Chapter 485

Chapter 485

I did not understand the meaning behind Shawn's words, but I felt exhausted. I gradually fell into a

deep sleep as I snuggled into his arms. It was already noon the next day by the time I woke up again.

However, I felt wholly energized from my sleep, but there was one thing that puzzled me—Ezekiel

Hastings.

His name kept echoing in my mind. Therefore, I couldn't help feeling curious about why I was

constantly reminded of him. I shook my head to dismiss my scattered thoughts as I muttered to myself,

"Somebody whom both Shawn and Sir fear should be a dangerous person. I should stay away from

him if I ever meet him again."

I got out of bed, quickly washed up, and took my medicine as usual. After that, I went downstairs and

saw Shawn in the living room. He was holding Skyler in his arms, and River was sitting by his feet.

There was nobody else in the living room aside from them.

I went over and snuggled next to him. "Where are the others?"

"I'm not sure. There was nobody here by the time I came downstairs."

I asked in astonishment, "Was there nobody watching the children?"

Shawn answered my question calmly, "They went outside to clean up the yard when they saw me

coming downstairs. Leo was crying and screaming earlier."

I leaned over, hugged his arm, and kissed his face. Then, I smoothly leaned over in the same

movement to kiss Skyler on the cheek. To my surprise, he suddenly shifted the child in his arm from his

left arm to his right arm. Finally, he wrapped his left arm around my shoulder and changed the subject,

"What would you like for breakfast, Mrs. Xenos?"

I persistently questioned his actions. "Are you preventing me from kissing Skyler?"

He shot me a question instead of answering, "Am I?"

"Why else did you move Skyler away from me?"

I took Skyler from Shawn's arms. Then, I hugged and kissed Skyler on his chubby little face. When I

looked up again, I noticed Shawn staring at me unblinkingly. Thus, I took the chance to tease him

jokingly. "Are you jealous?"

Shawn looked away and did not answer my question.

I broke into a mischievous grin. "You are jealous."

It was evident that he was unwilling to acknowledge my statement as he smoothly rose to his feet and

went into the kitchen instead. Meanwhile, I stayed in the living room to care for the children. It didn't

take long before he came out with a glass of warm milk and handed it to me. "Have some milk."

I coyly murmured, "I'm using both hands to hold Skyler."

In other words, I had no hands to take the glass from him.

He furrowed his eyebrows slightly and abruptly bent down to place the cup by my lips. I took a sip of

milk from the glass he placed by my lips. When Skyler saw the glass, he immediately stretched out to

take the glass with his small grabby hands. Shawn swiftly moved the glass from my lips to Skyler's lips.

After he gave Skyler a small sip of the milk, he took the glass back to the kitchen.

Skyler kept clapping his hands to indicate that he wanted more, seemingly enchanted by the delicious

taste of the milk. So, I coaxed him softly, "There's none left. The nanny will feed you milk later. Can you

play with your sister for now?"

He didn't seem to understand what I was telling him and abruptly burst into tears when he failed to

receive what he was asking for. I was momentarily stunned by his reaction as it was my first time

seeing him throw a tantrum because his wishes were not satisfied. Thus, I quickly picked him up and

ran to the kitchen. "Sunny, Skyler is crying!"

Shawn didn't even bother to look up. "Leave him be."

I pouted. "Daddy is so cold."

He did not turn around, leaving his broad back facing in our direction. Thus, I carried the bawling Skyler

away from the kitchen and placed him down with River. After a quick search, I found a pacifier and

handed the pacifier to Skyler. Skyler immediately shoved the pacifier in his mouth and stopped crying.

Shawn made sandwiches and grilled bacon for breakfast. I was full after eating just one of the

sandwiches. After breakfast, he decided to follow me on my errands.

He wasn't swamped with work at the moment, so he had more free time on his hands. Therefore, he

decided to follow me to one of the branch companies under the Xenos Family.

When we arrived at the office, I immediately began reading through the documents Anthony had sent

over. When he saw the papers in my hands, Shawn queried about my work, "What's that about?"

"Anthony wants to terminate our cooperation with the Hartmann Family from Rothfield. It seems that

the other party has violated the terms of the agreement. I'm reading through the details right now."

He probed further, "If my memory serves right, the Hartmann Family and the Xenos Family are rivals.

When did the Xenos Family begin working with the Hartmann Family from Rothfield?"

