Chapter 73
Vivian Sinclair stared at Austin Grant with eyes full of doubt and inquiry, causing a pang in Austin’s heart.
It seemed like she didn’t trust him. Last night he tossed and turned, unable to sleep because he kept recalling the conflict they’d had.
He was sleepless all night, yearning to find her in the middle of the night and make peace.
But in the end, it was his inner pride that stopped him, so he waited until dawn.
The result was just watching her sleep, and miraculously, all his panic and anxiety slowly calmed down.
At that moment, he felt both terrible and annoyed yet somewhat relieved.
So, at this moment, Austin’s desire to make peace was sincere.
He wanted to appease her without a trace of insincerity.
Otherwise, he could have simply left early in the morning, shutting her in the old house, ignoring her.
But her repeated disappearances had nearly driven him crazy.
Now, he was beginning to feel insecure and uncertain about this.
Even when he was with Zoe, Vivian’s face constantly appeared in his mind p>
So, Austin truly wanted to ease the strain in their marriage this time.
“By the way, Vivian, I mentioned last time that I would give you a gift as compensation. I kept missing the opportunity these past days, so I haven’t had a chance to give it to you p>
“Look, do you like it p>
As he spoke, Austin pulled out a box from his pocket and slowly opened it.
Inside was an exquisitely crafted ring set with a pink diamond.
Vivian reached out and picked it up, and the ring looked very familiar.
Because it wasn’t just any ring.
It was part of the set of fifty-million-dollar luxurious jewelry she had personally designed for Austin to gift Zoe Monroe.
How clever.
He just happened to choose the most inconspicuous ring in the set to give to her.
This must be the least valuable of them all, right?
Although it has a large pink diamond on top, which might be worth millions, compared to the diamond-studded necklace and bracelet, and even the earrings, this ring was hardly worth noticing.
Still, Vivian was a little surprised.
Surprised that he would be willing to take something from it to give to her.
Was he trying to prove something?
Prove that he was willing to spare a little bit of his affection for her as well?
A thing worth millions is indeed valuable.
So he thought she would be overjoyed and cherish it?
If she just so happened not to be the designer of the ring, if she didn’t know it was the least valuable piece of a fifty-million jewelry set, Vivian might actually consider this gift somewhat valuable.
However, she had long seen through his hypocrisy.
“Come, let me put it on you p>
As Austin spoke, he picked up the ring to put it on Vivian’s hand.
But unfortunately, Vivian’s right hand was tightly bandaged, making it difficult even to eat with it over the past few days, let alone wear a ring.
He paused for a moment, was about to switch to her left hand when Vivian had already retracted her hand.
“No need p>
“Thank you for your kind intentions, I’ll just take it p>
With that, Vivian placed the ring on the bedside table, her casual demeanor making Austin’s face darken.
At that moment, Austin’s phone rang.
It seemed some news came from the hospital, and upon hearing, Austin got up to leave: “Alright, I’ll be right there p>
Seeing this, Vivian quickly reached out and grabbed his sleeve: “I want to go and see Grandma too p>
Austin looked down to see her small hand clutching his sleeve, and his lips finally curled into a tiny smile.
However, he still had concerns about letting Vivian leave The Grant Family’s premises.
“Vivian, be good p>
“Your primary task now is to take good care of your pregnancy. When Grandma is discharged and comes home, you can show your filial piety to her then p>
“Remember, you can’t wander around anymore. Understand p>
With that, Austin gently brushed away Vivian’s hand and then strode out.
Vivian had long expected that it wouldn’t be easy for her to be let out.
Austin was always very vigilant, so persuading him wouldn’t be that simple.
But she wasn’t in a hurry.
For Vivian’s primary task was still to search for the clues about the painting in The Grant Family’s house.
Now that Austin had left, Vivian could calmly wait for the bait she set out yesterday to be taken.
Matron Warren’s attitude was much improved from yesterday.
Perhaps it was because she saw Austin coming out of Vivian’s room in the morning.
When Austin arrived, Matron Warren was still asleep soundly in the corridor outside the door.
So she didn’t know that the city gates had already fallen.
Seeing the young master leave the Young Madam’s room with a slight smile on his face, Matron Warren knew it wasn’t good.
Would her attitude yesterday make the Young Madam bear a grudge?
So, from early morning, Matron Warren was cautious and eager to please.
Vivian couldn’t be bothered to deal with her.
After eating something simple, she started patrolling the entire old house again, checking almost every painting.
And this time, she intentionally asked Butler Denton.
