Ignored When Chasing: Why Cry After I Got Engaged-Chapter 97: Young Miss

"Be clear..." Sharon Quincy was a nervous wreck. "Damian Hawthorne, our relationship is already a mess. Besides, even though I’m just a goddaughter now, I’ll be taking the Nathan family name later. Won’t that be the same as being his biological daughter? You just want money. Can’t I just give you money?"

If Damian Hawthorne really told Linden Nathan the truth, he would be incredibly disappointed in her.

She recalled Linden Nathan asking in what capacity she was discussing marriage, and she had told him she was using her own name.

If Linden Nathan found out she was lying, forget being his goddaughter—he probably wouldn’t even sponsor her anymore.

However, Damian Hawthorne slid his hands into his pockets and shot her a sidelong glance, his tone nonchalant. "Did you ever think this day would come when you kidnapped Cecilia?"

Cecilia... Cecilia Nathan...

’So it’s all because of that woman.’

Sharon Quincy suppressed the jealousy in her eyes.

’Privately, she despised people like Cecilia Nathan, who had no redeeming qualities apart from a pretty face.’

’Most importantly, she shamelessly threw herself at men. She was a disgrace to all women.’

’But she had to admit, Damian Hawthorne was always sticking up for Cecilia Nathan.’

’Or rather, he was getting back at her for what happened to Cecilia Nathan.’

"Damian Hawthorne, believe it or not, the kidnapping... I didn’t do it." Sharon Quincy’s eyes fell, a look of despair on her face. "How could I possibly kidnap someone? I just wanted to get to know her, because I care about you so much."

A corner of Damian Hawthorne’s mouth lifted in a smirk. He turned and strode toward the door.

"Damian Hawthorne!"

Watching Damian Hawthorne leave, Sharon Quincy panicked. When he paid her no mind, she had no choice but to hurry after him.

...

「Outside Korsyth’s Seven-Star Hotel.」

A black Land Rover pulled up to the entrance. The door opened, and Serena Hughes stepped out, gathering the hem of her long gown. Her stilettos clicked on the red carpet, her bearing proud and confident.

Clothes make the woman, as they say. After days of being remade by Fiona Sinclair, Serena Hughes’s presence had improved dramatically.

Serena Hughes clutched her diamond-studded handbag, her eyes appraising the luxurious hotel.

Her grandmother had said Linden Nathan was staying at this hotel and that she should come over to greet him. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

She didn’t know Linden Nathan, so this "greeting" was just a mission to engineer a chance encounter.

But the thought of Linden Nathan’s status invigorated her.

’As long as I can get on Linden Nathan’s good side, it’ll all be worth it.’

As she stood at the hotel entrance, her eyes suddenly fell upon Cecilia Nathan, who was flanked by a large group of bodyguards.

Cecilia Nathan was dressed in a simple jacket with light makeup, yet the bodyguards beside her were utterly deferential.

One look was enough to tell they were highly trained professionals, not the sort of security an ordinary family could hire.

’Why would someone like Cecilia Nathan have bodyguards like that?’

Serena Hughes eyed Cecilia Nathan with suspicion for a few moments, then narrowed her eyes and strode over with a haughty air.

"Cecilia Nathan, what are you doing here?" Serena Hughes held the new handbag from Fiona Sinclair in front of her, using her other hand to gently toy with her bangs. "Don’t tell me you heard a rumor and came here to stake out the place?"

"Stake out? Stake out who?"

"Mr. Linden Nathan, of course." Serena Hughes leaned in and whispered, "Don’t tell me you didn’t know. Linden Nathan is in town."

"I know." Cecilia Nathan averted her gaze. "I’m here to see him."

"What?!" Serena Hughes gasped, then burst out laughing. "I was just kidding, and you’re actually getting full of yourself over it? Cecilia Nathan, do you have any idea who Linden Nathan is? Do you think he’ll see you just because you show up? Who do you think you are?"

"Cecilia Nathan, I know you were exposed to high society when you were with Mr. Hawthorne and met your share of wealthy heirs and socialites, but Mr. Nathan is not someone you can just meet."

