Othiel Evans smiled at her, his gaze focused and intense.

To be honest, Adele Horne was truly beautiful when she wasn't having one of her tantrums. After all, her parents and several brothers were not unattractive. Even if she were the ugliest among them, she wouldn't be too hideous.

"Why are you staring at me?" Adele Horne pouted, her heart starting to race again.

"Adele, I've only just realized that you are the most beautiful woman in the world," Othiel Evans complimented. Flirting, of course, required sweet nothings.

"Enough with your smooth talk. Oh, right, how's your sister? I've been calling her, but her phone is switched off?" Adele Horne changed the subject to Orlando Evans.

A flash of viciousness crossed Othiel Evans's eyes, but it vanished in an instant. He then somberly replied, "My aunt and uncle were caught by the Discipline Inspection Commission for corruption and bribery on a massive scale. Now, my sister's house has been seized, my aunt and uncle have been arrested, and my sister is still... My dad was worried she'd be too heartbroken, so he arranged for her to go to a very quiet place to temporarily adjust her mood. She probably turned off her phone because she's upset."

Upon hearing this, Adele Horne was completely shocked.

She knew her eldest brother would deal with Orlando Evans; she had thought he would, at most, scold her or slap her a few times. She never imagined her brother would strike at Orlando Evans through such channels, leaving the Evans Family with nothing overnight.

And she was only finding out now.

Apology and guilt surged in Adele Horne's heart once more.

Orlando Evans's downfall was inextricably linked to her.

Othiel Evans tightly held her hand, gently comforting her, "Don't worry about my sister. Besides, I'm still here for her, aren't I? I'll definitely protect her and provide her with the best place to recuperate." Of course, he wouldn't tell Adele Horne that Orlando Evans wasn't his biological cousin and shared no blood relation with him.

He was now starting to use his charms on Adele Horne; he had even temporarily stopped playing around with other women when he was out.

"'Alland Ramos, you have to take good care of your sister,' Adele Horne said urgently, not withdrawing her hand from his grasp as she earnestly pleaded with Othiel Evans."

Pressing his advantage, Othiel Evans gently pulled her into his embrace, assuring her, "Don't worry, she's my sister. If I don't look after her and protect her, who will?"

Watching this scene from the car window, Julia Bluen became even more convinced that Othiel Evans was Adele Horne's boyfriend.

Just as she thought of moving closer, Othiel Evans had already released Adele Horne and driven the car away.

Watching the departing Porsche, Julia Bluen decided to talk to Adele Horne that evening.

Adele Horne might have a nasty temper, but her heart was pure and relatively free of scheming. The few tricks she played were mostly taught to her by Orlando Evans. Besides, Adele was the only daughter of the Horne Family, and everyone knew they were wealthy. Julia was even more worried that the man in the fancy car was a con artist after Adele Horne. These days, such scammers were quite common. They deliberately borrowed luxury cars and money to win women over, especially targeting wealthy young ladies like Adele Horne, aiming to swindle both their money and their hearts. She didn't want her only sister-in-law to be deceived in matters of love. If her sister-in-law misjudged people in friendships, it wouldn't cause too much emotional or physical harm. But in love, being deceived could wound both heart and body.

Julia Bluen bought some kumquat cakes for the old lady and a few boxes of health products for Mila Anderson before heading home.

The old lady was delighted to see Julia Bluen return. When Julia secretly gave her the kumquat cakes, the old lady's smile grew even brighter. She felt that Julia Bluen was truly considerate and caring, knowing she would have run out of kumquat cakes after so many days. Now that she could always enjoy kumquat cakes, she found herself missing her own father even more.

Eating kumquat cakes was her unique way of remembering her father. After all, this treat, disliked by other distinguished old ladies, had accompanied her through childhood and symbolized her father's love.

Mila Anderson and Gian Horne were also there, along with Pheobe Rogers.

Mila Anderson sat on a sofa by herself, leisurely filing her nails, seemingly oblivious to Pheobe Rogers's presence.

Gian Horne sat opposite her, with Pheobe Rogers also opposite Mila and next to Gian Horne. Pheobe Rogers was constantly trying to curry favor with the old lady by chatting with her, while also being affectionate and considerate towards Gian Horne, intentionally exasperating Mila Anderson.

Pheobe Rogers was well aware of what had transpired in the Horne Family.

When Julia returned, Pheobe Rogers immediately approached her as if she were Julia's mother-in-law, her face wreathed in smiles, attempting to affectionately link arms with Julia, only to be subtly avoided by her.

"Julia, come here, let me see, your face is alright now, isn't it?"

"Aunt Pheobe." Julia Bluen actually didn't want to call Pheobe Rogers "Aunt" anymore. However, since Pheobe Rogers was older than her own mother, she still had to. She was addressing her as the second daughter of the Bluen Family, not as the Eldest Young Mistress of the Horne Family. If she were speaking in the latter capacity, she wouldn't have addressed her at all, because Pheobe Rogers held no official status in the Horne Family.

"'My face is on my body. Whether there's an issue or not, Aunt Pheobe, your eyes are sharp and clear, so you can see perfectly well, can't you?' Julia Bluen said with a faint smile, deflecting the question back to Pheobe Rogers."

Seeing his daughter-in-law return, Gian Horne quickly said he had something to attend to and went upstairs to his study room, adding not to call him for dinner. He was somewhat afraid of Julia Bluen's gaze, of hearing her assertive words again, and even more so of accidentally provoking his eldest son. In the past few days, his bank cards had been frozen. He hadn't gone anywhere, nor had he gone shopping with Pheobe Rogers as usual. He strongly suspected his eldest son had frozen his bank cards and cut off his finances specifically to prevent him from spending time with Pheobe Rogers.

A hint of displeasure flashed across Pheobe Rogers's eyes, but she kept smiling. After exchanging a few words with Julia Bluen and the old lady, and handing the bag she was carrying to the maid, Pheobe Rogers sat next to Julia Bluen. She reached out as if to touch Julia's face, tenderly lamenting, "Such a fair and lovely face. Oh, how could Big Sister Mila bring herself to hit her?"