise, he would have had to step in to clear Amelia's name.

"I think it's great. Not being related to such a man is a relief!"

Vivienne said indignantly, looking at Amelia with eyes full of sympathy, "Amelia, you will definitely meet someone better in the future. Scum like him should stay inside and never come out!"

Amelia was amused by Vivienne.

What a pure-hearted person, as an orphan herself, worrying about others.

"Amelia, have you ever thought about finding out some information about your mother? Or looking for your biological father?"

Vaughn hesitated and tentatively asked this question.

Amelia looked at the two people across from her, both with serious expressions, and reluctantly put down the grilled meat in her hand.

To be honest, the barbecue place Vivienne recommended was really delicious, but the two people who said they were treating her had hardly eaten anything.

She took out a napkin to wipe her hands, her eyelashes slightly lowered, "These things, let fate decide."

In the past, Amelia would have bluntly said she wasn't interested in these things.

To her, her mother had only taken care of her until she was three years old before passing away, so whether she knew more or not didn't make much difference to her.

As for her father, there had been no news for over twenty years. Whether he was alive or not was uncertain, let alone the possibility that he might have remarried and had children.

Amelia herself lacked neither money nor love and had no interest in finding her father.

However—

"Amelia, there are speculations online that Mrs. Layla married Hayden for some hidden reason, but these comments were quickly censored."

"It's still that same unknown force."

Recalling what Samuel had told her, a sharp glint flashed in Amelia's lowered eyes.

She didn't care if her mother had any secrets. After all, her mother was dead, and even if there were, they were buried with her.

But clearly, some people didn't want these secrets to be just buried, or perhaps the secret involved her.

Currently, these messy people had already targeted her, and possibly even her children.

So she couldn't just ignore it.

Amelia raised her eyes, her face still showing the familiar smile to Vaughn and Vivienne.

"What's wrong, Vaughn? Do you have something to say?"

Vaughn hesitated, "It's not a very important clue, just some speculations from my parents that might help you in your investigation."

"It's okay, go ahead and say it."

Vaughn was Hayden's neighbor back home, so he might really know something.

Even some small clues could provide valuable information.

After the previous events, Vaughn had become more composed. He thought for a moment before slowly speaking, "According to my parents, your mother's appearance was very strange."

"At that time, there was only one road leading into the village, and no one saw when she entered. One day, my mom suddenly noticed a beautiful young girl in Hayden's yard."

"You know, our small village wasn't very developed, especially twenty years ago."

"At that time, there were cases of women being trafficked in nearby villages. When a beautiful woman suddenly appeared in Mr. Johnson's house, many people thought he was involved in such activities."

"Whether out of good intentions or bad, many people inquired about your mother's situation."

Vivienne, sitting on the side, was more nervous than Amelia, the person involved. She squeezed the beer can in her hand, deforming it. "So, was it trafficking?"

Vaughn glanced at her helplessly, "No."

"Hayden said she was a college classmate."

"My mom secretly asked Mrs. Scott if she was forced. After all, one looked like a rich person, and the other was a poor orphan with nothing but good looks."

"Mrs. Scott just said she was willing, and when asked further, she just smiled and said nothing more."

Vaughn looked at Amelia, who was smiling, and was momentarily dazed.

Many years ago, did Amelia's mother also smile like this, hiding her true thoughts?

"Was Mrs. Scott afraid to tell the truth?"

Vivienne, hearing this, was obviously not convinced and tugged at Vaughn's sleeve.

"Not really." Vaughn shook his head and continued, "My mom didn't believe Hayden at first, thinking they didn't seem very familiar. She had just married into the village and sometimes went to chat with Mrs. Scott. I specifically asked her if there was anything unusual."

"She thought for a long time and said that apart from looking unwell and pale, Mrs. Scott was just a beautiful woman who didn't like going out."

"Hayden didn't restrict Mrs. Scott's movements, but apart from occasionally going to the hospital, she was hardly seen by the villagers."

"Over time, the villagers believed they really knew each other. Not long after, they got married and moved to the city, and people stopped talking about it."

After finishing, Vaughn took a deep breath, "After learning about your situation online, I went home overnight to ask my parents. This is all I know. I hope it helps."

Amelia was thoughtful.

According to Vaughn, there were many doubts.

Why would a rich family's daughter suddenly appear in a small village?

Why would someone who was healthy and rarely sick look so pale?

And according to Vaughn, Layla met Hayden at 22 and soon got married.

But she disappeared from Silverlight City at 20.

So it was impossible that she left home impulsively for Hayden, her "lover."

What happened during those two years?

Why didn't she return home all these years?

One mystery after another spread like a fog in Amelia's mind.

It was not easy for her to live a peaceful life with children.

Seeing the worried expressions of the couple across from her, Amelia pushed aside these chaotic thoughts and smiled at them, "The information is very useful."

"Enough about me. What are your plans?"

"Vivienne will be going abroad soon, and you two will be in a long-distance relationship."

Mentioning this, Vaughn had mixed feelings. His girlfriend didn't know Professor Rowem's identity, but he did. It was the young Amelia sitting across from them!

But it seemed Amelia didn't plan to let Vivienne know about this, so he didn't mention it either.

"Long-distance isn't a problem. We were attracted to each other's souls from the start, so distance doesn't matter much to us."

"Besides, I'm planning to apply for studying abroad too."

Vaughn held Vivienne's hand, and they smiled at each other.

They met when Vaughn exposed academic fraud. Vivienne was one of the first to believe in Vaughn and constantly supported him online.

Over time, they naturally got together and progressed together.

This time, they would progress together again.