Chapter 255

Chapter 255

"Liam," I called out, "if I said I'm doing this for myself, would you believe me?"

Liam looked at me with confusion, clearly unconvinced.

I pushed past Liam and walked toward the conference room window.

The Smith Group's building had been moved more than a few times before finally ending up where it is now.


The thirty-third floor.

Looking down from this height, I felt how small everything else was.

I asked, "Liam, do you remember those hardest years for the Smith Group? The office back then wasn't as spacious and bright as it is now."

Liam didn't get why I suddenly brought it up, but he still played along. "Of course I remember," he said.


"The Smith Group was really struggling back then. I owed a lot of money. If you hadn't helped me, I probably wouldn't have been able to keep going."

"I remember too," I said. "Back then, I really treated the Smith Group as another home for you and me. It wasn't just you who poured effort into the Smith Group."

I turned around and looked straight at him. "I did too."

"In my heart, the Smith Group is also my child."

Liam was moved by my words.

"So you should understand what I mean. I'm not just helping you, I'm also helping myself," I said. "There aren't that many feelings between us now."

I stopped myself and said something else instead: "Other things... we can talk about them later. Now just isn't the right time."


"Besides, you're the CEO of the Smith Group, and I'm not only the general manager of the Sullivan family, I'm also the heiress of the Davis family. We can discuss business cooperation, but as for other things..."

I was about to continue when I saw the hurt in Liam's eyes.

I hesitated, and ultimately didn't say what I'd planned to say.


Liam nodded bitterly, his eyes lowering as he said in a calm tone, "I understand. Maybe you'll think I'm not qualified, but I want to tell you, no matter when, I'll wait for you."

I smiled and agreed.

Liam still had things to handle, and I didn't stay any longer. I turned and left.

I didn't look back, but as I entered the elevator, I saw Liam standing at the door watching me the whole time, his expression complicated, his eyes holding too many things I couldn't understand.

After leaving the Smith Group, I'd planned to rest properly.

Lately, I'd been completely worn out, too many things piling up in my head and no time to make sense of any of it.


Just then, Annie sent me a message.

A photo with text below it.

Annie: [Sis, with official help, we've cracked a new page of the nanny's ledger, but it's all garbled code with no clear answer. But I just had someone decode it for me, and it's a string of text that says the real buyer wasn't Scarlett, but someone from the Sullivan family.]

Looking at this text in broad daylight, I felt cold all over.

The Sullivan family?

After all this investigating, I'd traced it back to my own family?

I wanted to reply to Annie, but my fingers were shaking too much.

Finally I forced myself to send Annie a message: [Can you find out who it was?]

Annie didn't reply for a long time.

I could only put away my phone and walk home in a daze.

The whole way, I was distracted, constantly pulling out my phone, waiting for Annie's reply.

But Annie still hadn't responded.

It wasn't until evening that Annie finally messaged me back: [Based on the current ledger, it seems to be Max Sullivan. However, I can't be certain. I'm still having people investigate. Sis, if there's any news, I'll let you know right away.]

Upon seeing this message, I was shocked.

Max?

My own grandfather?

Even though I didn't know back then that Max was my grandfather, a lot of people in the city already knew who he was.


He died about five years ago.

I remember it clearly because his funeral was very grand, with many big shots paying their respects.

Even though the public had only ever seen him in black-and-white photos, he still came across as kind and gentle, clearly a good man.


Max was widely regarded as a philanthropic businessman who devoted himself to charitable causes.

But now Annie was telling me that Max had very likely been the one who sold me off to the organization behind Scarlett.


This was simply shocking to me.

Was the allure of eternal life really that powerful?

I just felt it was absurd and laughable.

If eternal life truly existed in this world, it would only prove that human history was a lie.

If rebirth were real, why would these monarchs be buried in cold earth?

Technology might change people's lives and ways of living, but it can't change natural laws.

Birth, aging, sickness, and death—these are natural laws.

Even a top-tier family like the Sullivan family couldn't see through these illusions?

If what Annie said was true, then Ryder's madness made perfect sense.

It was often said like father, like son.

If Max was like this, how much better could Ryder be?

But was this true or false?

And what about the photo Albert gave me, who was that man with the snake tattoo?

Did Theo and Zoey know about any of this?

I felt questions flashing through my mind one after another.

I couldn't figure it out.

Just then, the doorbell suddenly rang.

I jumped, instinctively standing up and looking toward the door.

Through the electronic monitor, I could clearly see Patrick's face.

My heart inexplicably tightened.

What was Patrick doing here at this time?

Had he discovered something too? Or did he have something to tell me?

I felt uneasy, but still opened the door.

Patrick looked at me and asked, "Can I come in? There are some things I want to tell you."

"Come in," I tried to stay calm, but my eyes couldn't help scanning him up and down.

I noticed right away that Patrick was carrying a pretty full bag, no idea what was in it.


"Sit here," I pointed to the sofa, asking casually, "What would you like to drink?"

"Water is fine." Patrick seemed distracted, answering casually.

After getting him some water, I sat down across from him and asked, "So you came all the way here, is there something you needed to tell me?"


Patrick took a sip of water, then spoke with a serious expression: "I have something to show you."

With that, he pulled a box from his bag and pushed it in front of me.

My pupils contracted.

This box was identical to the ones Liam and Albert had given me before!

"How do you have this?" I didn't open it immediately, but asked cautiously.

Patrick said helplessly, "I saw this thing a long time ago, but I never opened it all these years and didn't think much of it."