CHAPTER 98: CHAPTER 98: WHERE DID YOU GET YOUR PLASTIC SURGERY?

As far as she remembered, Silas Master Moore was now technically...

Susie Sommers’ stepbrother.

Susie never kept anything from her, but if she insisted that she leave first, it meant there was something she didn’t want her to know.

Ann Vaughn entered the elevator, pressed the floor button, and just as the elevator doors closed, she caught a glimpse of the woman whom Susie had tossed aside, running away with her face covered.

As expected, given Susie’s fighting spirit, her worries were unnecessary.

During the ride, a woman wearing sunglasses entered the elevator, and Ann Vaughn got the feeling that this woman kept sizing her up.

However, her floor soon arrived, and she didn’t think much of it as she walked out of the elevator.

Just as she stepped out, the woman removed her sunglasses, revealing a delicate face.

"Ann Vaughn?" the woman murmured to herself, seeming unsure.

Ann Vaughn originally thought Susie would quickly resolve things and come up, but after finishing her second bottle of milk, there was still no sign of Susie.

Especially considering that the man was the one who made the otherwise strong Susie cry in her bed every night back then.

After waiting for a long time, Ann Vaughn didn’t get Susie’s call, but Cynthia Vaughn’s call came instead.

She glanced at it and directly hung up.

Then she got up and left the private room, planning to go downstairs and take a look.

As soon as she stepped outside, Ann Vaughn was met by a group of women.

"Ann Vaughn! It really is you. I thought I was mistaken. How could I see you in a place like this?" The woman who had been in the elevator had already removed her sunglasses, revealing a face Ann Vaughn found somewhat familiar.

"Is something the matter?" Ann Vaughn looked at her calmly.

Tanya Usher, Cynthia Vaughn’s friend, had been Cynthia’s most reliable lackey in high school, always ready to attack wherever pointed.

Back then, Ann hadn’t been spared from their bullying.

"It’s been so many years, and you’ve become like this?" Tanya Usher looked at Ann’s delicate face, smiling broadly, "Where did you get your plastic surgery done? You really splurged. The Vaughn Family’s young lady really is different."

Though she was smiling, her tone carried no hint of goodwill.

Tanya’s companions heard this and covered their mouths, laughing maliciously.

"What, do you want surgery too?" Ann Vaughn closed the door to the private room and replied unhurriedly.

Seeing her admitting it, Tanya Usher’s eyes showed more disdain, pouting and playfully laughing, "I’m just curious which clinic is so skilled to make you look like this."

In high school, Ann Vaughn was a loner, always by herself and lacking presence, with rumors circulating that she came from the countryside, making her even less liked.

Since she was so unremarkable, who would care what she looked like?

Tanya had seen Ann’s real face, but would she really need a reason to belittle this country bumpkin?

"Oh, well you might have to return to your mother’s womb to figure out how to look like me," Ann remarked as she passed by Tanya, pausing with a smile on her lips, "Did you get your nose augmented and have a smile surgery?"

Tanya’s face turned sour from her first comment, and after the second one, she looked even worse.

Her companions couldn’t help but glance at her face, quietly clicking their tongues.

Always bragging about her naturally pretty face, yet so secretly altered.

Feeling their stares, Tanya fumed, "Ann Vaughn, stop slandering me in anger. Who’s had surgery?!"

Ann Vaughn shrugged, "Whoever responds is who I’m referring to."

Tanya didn’t expect the once silent Ann Vaughn to become so sharp-tongued, her face contorted with anger, and she laughed out loud.

"Ha, Ann Vaughn, you’re still just as shameless as ever! No wonder you could even replace your own sister to marry into the Hawthorne Family. Your conscience must be pitch black!"

"Cynthia used to always stand up for you, treating you like a real sister, and you bit the hand that fed you by stealing her man! Truly shameless!"

"Didn’t you ever consider all the disgusting things you’ve done? How could you deserve to be the Young Madam Hawthorne? What a joke."

When people get fired up, they often start speaking without restraint, and what they say could very well be their longstanding true thoughts.

Even now, Ann Vaughn calmly analyzed that Tanya Usher’s great resentment towards her was likely because—

She had effortlessly obtained the position coveted by countless women in The Imperial Capital.

Ann Vaughn’s bright eyes carried a trace of mockery, "If shouting could change things, why would there be established facts in this world? If you want to be Mrs. Hawthorne, go for it. Barking at me won’t help."

She had already foreseen the future when she took the blame for Cynthia Vaughn.

Back then, she didn’t regret it, but they better not push her to regret it now.

"You’re about to be abandoned by Mr. Hawthorne, what are you so smug about?!" Tanya Usher glared at Ann Vaughn with eyes ablaze, raising a hand to hit Ann on the head.

This was her old trick since slapping would leave traces, and hair could cover the bump so it would be unnoticed.

Even if Ann reported to her parents or teachers, no one would believe her.

However, as Tanya’s hand swung down, it was intercepted in mid-air by another hand, twisted back with a sound of bone displacement.

"Ah!! It hurts! My hand..."

Tanya’s face contorted in pain, losing every bit of her fashionable lady look, and she was utterly disheveled.

Her companions tried to speak for her, but fell silent under Sutton Jennings’ icy, cold glare.

"Get lost, and don’t let me see you again." Sutton Jennings said coldly, disdainfully flinging away Tanya’s hand.

Tanya and her companions dared not make a sound, quickly leaving the scene as if some fierce beast were hot on their heels.

Ann Vaughn felt a sense of relief, just about to thank Sutton Jennings, when her waist was suddenly gripped by a large hand, pulling her firmly close.

Startled, she looked up, falling into the sight of that handsome, chiseled face, and from this angle, she could catch sight of his slightly tensed, perfectly curved jaw.

"I didn’t expect Lord Shane to have a hobby of playing hero," Cyrus Hawthorne’s narrow eyes were deep, his pale lips curled into a subtle, fleeting cold smile.

Sutton Jennings didn’t back down, holding Ann Vaughn’s hand, "If President Hawthorne had acted sooner, I probably wouldn’t have had the chance."

The Imperial Capital always held this rumor: if Cyrus Hawthorne was the emperor on the visible threads of the capital, Sutton Jennings was the overlord of the hidden threads.

Though the two sides never interfered, they had always maintained a peaceful coexistence.

Now, however, this harmonious situation seemed close to being disrupted.

Sparks seemed to fly in the air.

One held Ann Vaughn’s slender waist, the other held her wrist, and at that moment when their eyes met, a thick smell of gunpowder seemed to fill the air.