Then, she turned to the old lady, shook her head, and spoke firmly: "You're mistaken. She has nothing to do with your Tremblay family. Please leave."
The old lady sighed and left, saying: "I'll come back."
In a split second before turning around to leave, it seemed like the old lady's figure had aged by decades.
Flora pursed her lips, closed the door, and turned back to see her mother slumped in her chair with a pensive expression as if thinking about something.
She didn't want to interrupt her mother's train of thought, but she couldn't help asking: "Mom, what she said... Is the man named Edsel Tremblay my father?"
"Flora..." Her mother took her hand and sat her down, gently stroking her soft hair, and sighed: "Do you blame me for all these years? Do you blame me for not giving you a complete family?"
Flora pursed her lips and looked straight into her mother's eyes. In her mother's eyes were loneliness, regret, and heartache, all mixed.
"Mom, why did you say that?" Flora smiled at her mother: "To me, the greatest luck in life is being your daughter."
Her mother became pregnant at 16 and had to summon a lot of courage to decide to give birth and raise her to adulthood.
During the grueling 20-plus years of her upbringing, there was no trace of her father. So it was optional to have one in the future.
At the same time, the appearance of the Tremblay family in this low-priced residential area caught someone's eye.
The corner of their mouth curved up as they pulled out their phone and dialed a number.
"Speak."
"You, my friend, are always so cold and uninteresting... but I saw something exciting about your secretary. Do you want to hear it or not?"
Matthew furrowed his brow.
He had no opinion on this person's work style, but he did have an idea of their conversation's frivolity and lack of seriousness.
"Speak."
It's a shame that words are like gold.
The other person chuckled, then lowered their voice: "You told me to occasionally 'pay attention' to Flora. Today I happened to walk by, guess who I saw? ... The Tremblay family matriarch!"
Matthew couldn't help raising his voice slightly higher than usual:
"The Tremblay family?"
"That's right. Do you want to investigate?"
Of course, he wanted to investigate, not just research, but investigate thoroughly.
He wanted to know why the Tremblay family appeared at Flora's house and whether she had any connection to them.
"Matthew, are you listening to me?"
The arm of the person next to him was held tightly and shaken gently.
Matthew furrowed his brow, then immediately relaxed and asked the person next to him: "What are you saying?"
Selena was frustrated, and her hand clenched tightly.
She had been talking all this time, but none of her words seemed to have entered this man's ears. He was thinking about something she didn't know.
She pursed her lips, facing Matthew's gaze, and had to repeat what she had just said: "My father is also about to retire, and he always wants to take advantage of his remaining term to do some good for the people. So lately, he's been calling for investment from big companies..."
The implication was clear, Matthew was not a fool, and he immediately understood.
This "future father-in-law" stared intently at his son-in-law's pocket, even though he hadn't entered the family yet.
He sneered, but there was no laughter in his eyes as he looked at Selena: "What does your father want to suggest to me?"
The person before him was not his legal wife yet, but the power behind her was already stirring, wanting to take advantage of him for profit.
Selena was embarrassed and bowed her head. Before she could say anything, Matthew's phone rang in his pants pocket. He told Selena to go outside so he could take the call, and even though she was not pleased, she could only leave.
"What's up again?" Matthew asked. The caller still had "accidentally" seen the Tremblay family's old lady come to Flora's house.
Matthew looked at his watch. How long had it been since then? Did the other person finish the investigation?
He didn't need to think to know it was impossible.
Sure enough, as soon as he answered the phone, the other person immediately stated the purpose of the call, which was unrelated to the Tremblay family and Flora's mother and child.
"The business in Australia, your foster father said to discuss it with you... Hmm... Good luck."
Rarely did the other person not intend to ramble on, preparing to hang up, but he heard him say one more thing: "Pay attention to Selena's father for me. It's best to have someone follow him."
"Selena's father... you mean to follow your future father-in-law?" Matthew snorted: "What father-in-law, Selena, and I may or may not get married. Be careful in following him; I suspect he's involved with the underworld. My foster father's business..."
He stopped speaking, and the person on the other end somewhat understood his meaning.
If he was involved with the underworld, then his foster father's business dealings that were robbed were likely related to him.
Just then, there was a sudden "thing" at the other end of the line.
The other person chuckled lightly and said to Matthew: "Consider yourself lucky. I just received the investigation report in my email and will forward it to you immediately."
Immediately after the phone call was disconnected, Matthew received an email from a familiar address.
With a faint smile on his lips, he casually opened his email. The content inside was just a few sentences, but it was enough to deepen his gaze.
His lips curled up in a larger arc as he muttered: "Fascinating."
He then picked up his phone and dialed several other numbers.
Flora had long shed her ugly, granny-like appearance out of Matthew's sight. Today, she was wearing a long light blue dress, and the hem of the dress swayed gently with each step.
A black car with tinted windows pulled up on the side of the road.
Two tall men exited the car and walked straight towards Flora, smiling: "Miss Flora, please join us for a trip."
"What...what is this?" If these two men hadn't frequently appeared next to Matthew, Flora would have thought she was kidnapped and screamed for help without hesitation.
Half-willing and half-dragged into the car, she frowned at the man sitting beside her and asked: "What are you doing?"
"Come with me on a business trip, and all your debts will be cleared when you return." Matthew didn't take his eyes off the laptop screen on his lap as he answered her.
But...she had to inform her mother and two younger siblings, didn't she? How could she just leave like this?
The man beside her seemed to understand what she was thinking, and he chuckled lightly: "Call your mother and let her know. As for the two little ones, I have already arranged for someone to take care of them. You don't have to worry."
Flora pursed her lips, angry at him for taking matters into his own hands, but she had no choice but to take out her phone and call her mother.
As soon as she hung up, the man beside her closed his laptop and set it aside.
Then, to her disbelief, he undid his seat belt, leaned over, and practically pressed himself against her.
"You look much more attractive today..." His deep voice whispered in her ear, and the scent of his masculine cologne surrounded her.
Flora felt her cheeks heat up.
Damn it, did this man have to use such a seductive tone and suggestive posture to compliment someone?
The car sped down the highway, and she quickly learned the difference between an ordinary person and a corrupt tycoon.
Despite only going on a business trip, this man still used a private plane.
"Don't overthink it, and it's just a normal arrangement. The important thing is I don't have time to go through the procedures and buy plane tickets like normal."
Flora sighed quietly and followed him.
The plane landed in a private area on the remote Australian island...