“You’re awake?”

Grandmother Yu’s face remained stern as ever, not a trace of gentleness, looking quite fierce.

Tina tried to speak, and Grandmother Yu leaned forward to press the bedside button.

Soon, doctors and nurses rushed in to examine Tina.

The sedative’s effects were strong, leaving Tina groggy. She had briefly regained consciousness several times before, sometimes seeing Xia Xiaolan by her bed. The last time she awakened briefly, she saw Grandmother Yu and thought she was dreaming.

But it wasn’t a dream.

How had this old lady suddenly appeared before her, when she should be in China?

Tina’s consciousness gradually returned.

Her mouth was painfully dry, and after getting the doctor’s approval, Grandmother Yu gave her some water.

Tina gasped.

“Cynthia… Aunt Cynthia, she…”

Grandmother Yu slammed the water glass on the table with a loud bang:

“What kind of aunt is she to you? Have you forgotten how you ended up in the hospital?”

Tina’s memories from before losing consciousness had returned.

With Grandmother Yu’s prompting, she couldn’t avoid them anymore. She remembered being in Harold’s office with Cynthia, having managed to get Harold’s fingerprint while Cynthia had secured access to the 24th floor. It was her first time stealing, but Tina knew she was helping Cynthia and Ivan… When they couldn’t open the safe, she became nervous and afraid. Cynthia pressed a handkerchief to her face, everything started spinning, and then she knew nothing!

Her next moment of awareness was now.

Hospital room, doctors – this was a hospital.

“Why did she drug me—”

It wasn’t her fault they couldn’t get the documents, and they hadn’t discussed this step beforehand. Cynthia’s action was completely inexplicable; Tina knew it couldn’t have been done with good intentions.

But why would Cynthia do this?

She was on Cynthia and Ivan’s side!

Grandmother Yu was angry – faced with the facts, did she still not dare to admit it?

“Because you’re foolish! They manipulated you to get close to Harold – did you think it was just about stealing documents? After drugging you and then… they planned to frame Harold. If Xiaolan hadn’t sensed something was wrong, by the time we rushed back from China, everything would have been too late.”

Why did it have to be Tina?

Because framing Harold with some random person would be useless – Harold had done things before and could afford the best lawyers.

Even if he went to prison, he’d still be alive, could get his sentence reduced and be released, and wouldn’t have to give up his assets.

Only Tina was like a powder keg waiting to explode, the Wilsons’ perfect candidate – and so easy to trick too, helping when asked, cleaning herself up to go to her death. Heh, could someone this stupid be her granddaughter?

Grandmother Yu couldn’t figure out whose intelligence she had inherited.

She really wanted to yell at Tina and make her learn her lesson, but when she arrived in New York and learned what had happened to Tina, she panicked too.

Tina wasn’t close to her; she treated Tina like a pet dog to be trained.

But Tina was still her granddaughter… their family wasn’t large, and Tina was a Xu family child. Now, seeing Tina curled up under the blankets looking so pitiful, Grandmother Yu raised her voice:

“Enough, let’s not speak of what’s happened anymore. We’ll handle those matters.”

Just as Grandmother Yu finished speaking, Xia Xiaolan entered with a bouquet:

“I heard from outside that Tina was awake. How are you feeling? Still uncomfortable?”

Tina was indeed uncomfortable, not physically but emotionally.

She wanted to know what had happened, but since Grandmother Yu wouldn’t tell her, she could only press Xia Xiaolan: “Were you the one who took me from the hotel to the hospital? You must know what happened, can you tell me?”

Xia Xiaolan glanced at Grandmother Yu.

The old lady was showing rare tenderness.

Understandable – for Grandmother Yu, the most precious things weren’t money or antiques, but the family member she’d waited 20 years for.

They had nearly lost another member of the Xu family.

“Do you want to hear it? I’m afraid you won’t believe what I tell you.”

Xia Xiaolan deliberately spoke the contrary, making Tina extremely anxious. She clutched her blanket, wanting to argue with Xia Xiaolan, but her anger turned to tears:

“I saw it all – she took out a handkerchief. I just want to know why. If it was about money, I had offered to lend them money to get through their difficulties, but they refused!”

They wouldn’t even take money, showed her such care – surely that meant genuine affection.

That’s what Tina had believed.

So even when Cynthia seemed inconsistent during the previous lawsuit, making Tina uncomfortable, she still agreed to continue with the “plan” to help Cynthia and Ivan make a comeback. They said they could reclaim the property Harold had taken if they could just find old Mr. Wilson’s original will.

Tina thought she was doing good.

But Cynthia’s actions had hurt her again, reminding her of being deceived by her “parents” for years.

Xia Xiaolan forced a slight smile:

“Why? For money, of course! They didn’t want your money because it would be a ‘loan,’ and loans have to be repaid. You could lend them $1 million, but could you lend $10 million? That would have caught your elder brother Xu Changle’s attention, and they wouldn’t feel comfortable spending borrowed money. Most importantly, while your inheritance seems substantial, you only have access to about $20 million. The Wilsons were after an even larger sum, more legitimate, wealth they wouldn’t have to repay!”

“The Wilson family money…”

“Correct, they weren’t just after what Harold took – they wanted to grab Harold’s major share too.”

There are different levels of wealth.

The lifestyle and status of minor and major wealthy families are different.

The Wilsons wanted to be major wealthy figures, and they’d indeed once had the chance – if old Mr. Wilson hadn’t given Harold control of the family business, Ivan and Cynthia should have become major wealthy figures!

Tina mumbled: “But Harold was aggressive first, taking their money, forcing them into bankruptcy—”

This made Xia Xiaolan truly laugh.

While she didn’t approve of Harold’s approach with Tina, looking back further, Harold wasn’t wrong to drive Ivan and Cynthia into bankruptcy:

“Why would a winner bother with losers? Instead of spending time bankrupting his elder brother and sister-in-law, Harold should have been making more money, expanding his business empire. A winner only concerns themselves with losers when the losers keep trying, always thinking they can turn things around. Harold took their money because they tried to take his life!”

Xia Xiaolan paused, glancing at Grandmother Yu:

“May I tell her about this?”

Grandmother Yu slowly nodded, “Go ahead, things have come this far – there’s nothing left to hide.”

Grandmother Yu had only softened briefly earlier. When Xia Xiaolan came in, the old lady understood clearly. To explain this situation, they would inevitably have to discuss the influence Zhang Jiandong had left behind. “Zhang Jiandong” was the person Grandmother Yu least wanted to mention in front of Tina. They had finally gotten Tina to lean slightly toward the Xu family; bringing up old matters, learning that Zhang Jiandong had left people to protect her, might make Tina cry with emotion again, wanting to be Zhang Jiandong’s daughter once more.

But concealment was the worst choice.

A person’s inner feelings cannot be controlled. Grandmother Yu lowered her eyes – even if Tina didn’t grow close to the Xu family, she still hoped Tina would know the truth, so that in the future, when people like the Wilsons came with their enthusiastic attention, she would have some basic sense of caution!

— How could someone live in an ivory tower their whole life? Everyone has to learn to grow up.