Chapter 61
My heart raced, and for a moment, I didn't know how to answer.
After the public humiliation, I couldn't easily bring myself to ask Octavius to be near me in such a public setting again.
I couldn't help but ask, "Do you want to come?"
Octavius paused. "Do you want me to come?"
I fell silent again.
In matters like this, I couldn't help but be cautious.
After all, Octavius had been hurt by me in front of everyone.
And Octavius's grandfather, he had a heart attack because I had publicly humiliated Octavius.
For both emotional and logical reasons, I couldn't bring myself to ask Octavius to come to my birthday party.
I stammered, "Octavius, maybe... maybe you shouldn't come."
The moment the words left my mouth, I could feel Octavius's breath catch on the other end of the line.
I quickly explained, "It's not that I don't want to see you. It's just that there will be a lot of people, and you probably don't like those kinds of occasions."
"You have no right to say whether I like it or not. What makes you think I wouldn't like it?"
With that, Octavius hung up.
My heart tightened.
Was he angry again?
I quickly wanted to go downstairs, but the car had already left the tree-lined path.
When I called back, Octavius didn't answer.
He just sent me a message.
[You've got some nerve.]
I looked at the message, biting my lip.
Could it be that Octavius actually wanted to come to my birthday party?
I gripped my phone and immediately replied.
[Octavius, I'll come find you tomorrow. Let's talk in person.]
I decided to go to Octavius and explain everything face to face.
But that wasn't enough.
Even if Octavius wanted to come to the party and didn't mind, the Capulet family certainly wouldn't feel the same.
To avoid a repeat of last time, I also planned to visit Nolan at the sanatorium tomorrow.
It was settled.
With my mind made up, I went to take a shower and rest.
The next day.
I woke up to an email.
It was from Octavius's assistant.
There was only one name in the email.
[Orion Whitaker.]
So, the reason Amara had discovered the hidden virtual account and knew how to crack it with hacking techniques was because Orion was behind it?
But he was dead.
I suddenly remembered the party the family had thrown for Brielle's return to the Whitaker family.
At that party, Heath had lamented that while the whole family was gathered, his cousin Orion had died young and couldn't witness his daughter's return.
This Orion was not only Heath's distant cousin but also a family butler he had trusted deeply.
That's why Heath often brought it up during family gatherings.
But how could a dead man help Amara with something like this? And how could he be involved with Amara?
The more I thought about it, the more something felt wrong. I was wide awake.
No, I had to find a way to investigate this.
With a heavy heart, I went downstairs and saw Amara and Brielle eating in the living room.
They both looked displeased to see me. Brielle even rolled her eyes, not even bothering to pretend anymore.
But Heath hadn't left for the company yet, so they didn't dare to be openly hostile towards me.
I walked over calmly, deliberately sitting opposite Amara, and sighed heavily.
Amara immediately found an opportunity, frowning in displeasure. "It's a perfectly good morning. What are you sighing about with such a long face! You'll sigh all the good luck away."
I feigned obedience and forced a smile. "I'll be more careful next time. It's just that I had a particularly unlucky nightmare last night. I dreamt of a deceased elder."
Heath, adjusting his tie, walked over and asked curiously, "A deceased elder? Who?"
I said, word by word, "Uncle Orion."
As soon as I spoke, I saw in my peripheral vision that Amara had frozen.
Brielle, on the other hand, had no reaction, even frowning slightly, as if she didn't remember who that was.
I had my answer.
It seemed Amara and Orion were indeed very close, otherwise, her reaction wouldn't have been so strong.
It was even more likely that Octavius's investigation was correct, and this Orion was still alive.
"Why did you suddenly dream of him?"Heath had also clearly thought of his cousin and sighed along with me. "So many years have passed. He's been gone for a long time. Few people mention him anymore. I didn't expect you to dream of him. It must be fate."
"Yes, I think so too. Dad, do you think this dream could be some kind of omen?"I rested my chin on my hand, looking innocent. "I heard Uncle Orion died in a car accident, crashed into the sea, and they couldn't even find his body. I dreamt he was dead, so maybe the dream is the opposite. Maybe he's still alive."
The moment I finished speaking, Amara put down her coffee cup and frowned at me."What nonsense are you talking about? He's been dead for so many years. How could he still be alive?"
Heath was displeased. "Seraphine's words weren't offensive to Orion. Why do you keep scolding her? It seems you weren't sincere when you apologized yesterday and are taking it out on Seraphine because you feel wronged."
"No."Amara's expression was unnatural for a moment, then she smiled. "I just think we should respect the dead. It's better not to speak carelessly."
Heath snorted lightly and said no more, nodding to me. "I'm leaving now."
"Okay, Dad. There's not much to do today. I'll go to the company this afternoon."
I stood up and smiled as I saw him off.
As soon as he was gone, Brielle couldn't wait to say, "Seraphine is really a natural at sucking up. Now that Dad has let you into the company, you're desperately trying to please him."
"If I don't please my own father, should I please you? It's good enough that you're not digging a pit to bury me in."
I retorted without hesitation and sat down to continue my breakfast.
Amara, however, seemed distracted, frequently looking at me as if she had something to say.
I deliberately met her gaze and asked curiously, "Mom, why aren't you eating? Why do you keep staring at me?"
Amara was thoughtful. "Did you really dream of Orion?"
"Yes, how could I lie about that? Otherwise, I wouldn't have suddenly brought him up for no reason."
I looked at her with a half-smile. "Mom, are you familiar with Uncle Orion? I heard he was already gone when you came to the Whitaker family. You probably never met, right?"
Amara's eyes flickered, and she subconsciously looked away, saying casually, "How could I be familiar with him? I don't know him at all. I only know he was your dad's former butler and also his distant cousin."
"I see."I nodded and said nonchalantly, "Alright, I'm full. I'm going out to run some errands."
With that, I grabbed my bag and left.
Once I was in the car outside, I slowly exhaled, seeing Amara in the living room with a grave expression, lost in thought.
Brielle seemed to notice her distraction, shaking her arm with a look of deep curiosity.
I stopped looking at them.
I had already found out what I needed to.
It seemed Amara and Orion were indeed very close.
And nine times out of ten, Orion was really not dead and had some shady dealings with Amara behind the scenes.