Chapter 21: Chapter 21: For Joanna Sherman, the Father and Son Abandon Their Daughter and Sister

On the other end, Sophia Shaw hung up, not caring how he felt.

Sophia Shaw brought Bun into Yancy Shaw’s villa.

June Evans took Bun and bounced her gently. "My, I haven’t seen you in just a few days, and look how much you’ve grown."

Bun was already over two months old, fair-skinned and chubby, with a little face that was the spitting image of Sophia Shaw’s.

Her large eyes darted around, captivating not only June Evans but even Yancy Shaw.

Her grandmother tottered over and stroked the little one’s face, unwilling to let go.

Bun wasn’t the least bit shy with strangers. Instead, she grabbed her great-grandmother’s thumb and tried to stuff it into her mouth.

Her adorable antics made the whole family laugh nonstop.

Chloe, who had a health condition at birth, hadn’t grown as quickly as Bun and looked much more delicate.

Still, he was a handsome little boy.

Both little ones could roll over. They lay side-by-side on their stomachs on the bed, touching each other’s faces and holding hands. They had an incredible bond.

Sophia Shaw and Yancy Shaw watched the two little ones interact for a while before heading into the study together.

"Uncle, please take this. It’s ten million." Sophia Shaw held the check out to him.

Yancy Shaw was stunned. "Where did you get this much money?"

"I sold a design plan for a rocket."

"This won’t affect your future work, will it? Are you sure it’s not illegal or against regulations?"

As he spoke, Yancy Shaw started to push the check back toward her.

His niece was too precious; her record couldn’t have a single stain on it.

"It won’t," Sophia Shaw said, pushing the check back to him. "These are just preliminary rocket launch plans. They won’t affect Lead Aerospace or any of my other partnership agreements."

Yancy Shaw was one of the few people who knew what she did for a living.

Sophia Shaw pressed the check into his palm.

Only then did Yancy Shaw quietly accept it, his eyes already welling with tears. "My Faye is so capable now, she can even help her uncle."

He felt useless, unable to provide his niece with a stable life.

Sophia Shaw knew what he was thinking and said sincerely, "Uncle, you’ve already put up with so much from me. I was the one who was immature and put you through so much."

For years, Vincent Grant had been helping the Sherman Family, endlessly pouring money, effort, and connections into their affairs.

Her uncle had never blamed her, not even once. He hadn’t even bad-mouthed Vincent Grant in front of her.

Sophia Shaw knew her uncle only did it because he felt bad for her, afraid of putting her in an awkward position.

"While this money won’t be enough to bring the company back from the dead, it will at least keep it afloat for a while. I’ll continue to invest more later on."

This company was her mother’s life’s work, and she wouldn’t give up on it.

Just as they were talking, a call came in from Vincent Grant.

Sophia Shaw saw his number and figured he was dropping Cedric Grant off. "Tell Cedric to wait at the gate," she said. "I’ll come out and get him."

On the other end, Vincent Grant was slightly taken aback. He didn’t say anything more, just a simple, "Mm."

After hanging up, he said to Cedric Grant, "Wait here for a little while. Your mom will come and get you."

Cedric Grant pouted. "Didn’t Mom ask you to come inside, too?"

In previous years, his mom had always found a way to drag Vincent Grant inside, so he’d assumed this time would be no different.

But before Vincent Grant could respond, Cedric Grant quickly added, "Dad, you should hurry back. Auntie Joanna must be exhausted taking care of the baby sister all by herself."

’I can’t let Mom actually drag Dad inside,’ he thought. ’Since I’m not there, Auntie Joanna and the baby sister have to rely on him.’

Cedric Grant then quickly ran into the villa by himself.

When Sophia Shaw came out, she didn’t see Cedric Grant by the road.

After looking around, she finally spotted him under a bougainvillea bush in the yard of the house next door.

Cedric Grant was sitting on a stone bench beneath the flowers, holding a tablet.

As Sophia Shaw drew closer, she realized he was on a video call.

"When you prepare her bottle, you absolutely can’t forget the baby’s vitamin D drops. It’s the most important nutrient for her growth."

"Now that it’s getting warmer, don’t take her out in the sun until after six o’clock."

"And remember not to go near the little log cabin. The dog’s barking will startle her."

