CHAPTER 34: CHAPTER 34: THE HAWTHORNE FAMILY’S NINE GENERATIONS OF SOLE HEIRS

Caden Hawthorne was silent for a moment and said slowly, "I’m good to you because I have a responsibility to take care of you and the baby."

Vivian Lynch’s eyes flashed with a hint of disappointment. She lowered her head and softly asked, "Is it only because of the child?"

Seeing her dejected look, Caden felt a slight stir in his heart, but he still didn’t say anything else.

"Get some rest." After saying this, he turned and left the room.

Vivian Lynch watched the closed door, her heart filled with bitterness. She knew she shouldn’t have too much expectation; their relationship was just a contract marriage, and Caden’s kindness to her was only because of the child.

However, she couldn’t help but feel somewhat sad in her heart.

Sitting on the bed and gazing at the grapes in the fruit bowl, Vivian’s mind was filled with a thousand thoughts.

Just as she was feeling down, her phone rang again.

She picked up the phone and saw it was a call from Finn Lynch.

Vivian Lynch’s expression instantly turned gloomy. She didn’t want to answer Finn’s call but worried that he might do something excessive.

Finn’s voice carried a hint of entreaty. "Sis, I know I was wrong. I shouldn’t have threatened you; I did it out of desperation. Please forgive me!"

Vivian coldly replied, "Do you think a simple apology is enough?"

Finn quickly said, "Sis, I know I was wrong. I promise I won’t bother you anymore. Please help me, I’m truly at wit’s end."

Vivian furrowed her brow, "What are you actually up to?"

Finn sighed and said, "I owe someone money, and if I don’t repay it, they’ll kill me. Sis, please help me! I know you’ve got money now, just lend me some!"

Vivian’s heart sank; she hadn’t expected Finn to get into trouble again. "I don’t have money, you figure it out yourself."

Finn became anxious. "Sis, you can’t just stand by and watch! If you don’t help me, I’m really done for. Would you really have the heart to watch our family homeless? Dad is sick now, and you left without a word, did you even consider his feelings? He thinks of you every day."

"What?" Vivian bit her lip, feeling somewhat touched at the mention of Mr. Lynch.

Though the Lynch family had not treated her well, her foster father was relatively kind and had raised her. Knowing he was ill, Vivian indeed felt uneasy and guilty.

"Where is Dad now?"

"He’s at the city central hospital. Sis, if you have any heart, go visit Dad."

"Alright, send me the department and room number."

After hanging up, Vivian soon received a text message from Finn.

She tightly gripped her phone, planning to visit her foster father at the hospital the next day.

In the study, Caden sat at the desk with a laptop in front of him, currently on a video call with his subordinate.

In the video, Jessica Hart was tied to a chair, her eyes covered with a black cloth, her mouth stuffed with a cloth strip. Her face was full of bruises, clearly having been heavily beaten.

Jessica constantly struggled, her body trembling and making "muffled" sounds.

"Patriarch, how should we deal with Jessica Hart?"

Caden narrowed his eyes slightly, a trace of chill in his gaze. "Keep her locked up for now; I’ll decide how to deal with her later."

"Alright, Patriarch."

The subordinate nodded and instructed the few men in black behind him, "The Patriarch ordered that you can teach her a lesson, but don’t disgrace her or cripple her."

Although Caden was ruthless, he didn’t like hitting women, but this time Jessica had indeed provoked him.

In the video, the men in black immediately stopped their actions upon hearing the orders.

Jessica continued to tremble uncontrollably, her heart filled with fear at the moment.

Caden closed the video and leaned against the back of the chair, falling into thought.

He couldn’t let Jessica off easily, but he couldn’t go too far either.

Thus, he planned to give her a lesson and keep her locked up for a few days.

On Sean Sinclair’s side, several days had passed without seeing Jessica. She didn’t answer calls or reply to messages on social media.

Because Jessica wasn’t from Aethelgard, Sean was unable to reach her parents, so he decided to report it to the police.

The next day, Vivian Lynch got up early. She opened the drawer, where the necklace Caden gave her, his grandmother’s jade bracelet, and the black card he gave her on their certificate day were kept.

She hadn’t used a single penny from it.

Vivian reached out and took the black card in her hand, lost in thought.

Now, Mr. Lynch was sick and desperately needed money; withdrawing ten thousand from it surely wouldn’t anger Caden, right?

After hesitating for a moment, Vivian struggled internally and eventually put the bank card back.

She couldn’t touch this money. Although Caden gave it to her as pocket money, she didn’t want to owe him anything or be looked down upon by him.

In the end, she only took out her own bank card and hurriedly went downstairs.

"Vivian, you’re awake? Come and have breakfast."

Mrs. Hawthorne greeted Vivian with a smile as she saw her coming down and invited her over for breakfast.

"Mom, I’ve arranged to meet a friend, I won’t have breakfast at home today."

"Oh! Then go ahead, be careful. I’ll ask Butler Hughes to take you." Mrs. Hawthorne said with concern.

Vivian politely refused, "No need to trouble Uncle Hughes, I can take a cab myself."

Mrs. Hawthorne insisted, "That won’t do, you’re still pregnant! You need to be extra cautious."

Unable to resist Mrs. Hawthorne, Vivian agreed to let Butler Hughes accompany her.

Quickly, Vivian arrived at Stella Fletcher’s apartment building.

"Stella, over here."

Seeing Stella coming down, Vivian hurriedly waved at her.

She and Stella had discussed it; to prevent Finn from deceiving her, she planned to have Stella accompany her to the hospital, so if anything happened, Stella could promptly help her call the police.

Stella saw Vivian and rushed over to give her a big hug, "Vivian, we haven’t seen each other for a month, did you miss me?"

"I missed you too." Vivian smiled slightly.

Stella held Vivian’s hand and looked around, "Eh, Vivian, why do you seem thinner? Is it uncomfortable living with the Hawthorne Family? It shouldn’t be! They’re such a wealthy family, shouldn’t they be keeping you well-fed?"

"The Hawthorne Family treats me well; the whole family is nice to me. It’s just me, having severe pregnancy symptoms, eating and vomiting, I must have lost weight."

Upon hearing this, Stella cupped Vivian’s face with a look of distress, "Sweetheart, pregnancy is so tough, why did you decide to keep the child?"

Vivian gave a bitter smile, "Probably because Caden desperately wants the child! The Hawthorne Family has only one male heir for nine generations, and I’m carrying twins. They absolutely wouldn’t want me to abort the children."