Vicky fell quiet for a while before blurting out, âWas that the excuse you used to make me break up with
Tyler?â
Old Mister Hart was taken by surprise at first but soon started chucking. âMade you? I guess youâve
truly lost your memories, Ms. Shaw. No one made you. You chose this path on your own.â
âI donât believe you.â
âThatâs the truth. You were the one who came to me, begging for help.â Old Mister Hart smiled. âThis is
a big family, and Tyler isnât exactly a necessary addition. When I said that I wanted to bring him back
into the family, over half of the family members protested, includingâ¦â He sighed. âIncluding Tylerâs
biological parents. Regardless, I donât think the blood of the Harts should stray out there, so I took Tyler
back despite all the voices telling me against it.â
Old Mister Hart was one of the most influential people in the world when he was young but was old and
plagued by conservative beliefs and thoughts, so he valued blood above all.
âIâve allowed Tyler to do anything he wanted and get wherever he wanted. Do you think you could
marry Tyler otherwise?â
Vicky had not remembered everything about the past, so she did not believe in every word Old Mister
Hart said. After all, the truly cunning ones would hide their lies in the truth, making it difficult to detect.
Vicky glanced at the chessboard on the table.
Old Mister Hart seemed approachable but was ruthless when it came to chess.
She knew she could not possibly rival such a man, so she changed the subject. âYou still havenât talked
about the car accident.â
Old Mister Hart nodded. âFive years after Valencia gave up her share, Orion woke up. When he found
out that his wife had remained by his side throughout the time when he was unconscious and raised
their son to be obedient and kind, he felt like he owed his family a great deal. Valencia and Lincoln
relied on one another for years, so Lincoln was even more important to Valencia than her own life. She
doesnât need him to be successful and only wants him to have a peaceful life. Lincoln had been
behaving as though he had no ambition and didnât catch the eyes of other members of the family for
years. Even I was fooled.â
Vicky frowned. âSoâ¦he was just pretending to be meek and unambitious?â
âYes.â Old Mister Hart sighed. âBy the time I realized what happened, he had already recovered the
share Valencia sold and even obtained the support of a few family members under my nose.â
Vickyâs heart sank. âThat means that you want Tyler to return to the family because you need him there
to keep Lincoln in place, right?â
The talk about blood and lineage had all been nothing but excuses. After a few thoughtful moments,
she said, âSo the car accident Tylerâs adoptive parents ran into back then was either the work of
Lincoln or Tylerâs biological parents. Is that right?â
Old Mister Hart shot her an impressed look. âYouâve grown smarter, Ms. Shaw.â
âOld Mister Hart, who exactly is the culprit?â