Chapter 82
Outside the gate of the Ardis Police Department.
Vivian Sinclair sat in the car. As soon as Aaron Shields hurried out, he spotted her.
He walked over. “Vivian, why are you here p>
“Could it be that the so-called Special Assistant Linden and the team of lawyers he brought… were all arranged by you p>
Vivian immediately got out of the car. “Uncle Greenshire, how is my mentor p>
“This Mr. Linden really is here to help me handle my mentor’s affairs. You can rest assured; matters handled by him are in safe hands p>
Aaron Shields also seemed quite convinced about this matter.
“Although us old folks know quite a few lawyers, admittedly this team today is just more capable p>
“Right now the lawyers are already negotiating with the police p>
“Your teacher is really caught up in this ordeal by pure misfortune p>
“That Jordan Vance wrote a suicide note before dying, claiming your mentor and others drove him to the edge p>
“But there’s still no direct evidence, so your mentor will be fine p>
Vivian let out a sigh of relief.
“As long as my mentor is alright p>
“This whole thing happened because of me, and ended up dragging my mentor in p>
“Uncle Greenshire, do you know what exactly happened with this Jordan Vance p>
“How did he suddenly commit suicide p>
Aaron Shields: “After looking into it, it all started when President Thorne from The Thorne Group suddenly posted one of Jordan Vance’s paintings online p>
“At first, when this painting was posted, nobody really noticed it—people actually paid more attention to the fact that President Thorne had made a rare appearance on social media for once in a century p>
“But soon after, people started exposing online that this painting was actually the piece Jordan Vance used to compete against W a year ago. It was that win which made W retreat from the art scene—another star lost p>
“So everyone flocked online to marvel at the painting. But the moment they took a closer look, it was a shock. Soon enough, someone unearthed that this painting really didn’t resemble his style at all p>
“There are plenty of online sleuths these days; no detail escapes netizens. Many professionals quickly concluded Jordan Vance had cheated. Not only was it not his work, it actually belonged to his mentor p>
“After that, President Thorne posted your tiger painting p>
“Vivian, do you know what it means for President Thorne to post two personal remarks in one day p>
“The whole internet went wild. People started speculating about his intentions p>
“They said he must’ve noticed something shady and posted it to let the public judge p>
“Plus, I just learned the one who bought that painting back then was President Thorne himself p>
“Looks like he’s a loyal fan of yours—standing up for you, speaking out for your injustice, huh p>
When Aaron Shields looked at Vivian at this point, his eyes were full of comfort.
This kid finally caught a bit of luck; otherwise, who knows how much longer she would’ve had to swallow those grievances.
A trace of embarrassment appeared on Vivian’s face. “I wouldn’t call him a fan. There’s just a bit of artistic connection between me and Mr. Thorne p>
Aaron Shields nodded, not wanting to probe into young people’s matters.
He went on, “This situation got more and more heated in one day, eventually shooting to the top of the trending searches and staying there for a full day p>
“By afternoon, Jordan Vance’s school published a statement, admitting that he’d stolen his mentor’s painting to compete against W in an unfair match, claiming they knew nothing and apologizing deeply to W p>
“The results from that competition were basically invalidated within the industry, and Jordan Vance’s school expelled him p>
“Good kid, I suppose you’ve already found out? You really suffered a lot back then—why did you keep it to yourself and go compete alone p>
“At least now you’ve cleared your name and can pick up the brush again p>
Vivian knew it was Julian Thorne who did a lot behind the scenes this time. She already told herself: when it came to Stella, she would absolutely repay him without holding back.
If not, she really wouldn’t deserve his help this time.
Aaron Shields: “In a single day, Jordan Vance was ruined p>
“Maybe he just couldn’t take it. This morning, he left a suicide note—confessing it was all his own fault, but also saying Fiona Rhodes’s faction pushed him to this point. After writing that, he jumped to his death from the rooftop p>
Vivian: “Even on the verge of death he dragged Master into it! If he hadn’t acted so despicably and shamelessly, why would my teacher’s faction have condemned him p>
“Oh right, Uncle Greenshire, do you know if Master really met with him yesterday p>
Aaron’s expression changed slightly. “Your teacher did meet him p>
“But she was accompanied by your two other senior apprentices and a senior sister. So there’s no proof your mentor saw him alone p>
“There shouldn’t be any trouble, right p>
Vivian thought for a moment. “I don’t think so. And even if there is, we have a legal team—no need for you to worry p>
Vivian’s words were undoubtedly a reassurance for Aaron.
“You’ve always been capable. Are you going to wait for your mentor to come out p>
Vivian certainly wanted to see her teacher.
She became Fiona Rhodes’s youngest formal disciple at thirteen.
Fiona doted on her deeply, caring for Vivian as if she were her own daughter.
She basically taught her hand in hand—how to outline, how to use color, how to go from a wild, self-taught amateur to a true artist.
But her mentor had also suddenly turned hostile overnight, not leaving a single word for Vivian before moving abroad with the whole family.