I explained, "One year ago, the Hartmann Family showed interest in working with us. Anthony asked

for my opinion regarding the matter, and I agreed with the proposal. That was because the terms they

offered were very tempting. Besides, the rivalry stemmed from the grievances of the previous

generation. In my opinion, The Xenos Family started a clean slate the instant I took over the family. Not

to mention, the Hartmann Family was the one who took the initiative to show us goodwill. So, there was

no reason for us to refuse."

He used to know the affairs of the Xenos Family like the back of his hand, but the Xenos Family had

undergone drastic and earth-shaking changes over the past two years.

"Why does Anthony wish to terminate the contract?"

I scanned through the documents and elaborated on the situation to him, "The Hartmann Family

violated the spirit of the contract when they showed interest in cooperating with Oracle Limited. That's

why Anthony suggested that we terminate the contract with them. He is asking for my opinion, but I

generally agree with his suggestions."

He took the document from me. Then, after a moment of silence, he pointed out, "Oracle Limited is the

company that Rudy Adams established in Rothfield."

I immediately understood his implication. "It's Ezekiel Hastings!"

While it was true that Oracle Limited belonged to Rudy on the surface, it was an open secret that

everything that Rudy currently owned belonged to Ezekiel. It would seem that Ezekiel had started to

make his move and was setting his sights on the Xenos Family!

Shawn furrowed his eyebrows together. "It's not like him to do something like this."

I asked in confusion, "You don't think it's Ezekiel?"

He did not answer immediately. Instead, he lowered his eyes as he contemplated the ins and outs of

the matter in silence. Then, he handed the document back to me after a short while with a piece of

advice, "Don't dissolve the contract just yet."

I couldn't help feeling confused. "Why not?"

He explained patiently, "Ray, if the Hartmann Family from Rothfield violated the spirit of the contract,

then they are the ones at fault. However, this incident only came to light thanks to your private

investigation. Unfortunately, the Hartmann Family has yet to form an official cooperation with Oracle

Limited at the moment, so we will only fall into their trap if the Xenos Family takes the initiative to

dissolve the contract."

I lightly tapped my finger against the file as I voiced my speculations, "Sunny, do you think they are

doing this on purpose?"

"Based on the Xenos Family's previous modus operandi, they should have assumed that the Xenos

Family would make a huge spectacle to suppress the Hartmann Family. They might be waiting for that

very moment. It would be easy for them to turn around and retaliate against the Xenos Family if we do

publicly force them into a corner. I have some ideas on how they might retaliate if you're interested.

The Hartmann Family intends to use the Xenos Family as a stepping stone to build a connection with

Oracle Limited in Rothfield."

Frankly, he might as well have bluntly announced they were trying to build a connection with Ezekiel

rather than saying they were trying to develop a rapport with Oracle Limited.

"Are you saying that the Hartmann Family is more concerned about Ezekiel than the Xenos Family?"

The Xenos Family was extremely powerful in Athium. On the other hand, Rudy's influence was mainly

concentrated in Europe. No Family or business would willingly give up on a chance at cooperation with

the Xenos Family and choose to work with another company with limited development in Athium. Be

that as it may, that was exactly what the Hartmann Family was doing. They would rather give up on

their cooperation with the Xenos Family to build a connection with Oracle Limited.

It was important to note that the mastermind behind Oracle Limited was Ezekiel.

Shawn glanced at the gloomy sky outside the window and answered my question with a sense of

indifference, "The situation in the financial world has been stable for too long now. Many wish to rock

the boat. After all, that is the only way for them to gain an opportunity to enter the market, which is

probably what the Hartmann Family is truly after. They intend to disrupt the current situation, and

Ezekiel is the only person I know who is trying to spearhead this movement. But, of course, these are

nothing more than my personal speculations."

Nonetheless, I knew that his speculations were most likely correct.

I quickly responded, "In that case, I won't do anything for now."

The main difference between how Shawn and I considered problems lay in the fact that he could think

about issues through different perspectives before coming to a logical conclusion and adapting to the

situation he was in.

Unfortunately, I don't possess such skills. However, I'm not abasing myself by thinking that since he's

truly a brilliant man.

Although I used to believe that I was quite intelligent, I could only remain humble when faced with a

true genius.

"Yes. Don't make your move now. We should observe the other party's movements for the time being."

I hesitantly asked him, "You mentioned that this incident is unlike Ezekiel. So, how do you know that he

won't make a move against the Xenos Family?"

He retracted his gaze and turned to look at me instead. The look in the depths of his eyes was very

profound. "Perhaps that may stem from the fact that Ezekiel has many enemies, and you aren't on the

top of the list for now. At the very least, he would not move against you right now."