Chapter 353


    Outside the art gallery.


    Jasper Perez clutched a forged portrait Vivienne had given him, exhaling a wistful breath.


    After hours of standing there, long after the gallery had emptied, he couldn''t shake the feeling that the


    silhouette in the artwork was eerily familiar.


    Yet it didn''t quite match the memory of his daughter, Sasha, who had gone missing years ago.


    Perhaps it was just his age ying tricks on him. After all, Sasha was just a ten-year-old kid when she


    vanished, and the woman in the portrait appeared to be in her mid-thirties. The gap in years made it


    hard to draw any solid connection.


    Or was it simply because of the mole?


    Just then, a man in a crisp ck suit hurried over, "Dad, you had me worried sick! You can''t just


    disappear like that. The brothers would have my head if anything happened to you!"


    It was Jasper''s fourth son, Yuri Perez.


    Jasper gave him a side-eye and carried amanding aura, "Since when do I have to report my


    whereabouts to you?"


    "I didn''t mean it like that!" Yuri said with a hint of frustration in his voice.


    Ever since Sasha''s disappearance, Jasper had never looked at his sons the same way. He had treated


    them with cold shoulders and hard stares over thirty years.


    Yuri sighed, "Your health is not well, Dad. If you go somewhere, at least let me know. It worries us, you


    know?"


    Jasper scoffed, "Instead of worrying about me, why don''t you put that energy into finding Sasha?"


    "We''ve already sent people out to look again," Yuri replied.


    Jasper peered down at the portrait again, then handed it to Yuri, "Take a look at this. The woman in this


    picture has passed away, leaving a daughter named Vivienne."


    Yuri nced at the portrait and paused, taken aback, "The mole is so identical to Sasha''s. Dad, where


    did you get this?"


    "What does it matter where I got it from?" Jasper shot back, emotionless. "Vivienne has a fiancé,


    Percival, who is from the affluent Ellington family. Look into them and see if you can dig up anything


    that might lead us to Sasha."


    "Okay. I''ll get right on it!" Yuri said, a surge of hope in his voice.


    Their search for Sasha had been exhaustive and fruitless despite it took the whole family’s efforts.


    They just found something but the lead was soon cut off. It didn’te to him that the picture, in which


    a woman having an identical mole behind the ear to Sasha, suddenly appeared.


    Now, with a potential lead, he got an intuition that the light had pierced through the constant gloom.


    Jasper grumbled with disdain after shooting him a look, "Just go and don''t dawdle. I don''t want to see


    you until you have news; seeing you boys just irks me!"


    Yuri bristled internally. Some families favored their sons, but Jasper? He appeared to hold a grudge


    against them as if they were strays in the street.


    Wait, they were even worse than strays. Strays at least got scraps from his table, while his sons were


    lucky to get a grunt.


    Yuri knew better than to leave Jasper alone, so he said, "Let''s get you home, Dad. Trust me, I''ll find


    Sasha for you."


    If he didn''t bring his dad home, his brothers might very well tear him apart and feed him to the dogs.


    Jasper roared, "Home? I''m not going anywhere until Sasha is found. And I want you to buy me a


    townhouse. I''ll be staying here for a while."


    He couldn''t shake the feeling of familiarity with Vivienne, and he needed to find out why this young


    woman seemed so oddly close to him.


    "What? You want stay in Rivenwood? It''s dangerous here. You''reing home with me!" Yuri


    protested.


    Before he could finish, Jasper swung his cane, striking Yuri on the head. It was followed by a fierce


    reprimand, "Just do as I say, will you? What dangers are you talking about? Do you see any gangs? If


    so, I''d like to see them try anything on me. I''ll send them running."


    Yuri was speechless.


    "Still standing there? Go on, get moving!" Jasper bellowed.


    Yuri wanted to protest, but seeing his father''s temper, he reluctantly agreed, "Okay, I''ll get you settled


    first."


    For now, he''d have toply and quickly inform his brothers. They''d need to arrange for Jasper''s


    protection. This old man was truly a handful.


    Yuri tried to help his father, but Jasper pushed him away, "Since when do I need help walking?"


    Jasper nced at him, devoid of expression, "Until Sasha is found, I''ll cling to life. Even Death himself


    can''t take me!"


    Yuri sighed in resignation.


    The old man''s health had slumped for a long time and his whole family told him to recuperate. But the


    stubborn old cap refused to listen to advice.


    "What are you waiting for? Go buy me a townhouse! Do you want to freeze to death here?" Jasper was


    furious at the sight of his son.


    What''s the point of raising sons? They had no heart at all and it was better to have a daughter.


    How nice little Sasha was. When she was little, she would pester him for a hug every day and give him


    her favorite treats.


    Calling Daddy and Mommy was the first thing she did every day she woke up. And she would speak


    with her girlish voice, "Daddy, Mommy, I love you two!"


    When he was angry, she woulde over in time to pat his back and say softly, "Daddy, don''t be


    angry, I will sing you a song! "


    When he was hurt, she would shed her tears and say, "Daddy, I will blow your pain away. "


    That was before she was five years old, and he remembered every single piece of memory so well.


    And his sons were so useless. They only knew how to make him deadly angry every single day.


    Yuri held her tongue. He knew that silence was golden.


    ...


    Back at the Ellington estate, Jeffrey stormed in to seek her mother, Heloise, "Mom, you need to talk to


    Fiona. She wants to give ten billion to Vivienne!"


    The thought of that sum falling into Percival''s hands made him seethe.


    Heloise was admiring hertest jewelry purchase, a ne that must have cost a fortune, when the


    words almost made her drop the precious piece to the floor.


    She fumbled but managed to catch the ne just in time, then turned her gaze to Fiona, "Are you


    out of your mind? What possessed you to just give away ten billion? Do you think money grows on


    trees?"


    Their family had scrimped and saved to amass ten billion over the years, and now Fiona was talking


    about giving it away as if it were nothing!


    Heloise really began to doubt if her daughter''s head was screwed on right.


    Fiona nced over at Jeffrey with an impassive expression and said coolly, "Why don''t you ask your


    darling son what he''s done?"


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    It was then that Heloise turned to Jeffrey and demanded, "What have you gotten yourself into?"