"It’s been exactly three days since the baby’s blanket was last cleaned, so remember to have it sanitized. And sanitize the replacement blanket again before you use it."

"..."

Sophia Shaw watched him quietly, the beauty mark just below her eye seeming to tremble slightly.

Her lips pressed into a thin, silent line.

Although Cedric Grant had always been an exceptional child, he’d never liked dealing with such trivial, fussy details.

In the past, she had even been the one to remind him when to take his own medicine.

And yet, simply because Joanna Sherman had adopted a child, he seemed to have become a completely different person. He was suddenly meticulous about every little thing, even remembering exactly how many days a blanket had been used.

The one hundred percent perfect older brother.

Too bad none of it was for Bun.

Sophia Shaw waited patiently for Cedric Grant to finish giving his instructions.

Cedric Grant ended the video call, but his brows remained tightly furrowed.

He had always handled so many of the baby sister’s needs personally, and he felt uneasy suddenly entrusting them to a nanny.

He couldn’t help but let out a soft sigh.

When he looked up, he saw Sophia Shaw standing a few feet away.

A flash of guilt crossed Cedric Grant’s eyes. He quickly tried to hide his tablet as he stood up. "Mom."

Sophia Shaw didn’t want to call him out on his favoritism, so she just said coolly, "Your great-grandmother and great-uncle are waiting. Hurry inside."

Seeing that she didn’t ask who he was video calling, Cedric Grant felt a wave of relief. He skipped happily into the Shaw villa.

"Oh, Cedric’s here!"

When his great-grandmother saw Cedric Grant, she beamed, her eyes curving into happy crescents.

"Great-Grandma," Cedric Grant said, walking over and letting the elderly woman stroke his face.

His great-grandmother doted on Cedric Grant, smiling as she stroked his face. "How long has it been since you came to see your great-grandma? I’ve missed you so much."

June Evans came out from the back room and glanced behind him. "Didn’t your father come with you?"

"No, Dad has something to do. He’s very busy," Cedric Grant said with a nod.

June Evans paused, slightly taken aback.

Ever since Cedric Grant had moved to Meridian for school, he hadn’t come over very often.

But in the past, Vincent Grant had always come with him.

Having worked at the Grant Group for a long time, Sophia Shaw knew that Vincent Grant was off today. He had no urgent business to attend to lately, so there was no question of him being "busy."

Cedric Grant’s "busy" obviously meant he was off playing doting father to Joanna Sherman’s daughter again.

’Ignoring his own biological daughter to go play dad to someone else’s child...’

Sophia Shaw hadn’t told her family about the divorce yet, so she could only sigh to herself.

The Grant Family actually placed great importance on bloodlines. When she first gave birth to Cedric Grant, Vincent Grant had raised him personally with his full attention, even though he didn’t like her.

Cedric Grant used to be quite protective of his mother, too. He knew that if she came back alone, the neighbors would gossip, so he always insisted on dragging Vincent Grant along.

But ever since Joanna Sherman returned, the father and son had become completely different people.

Vincent Grant had gone so far as to completely ignore his own flesh and blood.

Cedric Grant no longer cared about saving face for her either; his mind was filled with nothing but Joanna Sherman and her daughter.

Not wanting to upset her grandmother, Sophia Shaw quickly handed over the gifts. "Vincent Grant brought these for you."

Vincent Grant still observed the proper etiquette, so of course, there were gifts.

Purely wild matsutake mushrooms, cordyceps and deer antler harvested in Kaelan... they were all rare treasures that were difficult to buy even if one had the money.

June Evans quickly offered a few words of praise.

However, Yancy Shaw, who followed her out, had a grim and terribly dark expression.

He could accept Vincent Grant undermining his business, but he couldn’t stomach him ignoring Sophia Shaw.

June Evans shot him a look, silently reminding him that their grandmother was still there and he shouldn’t let her notice anything was wrong.

She then busied herself with having someone take the gifts inside while she ushered their grandmother and Cedric Grant further into the house.

Yancy Shaw gave Sophia Shaw a worried look, but in the end, he said nothing and followed them through the door.

The moment he walked in, Cedric Grant saw Chloe in his little crib and ran over curiously. "Is this my new baby uncle?"

"Yes, he is." June Evans walked over and pointed to the other side of the room. "Your sister is here, too."