Chapter 485
I did not understand the meaning behind Shawn's words, but I felt exhausted. I gradually fell into a deep sleep as I
snuggled into his arms. It was already noon the next day by the time I woke up again. However, I felt wholly
energized from my sleep, but there was one thing that puzzled me—Ezekiel Hastings.
His name kept echoing in my mind. Therefore, I couldn't help feeling curious about why I was constantly reminded
of him. I shook my head to dismiss my scattered thoughts as I muttered to myself, "Somebody whom both Shawn
and Sir fear should be a dangerous person. I should stay away from him if I ever meet him again."
I got out of bed, quickly washed up, and took my medicine as usual. After that, I went downstairs and saw Shawn in
the living room. He was holding Skyler in his arms, and River was sitting by his feet. There was nobody else in the
living room aside from them.
I went over and snuggled next to him. "Where are the others?"
"I'm not sure. There was nobody here by the time I came downstairs."
I asked in astonishment, "Was there nobody watching the children?"
Shawn answered my question calmly, "They went outside to clean up the yard when they saw me coming
downstairs. Leo was crying and screaming earlier."
I leaned over, hugged his arm, and kissed his face. Then, I smoothly leaned over in the same movement to kiss
Skyler on the cheek. To my surprise, he suddenly shifted the child in his arm from his left arm to his right arm.
Finally, he wrapped his left arm around my shoulder and changed the subject, "What would you like for breakfast,
Mrs. Xenos?"
I persistently questioned his actions. "Are you preventing me from kissing Skyler?"
He shot me a question instead of answering, "Am I?"
"Why else did you move Skyler away from me?"
I took Skyler from Shawn's arms. Then, I hugged and kissed Skyler on his chubby little face. When I looked up again,
I noticed Shawn staring at me unblinkingly. Thus, I took the chance to tease him jokingly. "Are you jealous?"
Shawn looked away and did not answer my question.
I broke into a mischievous grin. "You are jealous."
It was evident that he was unwilling to acknowledge my statement as he smoothly rose to his feet and went into the
kitchen instead. Meanwhile, I stayed in the living room to care for the children. It didn't take long before he came
out with a glass of warm milk and handed it to me. "Have some milk."
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt
I coyly murmured, "I'm using both hands to hold Skyler."
In other words, I had no hands to take the glass from him.
He furrowed his eyebrows slightly and abruptly bent down to place the cup by my lips. I took a sip of milk from the
glass he placed by my lips. When Skyler saw the glass, he immediately stretched out to take the glass with his small
grabby hands. Shawn swiftly moved the glass from my lips to Skyler's lips. After he gave Skyler a small sip of the
milk, he took the glass back to the kitchen.
Skyler kept clapping his hands to indicate that he wanted more, seemingly enchanted by the delicious taste of the
milk. So, I coaxed him softly, "There's none left. The nanny will feed you milk later. Can you play with your sister for
now?"
He didn't seem to understand what I was telling him and abruptly burst into tears when he failed to receive what he
was asking for. I was momentarily stunned by his reaction as it was my first time seeing him throw a tantrum
because his wishes were not satisfied. Thus, I quickly picked him up and ran to the kitchen. "Sunny, Skyler is crying!"
Shawn didn't even bother to look up. "Leave him be."
I pouted. "Daddy is so cold."
He did not turn around, leaving his broad back facing in our direction. Thus, I carried the bawling Skyler away from
the kitchen and placed him down with River. After a quick search, I found a pacifier and handed the pacifier to
Skyler. Skyler immediately shoved the pacifier in his mouth and stopped crying.
Shawn made sandwiches and grilled bacon for breakfast. I was full after eating just one of the sandwiches. After
breakfast, he decided to follow me on my errands.
He wasn't swamped with work at the moment, so he had more free time on his hands. Therefore, he decided to
follow me to one of the branch companies under the Xenos Family.
When we arrived at the office, I immediately began reading through the documents Anthony had sent over. When
he saw the papers in my hands, Shawn queried about my work, "What's that about?"
"Anthony wants to terminate our cooperation with the Hartmann Family from Rothfield. It seems that the other
party has violated the terms of the agreement. I'm reading through the details right now."
He probed further, "If my memory serves right, the Hartmann Family and the Xenos Family are rivals. When did the
Xenos Family begin working with the Hartmann Family from Rothfield?"