“Uncle Denton, have you noticed… it seems like there’s a missing painting in this house p>
Uncle Denton naturally couldn’t answer anything.
Because indeed, every painting hanging on the walls of The Grant Family was accounted for.
Yet, the news of ’the Young Madam searching for the missing painting’ spread through every corner of the old mansion.
Until after lunch, Vivian suddenly felt incredibly drowsy.
She entered the room early, intending to take a nap.
In the quiet room, Vivian slept as if unconscious, deeply and heavily.
Until the door creaked open, and someone walked in without her noticing.
The figure was tall and sturdy, standing by Vivian’s bed, staring at her face for a long while.
“Young Madam p>
“Young Madam p>
The person softly called her twice, but Vivian showed no reaction.
The person then took something out from their pocket and pulled Vivian’s wrist from beneath the blanket.
After a slight rustling, the item revealed its identity—it was a syringe filled with an unknown liquid.
The needle tip pressed against the vein on Vivian’s wrist, just about to pierce her skin, when she suddenly opened her eyes and spoke: “It’s you, Dr. Archer p>
Her voice was remarkably calm, as if she wasn’t particularly surprised.
Dr. Archer looked up sharply at the sound, eyes filled with shock and panic.
“You p>
“Damn it! You were pretending to sleep p>
He instantly turned to panic, then anger.
Deciding to go all out, he continued pressing Vivian’s wrist, preparing to inject her with the syringe’s contents.
However, his scheme did not succeed.
Because a figure suddenly lunged out from under the bed, grabbing Dr. Archer’s legs and toppling him over.
At this moment, another person who had been hiding in the bathroom charged out with a low shout.
Working together, one quickly stuffed Dr. Archer’s mouth, while the other subdued and bound him.
Vivian slowly sat up from the bed.
She looked at Jasmine and Patrick, “Thank you for your hard work. Toss him into the corner, and go check on Matron Warren p>
Jasmine obeyed and promptly turned to leave the room.
Returning, she reported to Vivian: “Vivian, Matron Warren is unconscious p>
“Probably his doing p>
Vivian pitied Matron Warren for three seconds in her heart.
Within twenty-four hours, she’d been forcibly knocked out twice, unsure if there would be long-term effects with age.
Vivian: “By the way, is there anything to eat? Quickly give me something; I’m starving p>
Vivian stretched out her hand, and Jasmine hurriedly opened her personal bag.
Inside were small drinks and mini bread, which Vivian devoured quickly.
Jasmine patted her back with concern: “Vivian, did you suspect this bastard from the start? You skipped lunch, so pitiful p>
Dr. Archer indeed was among Vivian’s suspects.
In fact, everyone in this old mansion was under her suspicion.
To prevent anyone from tampering with her meals, Vivian had merely picked at a symbolic few bites during lunch, stretching out her mealtime, but nothing besides water had actually been consumed.
She feigned a lack of appetite, leaving even Matron Warren cautious, not realizing Vivian was starving the whole time.
Starving was necessary for the baited fish to surface.
And Vivian herself was the bait.
Since yesterday, Vivian asked openly about the missing painting, intending to unsettle anyone guilty.
Continuing her inquiry today, she suggested a determination to pursue the matter relentlessly.
She thought, surely someone would be anxious by now?
If the news of a missing painting awaited the return of a few masters, regardless of whether The Grant Family visibly lost any art, the paranoia would certainly swell within everyone.
The true thief couldn’t remain oblivious.
Thus, the truth couldn’t stay hidden.
The seller of the painting was bound to target her.
That’s why Vivian purposely slept after lunch.
Whoever was eager wouldn’t miss this opportunity.
Moreover, she intentionally toured the courtyard with Matron Warren in the morning, inspecting the paintings in the villa and lingering longer at the main house.
Regarding the villa, when neither Vivian nor the Old Madam was present, cleaning was done only in the morning.
After cleaning, servants wouldn’t stay inside longer than necessary.
Because the Old Madam disliked crowds around her.
Jasmine knew the duty hours here. She stealthily left the old mansion as she initially did when she returned with Patrick, hiding in Vivian’s room to set a trap.
This led to the earlier scene of jointly capturing Dr. Archer.
Otherwise, Vivian alone couldn’t apprehend this culprit.
Having filled her stomach, Vivian got out of bed and walked to the corner, reaching to remove the cloth from Dr. Archer’s mouth.
“Dr. Archer, it’s unfortunate but indeed you p>
Uttering this, Vivian’s heart sank slightly.
This also proved that the painting by Jordan Vance was most likely tied to Old Madam Grant.