Before leaving, Vivian got wind of it. Devastated and anxious, she rushed to the airport hoping to ask when her teacher would return—she didn’t even dare ask why she was being treated that way.
Vivian remembered it vividly—Fiona Rhodes gave her a look of utter disgust at the time.
Yes, disgust.
She was only seventeen then.
She understood her mentor’s look, stood frozen where she was, motionless, her breath caught painfully in her chest.
At the same time, her still-immature heart suffered a serious blow and setback.
It became a trauma buried deep inside.
So, even though Fiona returned, Vivian still shook her head.
“Master won’t want to see me p>
She turned and got into the car, leaving.
Aaron Shields could only sigh helplessly. “Why must master and disciple torment each other like this p>
After Fiona Rhodes left the police station, Aaron still told her he’d seen Vivian.
“You came back to have her back, which proves that she still matters to you p>
“And when you were in trouble, she went all out to help you. Obviously she still cares, too p>
“You left without saying goodbye—planning never to see her again p>
“Fiona, what did Vivian do back then that you had to be so resolute p>
“Do you know that once you left, your disciples in the school treated her coldly? They all assumed Vivian made a mistake and drove you away p>
“That kid—she just toughed it out all by herself. But you’ve seen what’s in her paintings—the wound inside her is like a festering hole p>
“Later she had that nasty falling out with Tris over marriage, and the Sinclair Family still refused to accept her p>
“Fiona, this poor child. Don’t be so cruel p>
As Aaron spoke, Fiona’s eyes reddened.
“Enough p>
“Whatever happened back then, just count it as my fault to her p>
With that, Fiona still refused to say more, turning on her heel and striding away.
Because of Fiona, Vivian never managed to get dinner with Tina Archer.
Fortunately Tina wasn’t angry—she only urged her not to overwork, and promised she’d personally look through every page of the divorce agreement before delivering it next time.
So Vivian rushed to Crestfall Villa before dark.
When Stella Thorne heard she was back, she’d just been sulking, splattering paint all over the room. But the moment she heard, she dropped everything and joyfully dashed downstairs.
“Sister Sinclair p>
Stella nearly pounced on her like a bear.
Thankfully, Butler Turner darted out swiftly, intercepting Stella’s hug.
“Miss, you need to be gentle p>
“Otherwise Miss Sinclair will get scared off p>
The words worked instantly.
Stella looked like a colorful mud doll, teetering on one foot, visibly aggrieved.
“Sister Sinclair, why haven’t you come back for three days p>
“Brother promised you’d be back to keep me company soon p>
“Sister Sinclair, is it because I wasn’t well-behaved and you don’t want to paint with me anymore p>
Vivian took Stella’s hand. “How could that be? I just had some things to take care of the past few days p>
“If I didn’t like you, why would I still hurry back before dark just to have dinner with you p>
“But first, let’s get ourselves cleaned up—no matter how safe the paints are, they’ll affect our health if we leave them on. Sister Sinclair likes only healthy kids p>
“So, Stella’s going to be the healthiest little one, right p>
Stella: “Right p>
Vivian led Stella off to bathe.
Lina Holloway was nearly moved to tears.
“Truman, did you see that p>
“Every time Miss sees Miss Sinclair, she gets better and better p>
“She’s just like a sweet, obedient child now p>
“Not a shadow of our little troublemaker, huh p>
“Hurry, I need to call President Thorne p>
Excited, Lina quickly pulled out her phone and dialed. “Hello, President Thorne? Miss Sinclair is back, and the change in Miss p>
Lina chattered on and on, truly excited.
At that moment, in the city center’s tallest building, inside the top-floor CEO’s office—
Julian Thorne had long since put his work aside and listened intently to every word Lina said.
Gradually, the tiredness in his brow vanished completely.
A hint of tenderness appeared in his eyes.
A faintly gratified smile rose on his face.
“Have the kitchen cook some nourishing dishes for Miss Sinclair p>
“Also, prepare more snacks for her, in case she gets hungry at night p>
After instructing these two tasks, Julian ended the call.
The office door was knocked on.
Special Assistant Linden came in with an insulated container.
“Master Julian, Madam brought this stew herself this afternoon. You should drink it while it’s hot p>
“The secretarial office hasn’t come in to disturb you at all. As for this p>
Julian was a little surprised, as his mother rarely did things like this.
“She just left after dropping it off p>
Special Assistant Linden: “She was worried about disturbing you and told the secretarial office not to inform you. She waited outside for half an hour, and only left when she saw you still didn’t come out p>
“Madam still cares about you p>
Thinking of Stella’s improvement, Julian’s heart was moved.
“Pour it into a bowl p>
Leo Linden poured the soup into a bowl.
He saw it was still steaming, so he handed it to Julian.
After drinking the soup, Julian soon felt something wrong with his body.
He tugged at his collar, feeling hotter and hotter.
Julian glanced at the empty bowl, and his eyes grew suddenly cold.
He’d been set up by his own mother!
“Leo, drive me back to Crestfall Villa yourself p>
“Now p>