Chapter 233: Chapter 231: Felix Sinclair Is Her Cousin

The next afternoon, Mia Grant changed into professional attire and followed Simon Adler to a banquet.

It was billed as a birthday banquet, but in reality, it was just a small gathering.

Carla Sinclair didn’t like a big fuss, so she hadn’t invited many people.

The party was held at one of Carla Sinclair’s villas near Central.

As evening approached, the sky over Portia had already darkened.

Brilliant lights lined the road.

It was Christmas Day, and the streets near Central were several times more crowded with cars and pedestrians than usual.

The car was stuck in traffic.

Leaning back in her seat, Mia wasn’t worried. She took out her phone to reply to holiday greetings from Yates Donovan, Hayes Hughes, and Felix Sinclair.

Her chats with Ian Sinclair and Kian Keller, however, were dead silent.

Mia wasn’t one to overthink it, so she took the initiative and sent them both a "Merry Christmas."

Kian Keller replied almost instantly: [When are you coming back?]

’Such a cold reply. What a buzzkill,’ she thought.

Mia sighed and sent back an eye-roll emoji to show her exasperation.

After exiting the chat, Mia checked on Ian Sinclair’s. Still no reply.

’That’s strange,’ she thought.

Ian was practically glued to his phone and usually replied in seconds.

Just as she was pondering this, a notification popped up. Kian Keller had sent her a picture.

Mia raised an eyebrow. ’Looks like this old-timer has finally learned how to send stickers at his age,’ she mused.

But when she tapped it open, she saw a photo of a supercar.

It was pinkish-purple, with sleek, flowing lines—a cool yet playful design.

Mia sent back a question mark.

jiangjiang~: [Christmas present.]

[???]

Mia froze. It took her a moment to reply: [For me?]

[If you don’t like it, we can swap it for another color.]

[...I love it!!!]

’How could I not love it!’

’There was nothing she loved more than the feeling of being won over with money.’

But there was just one problem.

[I don’t have a driver’s license.]

jiangjiang~: [Then you should put that on your to-do list for the holidays.]

[Hehehe, okay~] Mia laughed out loud.

Beside her, Simon Adler heard her laugh and stiffened slightly, glancing over.

She was leaning against the car window, cradling her phone in both hands, laughing as she typed.

He didn’t know who she was chatting with, but one thing was certain: she was in a very good mood.

Simon’s gaze seemed to be seared onto her face, and he couldn’t look away.

’Logically, he shouldn’t be curious.’

’What was there to be curious about?’

’But his mind couldn’t stop itself from speculating. Who was on the other end of that conversation?’

’First, he could rule out Silas Grant.’

’It probably wasn’t that fake fiancé of hers, either.’

’To make her this happy... it was most likely Yates Donovan.’

’After all, with Kian Keller’s dead-boring personality, talking to him was worse than talking to a block of wood.’

At the thought of Yates Donovan, Simon’s brow furrowed.

It was strange, come to think of it.

He was certain that Mia really liked Hayes Hughes.

But he could also sense that she and Yates Donovan were the most in sync.

The way she acted around him, she was like a completely different person.

Around Silas Grant, she was a delicate little white flower in a greenhouse.

With Hayes Hughes, she was the pure, white moonlight shimmering on the water.

And with Yates Donovan, she was a vibrant and tenacious nameless weed, full of life—uninhibited and flamboyant.

For a fleeting moment, he felt that Mia and Yates had some similarities.

’Where, specifically...?’

Her way of doing things had shades of Silas Grant—calm and cunning.

’But that wasn’t really her.’

Then Simon realized what it was.

Both she and Yates Donovan had a streak of insanity in them.

Yates’s was obvious, out in the open.

Mia’s was hidden, a quiet sort of madness.

Perhaps that was why the two of them got along so exceptionally well.

’Looking at it that way, he had no idea where Silas Grant got the audacity to want to marry her.’

—

Mia knew Kian Keller was deliberately using the car to lure her back.

After a moment’s thought, she decided to explain.

[I’ve run into a little trouble... well, not trouble, exactly. To put it simply, I think I might have found my family.]

A few seconds after she sent the message, her screen lit up with an incoming voice call.

Mia answered and put the phone to her ear.

"Did Silas Grant help you find them?"

"No. Why do you ask?"

Kian didn’t beat around the bush. "He’ll use this to trick you," he said bluntly.

If Silas Grant wanted to find a way to keep her in Portia, he wouldn’t be above using such a low-handed tactic.

"Oh, he wouldn’t do that," Mia said, thinking Kian was being a bit of a conspiracy theorist.

Kian scoffed. "How long have you even known him?"

Mia hesitated. ’Fair enough,’ she thought.

"But it really wasn’t him this time. I found out on my own."

"Their names."

He paused, then added, perhaps worried she didn’t know what he was asking for, "Their home address, or even just where you met them, will do."

For him, a single location was more than enough. Never mind investigating one person; he could dig up clues on their family dating back generations in a matter of minutes.

"You don’t need to investigate; I already know. It’s the Sinclair Family from Portia, but it’s not confirmed yet. I’d say there’s about an eighty percent chance it’s them."

"The Sinclairs? I recall they have a daughter and a son. Yuri Sinclair? He’s been married more than once. Are you sure it’s him?"

"Yep. His daughter, Carla Sinclair, contacted me recently. If I’m right, then Carla and I are probably biological sisters."

"Your mother..." Kian’s voice trailed off as if he were trying to remember. "Gwen York, from the York Family in Shenlyn?"

"That’s right."

"You even know about her," Mia said, surprised. "I remember Ms. York’s background wasn’t exactly a match for your social circle."

Gwen York’s family was in the arts and was considered middle-class.

When she married into the Sinclair Family, the Portia media was scathing, calling it a case of a commoner trying to become royalty.

Kian was silent for a long time before suddenly asking, "Do you know the name of your recent fiancé’s mother?"

"...I don’t."

"Then you can take a guess," the man said, his voice cool.

After a brief silence.

Mia read between the lines, and her eyes widened. "Is... is she also from the York Family in Shenlyn?"

The man hummed in affirmation. "Most likely from the same family."

"If you’re sure she’s your mother, then I regret to inform you that you should be calling that fiancé of yours ’cousin.’"

"..."

On the other end of the line, Kian Keller toyed with his Buddha Beads. For the first time in days, he felt a profound sense of satisfaction and delight.

So, he said, "Thank you for the Christmas present. I’m very happy now."

"..."

Mia was too stunned to speak.

Finally, Kian took pity on her and relented. "Your mother is from a collateral branch of the York Family at most. You and your fiancé aren’t considered close relatives."

As soon as he finished speaking, he could hear her let out a huge sigh of relief on the other end of the line.

’So she really did care,’ he thought.

Glancing at the traffic ahead, Mia snapped back to reality. "I’m here. I’ll talk to you later."

She put her phone away and turned to meet Simon Adler’s probing gaze.

After a few seconds, he looked away. "Let’s get out of the car."

Mia put on her mask and fell into her role as Lee, following behind him.

The moment she stepped into the foyer, Mia’s gaze was drawn to a familiar figure.

The young man standing next to Carla Sinclair, dressed in a suit and holding a glass of wine, was... Ian?