"Right, you inherited the SY Group, and Robert's the heir to the Simpson family. With his personality, of course he'd want to see you.
"Robert's father told me that even when I was a bastard daughter nobody wanted, old man Powell always knew who I was. He never planned on adopting me, because I was just a normal person. No special ability, no value in being used. But after I got together with Aidan, he connected with him right away, and Robert's father also set my identity up at the Powell family. I might have forgotten the past over the last twenty years and I haven't treated the Powell family as my own family. It's a family with clearly defined ranks and profits.
"The old man looks for ability and talent in certain businesses. Only those people are treated as members of the Powell family in his eyes. People like me, who only had a relationship with Robert's father, only get a sidelong look in the end. You know how powerful the SY Group is. To maintain business with the Powell family, he also talked with a bastard daughter like me, whom he never saw as worthy. He put in some feigned affection and fatherly love, but I was always sensitive. I knew how much he really felt for me, so I never got close to the other Powells. It's only because Aston left the family, and Emilia isn't the same as the other Powell children, that I got close to some members of the younger generation."
Laurie and Carr had never said those words before Georgia.
Casey, though, was spilling all the beans about the relationships of interest and profit in the Powell family.
"Officially, the Powell family only has two sons. One is Aston's father, Carr, who's your first uncle. You've met his wife Laurie. These two are good people and Carr is a surgeon. With all the medical research facilities under the Powell family, Aston's father mainly deals with this segment of business, including some research centers.
"Your second uncle would be Emilia's father. His name is Oscar Powell. He graduated with a business degree and is good at running enterprises. He's mainly responsible for global hotel chains, seafaring equipment, and several large-scale entertainment companies. As for how much of the Powell family business he has control over, I don't know. Aside from the research facilities and hospitals, a lot of the rest goes to your second uncle. I can't say much about his personality. Your first uncle, Aston's father, always kept a gentlemanly, elegant attitude. But your second uncle always looks cold and rarely stays in the family. He flies everywhere almost every day. Going to this country to buy up a business one moment, and going to another country for a meeting the next. He's so busy he's almost invisible throughout the year, and he might only be back to see the family and relatives just once during the holidays.
"Emilia isn't close to her father, because Emilia's also someone who likes travelling all over the world. Father and daughter probably only speak several times throughout the year, and they aren't that close. As for Emilia's mother, she's your typical quiet wife and good mother. She stays in the Powell family most days and doesn't get too involved in lavish banquets. She likes to keep potted plants at home, and she's a gentle soul, but hard to approach, since she's on guard to other people.
"Other than that, you also have an aunt. Her name is Sally Powell. She's a few months older than me and has a daughter by the name of Tammy Wilkes. Look out for these two. They're arrogant and always look down on people. As a bastard daughter, they usually mock me whenever they see me. I haven't seen either of them the past few years. I hear there's been some issues with the Wilkes family business and they need help from the Powell family. If you go over to see the old man at the Powell household, you might come across them."
Georgia nodded, growing restless.
She didn't have any conflicts of interest with the Powell family and she was one of the ultra-wealthy now, having about equal status with the Powells. But she felt like she was getting embroiled in the troubles of family struggles.
What sort of drama was going to happen if she met with the old man of the Powells?
Georgia was still pondering when her mother spoke again.
"With a bastard daughter like me, the old man has to have other bastard children. I don't know the others and I don't know if he's accepted more into the family. Because of Robert's father, the Powells are relatively polite to me, and no one's come looking for trouble... after you head to the Powell household, if anyone tries to put you down, no need to put up with it. I'm guessing the old man wants to improve relations with you. You're married to Robert now, after all, and Aidan's SY Group is now in your hands. He wouldn't look to offend you."
Georgia couldn't help but explain Wesley's situation. After going through the sequence of events, she turned to her mother dubiously.
"I don't understand. If Lucas and Wesley were the same person, why would the old man put Lucas near him? He must know who Lucas' mother is, but he just had to bring him back. Can you guess why the old man did that, mom?"
"I heard about this before. Emilia's father Oscar was in charge of most of the goings-on for the subordinate organizations, and he ran it well. But Emilia was a girl, and Oscar seemed to have been wounded somewhere, and can't give birth anymore. She's the only descendant he left, but the old man is a full patriarch and feels like the heir has to be a boy. So he put all his hopes on Aston. But you know as well that Aston just up and left the Powells a few years ago to carve out his own path. The old man has a reputation to keep and couldn't possibly ask Aston to come back and inherit the family. With Aston's personality, he couldn't possibly come back either. So the Powells are left without the heir he wants.
"It wasn't that the old man hasn't' tried to force Aston's parents to give them another child, but as good of a kid as your Uncle Carr had been, he never compromised on this. He just let it drag on and said to go with the flow. The old man even tried to force them to get a surrogate mother, which drew great resistance from Carr. Aston had already left the family, and your uncle didn't care whether or not he left either. So the old man finally compromised on his end. I hear he's been looking for Powell descendants all these years. Maybe his bastard children had children of their own. Lucas was a boy, so he took him back to keep him and see if he could raise him as his successor. Other than Lucas, I hear he's picked up other children before, but sent them away not long afterwards. Those are just rumors, though, and I don't know if the speculation is correct."
"Then let's disregard whether Wesley and Lucas are the same person. You're saying that Lucas definitely has a blood relationship with the old man, and even almost got developed into his successor. Then Lucas went missing, and that came to a halt...
"If Wesley and Lucas are the same person now, then, that means that Wesley's mother might have something to do with the Powell family, like me, right?"
Georgia asked, and Casey nodded heavily. She held her daughter's hand, worried.
"You say that Robert lost his memory and I can tell that he truly loves you. But neither of you know who Wesley's mother is, and her identity is seeming more convoluted than over. Would that person be important enough to affect your relationship?"
"That's what I'm worried about. I don't doubt Robert's feelings, but Wesley's mother was from six years ago and Robert can't remember if he loved any other woman before. I'm worried that if he remembers how important that woman is, even if it wasn't love, she might have devoted a lot to him. That might be troublesome. I know what Robert is like. He looks decisive and calm, but he always tries to make it up to people who genuinely protect him. He's a big softie."
Mother and daughter started sighing. That was too heavy a topic, like an unsolved mystery.
No matter how they speculated, they couldn't relax.
The two were about to say something else when Georgia saw Robert take the two kids' hands and walk on over.
"Ivan's here."
Robert smiled. Georgia took her mother's hand and led her to the living room.
Ivan's friend ran the research facility they were headed too, so Ivan had promised to come together for the checkup.
They'd been planning on getting the tickets together, but he'd had business in the country and let it delay towards today.
The group walked to the living room. Georgia found the atmosphere in there a little awkward. Emilia and Ivan sat facing each other, both of them looking down without speaking.
There was a cup of tea in front of Ivan that he hadn't touched.
As the group arrived, the silence broke.
"Has your friend scheduled the time yet?"