I explained, "One year ago, the Hartmann Family showed interest in working with us. Anthony asked for my opinion
regarding the matter, and I agreed with the proposal. That was because the terms they offered were very
tempting. Besides, the rivalry stemmed from the grievances of the previous generation. In my opinion, The Xenos
Family started a clean slate the instant I took over the family. Not to mention, the Hartmann Family was the one
who took the initiative to show us goodwill. So, there was no reason for us to refuse."
He used to know the affairs of the Xenos Family like the back of his hand, but the Xenos Family had undergone
drastic and earth-shaking changes over the past two years.
"Why does Anthony wish to terminate the contract?"
I scanned through the documents and elaborated on the situation to him, "The Hartmann Family violated the spirit
of the contract when they showed interest in cooperating with Oracle Limited. That's why Anthony suggested that
we terminate the contract with them. He is asking for my opinion, but I generally agree with his suggestions."
He took the document from me. Then, after a moment of silence, he pointed out, "Oracle Limited is the company
that Rudy Adams established in Rothfield."
I immediately understood his implication. "It's Ezekiel Hastings!"
While it was true that Oracle Limited belonged to Rudy on the surface, it was an open secret that everything that
Rudy currently owned belonged to Ezekiel. It would seem that Ezekiel had started to make his move and was setting
his sights on the Xenos Family!
Shawn furrowed his eyebrows together. "It's not like him to do something like this."
I asked in confusion, "You don't think it's Ezekiel?"
He did not answer immediately. Instead, he lowered his eyes as he contemplated the ins and outs of the matter in
silence. Then, he handed the document back to me after a short while with a piece of advice, "Don't dissolve the
contract just yet."
I couldn't help feeling confused. "Why not?"
He explained patiently, "Ray, if the Hartmann Family from Rothfield violated the spirit of the contract, then they are
the ones at fault. However, this incident only came to light thanks to your private investigation. Unfortunately, the
Hartmann Family has yet to form an official cooperation with Oracle Limited at the moment, so we will only fall into
their trap if the Xenos Family takes the initiative to dissolve the contract."
I lightly tapped my finger against the file as I voiced my speculations, "Sunny, do you think they are doing this on
purpose?"
"Based on the Xenos Family's previous modus operandi, they should have assumed that the Xenos Family would
make a huge spectacle to suppress the Hartmann Family. They might be waiting for that very moment. It would be
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmeasy for them to turn around and retaliate against the Xenos Family if we do publicly force them into a corner. I
have some ideas on how they might retaliate if you're interested. The Hartmann Family intends to use the Xenos
Family as a stepping stone to build a connection with Oracle Limited in Rothfield."
Frankly, he might as well have bluntly announced they were trying to build a connection with Ezekiel rather than
saying they were trying to develop a rapport with Oracle Limited.
"Are you saying that the Hartmann Family is more concerned about Ezekiel than the Xenos Family?"
The Xenos Family was extremely powerful in Athium. On the other hand, Rudy's influence was mainly concentrated
in Europe. No Family or business would willingly give up on a chance at cooperation with the Xenos Family and
choose to work with another company with limited development in Athium. Be that as it may, that was exactly what
the Hartmann Family was doing. They would rather give up on their cooperation with the Xenos Family to build a
connection with Oracle Limited.
It was important to note that the mastermind behind Oracle Limited was Ezekiel.
Shawn glanced at the gloomy sky outside the window and answered my question with a sense of indifference, "The
situation in the financial world has been stable for too long now. Many wish to rock the boat. After all, that is the
only way for them to gain an opportunity to enter the market, which is probably what the Hartmann Family is truly
after. They intend to disrupt the current situation, and Ezekiel is the only person I know who is trying to spearhead
this movement. But, of course, these are nothing more than my personal speculations."
Nonetheless, I knew that his speculations were most likely correct.
I quickly responded, "In that case, I won't do anything for now."
The main difference between how Shawn and I considered problems lay in the fact that he could think about issues
through different perspectives before coming to a logical conclusion and adapting to the situation he was in.
Unfortunately, I don't possess such skills. However, I'm not abasing myself by thinking that since he's truly a brilliant
man.
Although I used to believe that I was quite intelligent, I could only remain humble when faced with a true genius.
"Yes. Don't make your move now. We should observe the other party's movements for the time being."
I hesitantly asked him, "You mentioned that this incident is unlike Ezekiel. So, how do you know that he won't make a
move against the Xenos Family?"
He retracted his gaze and turned to look at me instead. The look in the depths of his eyes was very profound.
"Perhaps that may stem from the fact that Ezekiel has many enemies, and you aren't on the top of the list for now.
At the very least, he would not move against you right now."