Serena Hughes rolled her eyes as she spoke.

’She had only been mocking Cecilia Nathan. She couldn’t believe Cecilia had the gall to shamelessly claim she was here specifically to see Linden Nathan.’

’Forget Cecilia’s own background, which was nothing to speak of; even if she brought the Grant Family with her, Linden Nathan wouldn’t necessarily grant them an audience.’

’That was exactly why Fiona Sinclair had sent her to try her luck—because it was impossible to schedule a meeting with Linden Nathan.’

’For someone of Cecilia Nathan’s standing to think she could meet Linden Nathan... that was just a pipe dream.’

Cecilia Nathan had no desire to bicker with her. She turned to the sunglass-wearing bodyguards and said, "Lead the way."

"Yes, Young Miss," the bodyguards replied in unison.

Cecilia Nathan nodded and walked off without giving Serena Hughes a second glance.

Serena Hughes, however, was so stunned by the words "Young Miss" that a cold sweat broke out on her skin.

’Young Miss?’

’Did I hear that right?!’

’Those men actually called Cecilia Nathan ’Young Miss’!’

"These bodyguards are really committed to the act. I wonder where she hired them."

Serena Hughes decided Cecilia Nathan was just putting up a front.

Seeing Cecilia Nathan walk inside without a backward glance, Serena Hughes took a deep breath and followed her in.

’She was going to see just what kind of game Cecilia Nathan was playing.’

Just then, a voice calling out, "Miss Serena," made her stop in her tracks.

Sharon Quincy rushed up to her and asked in a hoarse voice, "Have you seen Damian Hawthorne?"

"Mr. Hawthorne?" Serena Hughes looked Sharon Quincy up and down, noting that she wasn’t dressed up at all. In fact, she looked disheveled and utterly haggard.

"Is Miss Nathan here to see your father?" Serena Hughes lifted her chin slightly. "If you don’t even know where Mr. Hawthorne is, how would I?"

’That was a fair point.’

’When it came to intelligence networks, the Nathan Family’s was undoubtedly the best. Rumor had it that for finding people, their systems and computers were comparable to the Sky-Eye surveillance network.’

’When the Nathan Family first developed the technology, they’d even handed it over to the state, causing a sensation throughout Veridia at the time.’

"If Miss Nathan wants to find someone, all you have to do is send a message to your people in the Nathan Family."

Serena Hughes’s flippant words landed like a sharp slap across Sharon Quincy’s face.

’Damian Hawthorne was here to see Linden Nathan. She’d have to be out of her mind to ask the Nathan Family to track Damian’s whereabouts.’

’Besides, she had just tried to contact Linden Nathan and couldn’t get through at all.’

’She had a nagging feeling that something was wrong.’

’At a critical time like this, asking the Nathan Family for help was out of the question.’

"I haven’t seen Mr. Hawthorne, but I did see Cecilia Nathan." Recalling how the men had called Cecilia ’Young Miss,’ Serena Hughes’s lips curved into a smirk. "You should have seen her just now. She was looking so high and mighty."

"High and mighty?" Sharon Quincy’s heart sank.

’Why is Cecilia Nathan here, too...?’

"Yes, she had quite a few bodyguards with her," Serena Hughes said, watching Sharon Quincy’s expression closely.

Seeing how nervous Sharon Quincy looked, Serena Hughes raised an eyebrow. "Why do you look so flustered? Cecilia Nathan hiring a few bodyguards to put on a show isn’t enough to scare you this badly, is it?"

Sharon Quincy forced a smile, her fingers clenching into a fist.

"Those bodyguards... what did they look like?"

’Linden Nathan had come here without telling her, and Cecilia Nathan had arrived even earlier.’

’What did that mean? It meant Cecilia Nathan had gotten the news before she did.’

’And those bodyguards...’

At the thought of the Nathan Family’s highly trained bodyguards, Sharon Quincy went completely stiff.

’Could it be... that Cecilia Nathan is really Linden Nathan’s only daughter?’