Downstairs.
Ann Vaughn walked towards the kitchen, her mind pondering the dicinal recipes recorded in dical books.
Before she got closer, she saw several maids gathered in a group, whispering about sothing.
"...Even though the gift was given to the young master by Miss Vaughn, would she really be stupid enough to harm him so blatantly?"
"They say you know the face but not the heart. She may appear close to the young master, but he didn’t co from her womb, so how could she truly treat him as her own?"
"Who knows what thods she used to please the young master? She doesn’t even have a proper status, yet she managed to coax him into calling her mommy..."
"There’s no choice, the master’s status is prestigious, and countless won want to climb up to him. But so far, only she has succeeded. Yet, she still doesn’t know her place and dares to harm the young master. I doubt the master will tolerate her any longer."
"Nothing is absolute. Perhaps it might not..."
At that mont, the whispers abruptly stopped.
Seeing Ann Vaughn enter the kitchen, the maids’ faces changed with shock, hurriedly ceasing their conversation.
"Miss Vaughn, do you need anything?"
"I’d like to borrow the kitchen to make sothing for Kenny."
For so reason, Ann Vaughn felt the expressions on their faces looked extrely strange.
But since she ca in a step later, she only overheard the last sentence, so she had no idea they were discussing her.
The maids, feeling guilty, left when they heard Ann Vaughn’s request, leaving the kitchen to her.
Ann Vaughn shook her head slightly, focusing on the ingredients and not thinking any more about the earlier exchange.
About an hour later, aromatic cuisine wafted from the kitchen, seemingly mixed with the sll of dicine.
This ti, Ann Vaughn was very careful, barely using her right hand, making the process sowhat laborious.
Yet, just slling the dicinal dish gave her a great sense of accomplishnt.
Ann Vaughn was just about to take the food upstairs when a smiling maid approached her.
"Miss Vaughn, you’ve been busy for a long ti and must be tired. Why not take a break while I take it upstairs for you?"
"That sounds good, thank you."
"Not at all, it’s my duty."
Once Ann Vaughn’s figure disappeared upstairs, the maid didn’t carry the food up but dumped it all into the kitchen’s trash bin.
Another maid saw this and chuckled, "Good job. Who knows if she might have poisoned it? But what if she finds out?"
"The young master is injured like that. The master can’t possibly keep her here. Besides, look at how she pretends to be a virtuous wife and mother. Let’s see how she keeps up the act!" the maid said gloatingly.
Ann Vaughn, who was making a phone call, was completely unaware of this.
The dicine she made a few days ago was stored at Vaughn Clinic, and the only bottle of healing tincture she had on her was just added to Kenny’s dicinal congee.
But she was still worried it wasn’t enough, so she thought of asking Sherry to send over a few more bottles.
Sherry agreed without a second thought, saying they would arrive soon.
After hanging up, Ann Vaughn lowered her eyes, deep in thought.
Jas Vaughn and Kenny rely said what they did to prevent her from feeling guilty, but she knew full well the problem indeed stemd from the gift she gave.
No matter how hard she tried, Ann Vaughn couldn’t figure out where things went wrong.
...
The next day.
The top floor of Hawthorne Group.
Joyce Chancellor walked into the secretary’s office with two boxes of pastries from The Gilded Lotus, cheerfully placing them on the table.
"Morning, everyone. I brought so pastries from The Gilded Lotus. If you don’t mind, let’s share them together?"
Upon hearing the words "The Gilded Lotus," everyone in the secretary office imdiately gathered around.
"Oh my gosh, The Gilded Lotus is said to be the most delightful indulgence in all of The Imperial Capital. Just queuing takes over two hours, and they’re extrely pricey!"
"We were just talking about not being able to buy them yesterday, and you actually queued for hours to get so. You’re so kind."
They had tasted good things before.
What was rare was Joyce Chancellor’s thoughtfulness.
The brief complints from the secretaries made Joyce Chancellor smile shyly, "It’s nothing, really. I just happened to pass by."
At this mont, Mark Joyce walked into the secretary’s office and said to Joyce Chancellor, "Joyce, co out for a mont."
"Okay," Joyce Chancellor responded and then stepped out of the secretary’s office.
As she left, a secretary suddenly remarked, "Haven’t you noticed? Joyce and Special Assistant Joyce have the sa last na. Could they be related?"
The other secretaries imdiately turned to look her way.
"Oh, you might have discovered sothing!"
Joyce Chancellor and Mark Joyce, hey, aren’t they family?
Mark Joyce led Joyce Chancellor to a quiet window, then turned to look at her and said, "Don’t be nervous. I only called you here to ask a few questions."
"Feel free to ask, Special Assistant Joyce, as long as I know the answers!" Joyce Chancellor tensely squeezed her hands.
Mark briefly explained the purpose of the eting and then asked, "After leaving the gift shop, did anyone else appear around you and Miss Vaughn?"
Joyce Chancellor looked confused, "How do you know Miss Annie? And this is our private matter, why are you asking?"
"The gift you helped Miss Vaughn pick out had so issues that caused harm," Mark said tactfully. "Only by finding out the reason can your innocence be restored, don’t you think?"
Conversely, if Joyce Chancellor didn’t cooperate, it would be another story.
Tears imdiately welled up in Joyce Chancellor’s eyes, "So you’re suspecting ... Yes, I did help Miss Annie pick out the gift. But from start to finish, I never touched it. If you don’t believe , you can check the surveillance."
It was quite a coincidence.
The surveillance footage from the gift shop was still there, but the restaurant’s footage had already been destroyed.
In terms of logic, Joyce Chancellor was indeed most likely to have made a move at the ti.
But Mark had investigated her background. She had no ties to Ann Vaughn and seemingly no motivation for such actions.
"You..."
"Special Assistant Joyce, please go back and tell President Hawthorne," Joyce Chancellor bit her lip and said, "Although I’m just a small secretary, I’ll never admit to sothing I didn’t do, no matter what."
Mark Joyce: ?
"If he wants to convict , he’d better produce evidence first. Otherwise, I won’t be afraid of him even if he’s the president!" Joyce Chancellor said stubbornly, then turned and ran away.
Mark Joyce stood bewildered: ???
He had co to do a verbal inquiry with Joyce Chancellor on his own initiative. What did this have to do with the BOSS?
Why did it seem like the BOSS was bullying her?
It didn’t make any sense.
Upon returning to the secretary’s office, the grievance on Joyce Chancellor’s face disappeared in an instant, and she resud her earlier cheerful deanor.
The secretaries were gossiping, and seeing her return, they asked, "Joyce, what did Special Assistant Joyce want with you? You guys aren’t relatives, are you?"
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