"Chairman Norwood, the Eldest Young Master took an early flight back to Solisia. Before he left, he sent over a pair of white jade vases and wished you and Madam a happy marriage and a lifetime of bliss."

As Silas Norwood and Celia Sterling came downstairs, the butler was arranging freshly picked flowers from the garden into the white jade vases.

Silas Norwood glanced over. The jade vases were of exceptional quality. He gave a slight nod, said nothing, and left with Celia Sterling.

"Should I come find you for lunch?" Silas Norwood was driving. He fastened her seatbelt for her, then planted a kiss on her cheek. "Anything you’re craving? I can bring it to you."

"No, it’s okay. I’m meeting my mom for tea."

"Why meet her all of a sudden?" Silas Norwood frowned slightly. "Don’t let her upset you again."

"With blood ties, can you ever really make a clean break?" Celia Sterling gave a small smile. "Wouldn’t you agree?"

Silas Norwood’s pale gold eyes lingered on her face for a moment before he nodded. "My wife has a point."

Her meeting with June Coleman was at the Shepherd residence.

June Coleman was clearly delighted. She poured tea and offered pastries while speaking to her gently. "A good marriage really brings out the best in a person. Cece, your complexion is better than I’ve ever seen it. It sets my mind at ease to see you like this."

Celia Sterling twirled the teacup in her hands, her gaze falling on the table laden with pastries. This time, they were all her favorites.

"Silas Norwood is a very good man," Celia Sterling said sincerely as she sipped her tea.

"Of course he is. Otherwise, why would all those women in Metropia have coveted him for so many years?" June Coleman laughed. "Even Nia, after staying with you for two days, said her brother-in-law is a very gentle person, a completely different temperament from Kian."

Celia Sterling lowered her voice. "Mom, did you know that Franklin Sterling caused a scene at the wedding?"

June Coleman stiffened for a moment, then nodded. "I heard. That man has been causing trouble for years. Now that there’s been a complete falling out, it resolves a potential problem, in a way."

"I heard that back then, the confrontation between my brother and him came down to a mere one percent difference in shareholding." Celia Sterling studied June Coleman’s expression. "Thankfully, I had two percent. I evened the score for my brother."

June Coleman’s eyes darted away for an instant before she quickly smiled. "Yes, our Cece is her brother’s lucky star."

But Celia Sterling’s topic shifted abruptly. "I ran into that Miss Summer Sutton a few times recently. Later, I heard that we used to play together for a year or two when we were little. Logically, we should be close, but we’re like complete strangers to each other."

June Coleman lowered her head and took several sips of tea before finally letting out a dry "Oh." "That’s perfectly normal. You were so young then, what could you possibly remember? Besides, people’s personalities change as they grow up. That Miss Sutton was recently involved in a scandal with your brother, and then she got mixed up with Declan Norwood. It’s best for you to stay away from her, Cece."

Celia Sterling quietly agreed.

"Last time, I heard from Nia that you have a lot of my photos from before I was four or five?" She sighed. "My brother always says I was naughty and mischievous as a child, but he can never produce any proof. If it’s not too much trouble, Mom, could you give the photos back to me?"

The cup in June Coleman’s hand trembled slightly. She seemed vexed. "Let’s talk about it later. They’re very old, and many of the photos got damp. I’ve already sent them to a specialist for restoration, so it might take some time."

Celia Sterling fell silent.

But June Coleman was a very smooth talker. When Celia Sterling went quiet, she brought up a series of innocuous topics. They chatted intermittently for nearly half an hour before Celia Sterling stood up to leave.

"It’s so rare for you to ask me out. Your Uncle Shepherd and the others went out, afraid they’d disturb our mother-daughter chat. Why don’t you stay for a meal, Cece? I’ll cook for you myself," June Coleman invited.

Celia Sterling refused in a gentle voice, "No, thank you. I have other things to do."

"Alright then, next time. You and Kian should come over together next time, and our family can have a proper get-together." June Coleman also stood, preparing to see her out.

Celia Sterling’s eyes fell on the cups on the table. "This tea set is beautiful."

"It’s a treasured piece from the Argent Dynasty from your Uncle Shepherd’s collection. They say it was beloved by an Imperial Concubine of that era. I thought the style would appeal to you, so I brought it out especially for today." June Coleman asked her, "So, you like it?"

"I do," Celia Sterling nodded. "Can I have it?"

"You’ve never asked me for anything in all these years." June Coleman was thrilled. "Of course, you can."

A servant personally carried the tea set and loaded it into Celia Sterling’s "Big Lizard."

As the car drove away from the Shepherd residence, Celia Sterling took out the single cup June Coleman had just used while waiting at a red light and set it aside.

Then, she called her work assistant.

"I have a friend who needs a DNA test. Find out which facility in Metropia is the most reliable."

In the afternoon, Celia Sterling returned to the office and handled some work. Director Linden complained with a smile, "President Sterling, you’ve been so busy with your romance with Chairman Norwood that you’ve fallen behind on quite a bit of work lately."

"Didn’t I toss that Eldest Young Master Warren your way?"

"You did. Our former arch-nemesis is now a great asset to Delia Caine. We’ve given him several projects that didn’t involve sensitive information recently, and he’s handled them very well." Director Linden teased, "But the core data still needs your personal attention. Of course, having Chairman Norwood help you with it is also an option."

"I might consider gradually transferring my authority soon. That way, Delia Caine can continue to operate normally even if I’m not around in the future." Celia Sterling hinted subtly, "Keep an eye out privately and see which of the senior executives might be up to the task."

Director Linden was surprised. "President Sterling, are you... planning to become a full-time housewife? That won’t do! Leaving everything else aside, just in terms of incense blending, if Delia Caine loses Brightmoon, can it still be called Delia Caine?"

"I will still be Delia Caine’s incense master, and I will release a collector’s edition blend every month," Celia Sterling instructed. "However, the other incense masters are still lacking in experience. Pick a few of the most talented ones. Starting today, I will train them for three hours daily."

Director Linden looked at Celia Sterling, lost in thought. "President Sterling, you get married, and as soon as you come back, you’re offloading authority and training your successors..."

"Delia Caine’s future can’t rest entirely on my shoulders." Celia Sterling’s tone became a little more detached as she hinted meaningfully, "I have my own life to live, too."

According to their plan, they were staying at the Sterling residence tonight.

However, Celia Sterling was still at the company training the incense masters that evening, so after work, Silas Norwood and Kian Sterling waited for her at a coffee shop next to the R&D building.

"The person behind Franklin Sterling has been found." Kian Sterling lounged on the sofa, a cigarette between his fingers, his tone lazy yet cold. "He received an email, thousands of words long, but it all boiled down to one thing."

He didn’t state what that one thing was. They both understood.

"We traced the sender’s IP and found it belongs to one of Wyatt Sutton’s bodyguards." Kian Sterling stirred his coffee elegantly with one hand, a slight sneer on his lips.

Silas Norwood was very calm. "It was Wyatt Sutton?"

"Wyatt Sutton is sinister, but he’s also cautious. He’s greedy but gutless, a notorious coward." Kian Sterling said slowly, "Such an obvious trail of evidence just proves that the email was likely sent by another idiot from the Sutton Family."