Chapter 229: Chapter 227: No Blood Relationship

Subconscious reactions don’t lie.

And so, Carla Sinclair didn’t miss the fleeting shock in Mia Grant’s eyes.

Mia Grant’s expression went slack, but she reacted quickly, composing herself almost instantly.

Given her previous dishonesty, Carla Sinclair reminded her before she could speak, "Don’t lie."

"..."

’She’d anticipated my next move.’

Mia Grant’s lips parted, but she swallowed the glib answer she was about to give.

After a pause, she admitted, "There is."

"You..."

"That’s two questions. We’re done."

Mia Grant cut her off with a smile. "I have to go now."

The moment she turned, the smile vanished completely from her face. She almost fled in a panic.

She was in no mood to shop anymore. Mia Grant grabbed Lee and headed straight back to the Hughes family’s home.

Right now, she needed a quiet, private space to have a serious talk with her System.

"Miss Grant?"

In the elevator, Lee spoke up again.

"Huh?" Mia Grant looked up. "What is it?"

"Are you feeling unwell?"

Lee asked again, concerned.

Mia Grant shook her head gently and smiled. "I’m fine."

The elevator arrived. Mia Grant stepped out. "I’m going back to my room. You should get some rest, too."

She opened the door, closed it, and turned the lock, all in one smooth motion.

Mia Grant leaned against the door, took a deep breath, and summoned her System.

[Host.]

"You saw that?"

[Yes.]

Mia Grant paced back and forth, finding the whole thing unbelievable. "So? Why?"

"Did Carla Sinclair spy on me in the shower?"

"How could she know about it so clearly? It’s in a spot I can barely see myself, even with a mirror."

"As far as I can remember, only Kian Keller knew about it. Don’t tell me he told Carla Sinclair? But do you really think that’s possible?"

"System, don’t tell me there’s some hidden plot."

"Am I Carla Sinclair’s sister? Her cousin? Surely I’m not her daughter, right?"

[Host, please calm down.]

"I am calm!!!"

[...]

The System explained meekly, [Because you were designed as a cannon fodder supporting character who gets written off early, the author never mentioned the supporting character’s original family in the book’s plot.]

She was, after all, just a character who was written off shortly after her introduction—a mere cannon fodder meant to advance the relationship between the male and female leads. Who would care about her background?

"So you’re still completely clueless?"

[No, no, no!]

[While you were on your way back, I quickly synced up with the information on Carla Sinclair’s end.]

[Carla Sinclair is the eldest daughter of Portia’s Sinclair Family. The family has been in business for generations, primarily in the import-export trade, with most of their assets currently overseas. She has a brother who is one year younger than her, but he is not her biological sibling.]

"..." Mia Grant’s anger instantly subsided, her attention captured by the System’s words. "They’re not actually biological siblings?"

The file the old man had provided clearly listed the people Carla Sinclair was in close contact with.

She’d only known that the two siblings didn’t have a good relationship; she never imagined they weren’t even related by blood.

The fact that this wasn’t in the file meant that likely no one in all of Portia, aside from the Sinclairs themselves, knew about it.

[Yes.] The system added: [According to the data, Host, you met her brother not long ago.]

"?" Mia Grant blinked. "I don’t think so."

The System brought up the scene from that time for her to see.

At an art exhibition, a man and a woman stood side-by-side in a long gallery.

That girl was Mia Grant.

She had her arms crossed and was admiring the painting on the wall.

The man beside her stood quietly beside her.

The scene was serene and beautiful, a sharp contrast to the intensely colored painting on the wall.

"What the...?"

Mia Grant’s eyes widened. She had a habit of clearing her memory of unimportant people.

As a result, it took her a while of watching the recording to recall that she had, in fact, met him.

"Oh, it was him."

[Also, that painting you were looking at in the exhibition was a work by Carla Sinclair’s mother.]

Mia Grant’s brow twitched. Just as she was about to wrack her brain, she heard the System thoughtfully begin to read an encyclopedia entry in its dry, monotonous, mechanical voice:

[Gwen York, renowned painter. Female. A native of Portia with ancestral roots in Shenlyn. Her father was a master of traditional painting. She began her art studies at age four. At fifteen, one of her works was featured at a major auction, and she was hailed as a rare genius, the likes of which the country hadn’t seen in two decades. At eighteen, one of her pieces caught the eye of the eldest son of Portia’s Sinclair Family, who bought it for an astronomical sum just to win her smile. Gwen York fell deeply in love, and by the end of that year, she married him. The following year, she gave birth to their eldest daughter, Carla Sinclair. Five years later, Gwen York passed away in Portia due to illness.]

"..."

The file from the old man had only mentioned the wedding date of Carla’s parents and a brief note at the end stating that her mother was a painter.

But it never mentioned her name or her work, so Mia hadn’t paid it much mind or bothered to look into it further.

’Why didn’t I look more closely back then?’

’Oh, right. I remember now.’

It was because the ’mother’ section of Carla’s file listed a total of five different women.

In other words, after Gwen York passed away, her husband had four more marriages.

"I always thought their sibling relationship was bad because the brother was likely the son of one of Carla’s other stepmothers. At least they’d be half-siblings, still related by blood."

"But to think they’re not even biologically related."

[Carla Sinclair’s brother is most likely the son of her father’s first love. After the mother passed away, her father brought the boy home. An adoption, I suppose?]

"Do Carla Sinclair and her brother both know about this?"

[It’s unconfirmed if her brother knows, as he was very young at the time. But Carla Sinclair is aware.]

"..." ’These wealthy families are such a mess.’

Mia Grant rubbed her temples. "What’s her brother like? From my brief interaction with him, he seemed like a nice guy."

[From what I’ve gathered, Carla’s father plans to hand the family business over to her brother. That’s also why Carla went abroad in the first place.]

[However, her brother’s ambitions don’t seem to lie there. He also loves painting, which is why he’s been busy organizing Gwen York’s art exhibition, with his mind never on the company.]

"Ah, so that’s why Carla Sinclair decided to come back," Mia Grant realized.

[Host, I can only sync information related to Carla Sinclair. I can’t yet determine your relationship with her. At the moment, she is investigating your background.]

[I suggest you proactively contact her and cooperate with her investigation.] 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Mia Grant stroked her chin. "Let’s just wait. If we’re really related, she’ll be desperate to contact me."

[Host, aren’t you excited at all?]

Mia Grant sat down. Compared to her earlier frenzy, she now seemed perfectly calm.

"After hearing all that, I don’t think acknowledging a connection with Carla—even if we are related—would be a good thing."

"She’s not even the favorite in the Sinclair Family. Do you think that scumbag father of hers would be happy to see me show up?"

"Carla is being used as a pawn in an arranged marriage. Do you think my fate would be any better than hers?"