Chapter372 The Birthday Party
Cecily nodded. "That's also why you need to talk to me alone. To avoid alerting the enemy, it's better to be cautious. Before the matter is clarified, everyone is a suspect."
"You have a point, but you don't understand Josep. He doesn't have the guts." Owen had doubts.
"Human nature is unpredictable. The Fitzgerald family fortune is worth them fighting tooth and nail, at any cost, even if it means fratricide." Cecily had seen too much scheming and plotting. If Eliza could undergo plastic surgery to seize the Bennett family fortune, it wouldn't be surprising if Josep could murder his own brother for the inheritance.
Cecily saw this clearly, and Owen surely did too.
Owen glanced at Cecily. "You're telling me all this today to stop me from preventing you two from being together, aren't you?"
Cecily couldn't deny it. "But I also know you love Darian and always think of him. Darian knows this too. That's why I don't want to make things difficult for Darian between us."
"Do you think that by clearing up this matter and proving that Patrick's death has nothing to do with your mother, I will allow you to be together?" asked Owen.
Cecily pursed her lips. "As I said, a harmonious family leads to prosperity. You can't change the fact that Darian loves me, nor can you change the fact that I am the mother of Darian's child. I do hope you can let go of your hatred for my mother and stop preventing me and Darian from being together. As for the real culprit behind this, I will do my best to investigate and give you an explanation."
Owen looked at her, his gaze no longer filled with the previous resentment. "You do have a heart for this matter, but since it's a Fitzgerald family issue, we will investigate it ourselves. As for you and Darian, even if I don't stop you, you still may not be able to be together now."
Two knocks sounded on the door.
Owen gave Cecily a look, Cecily then quickly tidied up the things on the table and put them into her bag.
Owen glanced at the door. "Who is it?"
"Grandpa, it's me." It was Aurelia's voice.
Owen's eyes shifted. "Come in."
Aurelia walked in with a plate of fruit. "Grandpa."
Owen asked, "Didn't I say no one was to disturb me? What are you doing here now?"
Aurelia wore a simple smile. "I just cut some fruit and brought it over for you. Try it, it's very sweet."
Aurelia's eyes flickered as she glanced at them.
"Put it down and leave." Owen looked unhappy.
Aurelia bit her lip. Since Owen had said so, she had no choice but to leave.
Victor was standing outside. Seeing Aurelia come out, he asked, "What were they talking about?"
"I don't know, I didn't hear."
Victor narrowed his eyes. "Cecily was being all secretive. I wonder what she was saying to Grandpa."
Aurelia said, "Cecily just wants Grandpa to stop preventing her and Darian from being together. Brother, you're overthinking it."
Cecily walked out of the study, glanced at them, and they happened to be looking at her.
She withdrew her gaze and left directly.
Victor narrowed his eyes and followed Cecily. "Miss Watson, wait."
Hearing the voice behind her, Cecily stopped and saw Victor catching up. She raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"
Victor's malicious gaze swept over Cecily.
Every time Victor stared at her, Cecily felt very uncomfortable and took a step back warily.
Victor smiled. "I just wanted to ask if Grandpa gave you any trouble."
"That's none of your business. We're not close," said Cecily coldly.
Victor was indifferent to Cecily's coldness and took a step closer. "We're not close? But last time at The Silver Fox Tavern, I got drunk..."
Cecily glared at him. "You dare mention The Silver Fox Tavern to me? Haven't you had enough of a beating yet?"
Victor chuckled and reached out to Cecily. "Miss Watson, why keep people at arm's length? Darian doesn't want you now. You might as well be with me. I'm much better at taking care of people than he is. Whatever Darian gives you, I'll double it."
Just before Victor's fingers touched Cecily, she grabbed his hand.
Victor raised an eyebrow and smiled, reaching out to grab Cecily's hand. Cecily arched an eyebrow, swiftly turned, and gripped his hand tightly.
She gave him a perfect over-the-shoulder throw.
Victor, still confused about what had just happened, lay on the ground dazed, grimacing in pain.
Cecily looked down at him with a bright smile. "You want to buy me? Why don't you weigh yourself first? You think you can compare to Darian? Are you worthy?"
"Cecily..." Victor clutched his aching back, glaring at her departing figure. "Just you wait, I'll have sex with you sooner or later."
Cecily walked out of the Fitzgerald family with a confident stride and got into her car. She took a deep breath as her phone rang.
It was Evander.
Glancing at the caller ID, she answered the call. Evander knew that Cecily had returned to Silver Frost Capital. Without beating around the bush, he directly said "You've returned to Silver Frost Capital, haven't you?"
Cecily asked, "Was it Aurelie who told you again? What benefits did you give her? She tells you everything."
"Hey, we're partners now, aren't we? You don't tell me anything," said Evander.
Cecily connected to the Bluetooth, started the car, and smiled helplessly. "Partners don't usually keep tabs on each other's whereabouts every day like you do."
Evander said, "Enough joking. My grandmother's birthday party is tomorrow night. You must come."
Cecily glanced at the time. "Tomorrow?"
"Do you have something on tomorrow?"
After a moment of contemplation, Cecily said, "No, just send me an invitation. Otherwise, I might not be able to get in."
"You can just come straight in."
"Alright." Cecily hung up the phone and drove home.
In the study, Owen was still recovering, looking at Patrick's photo with teary eyes. "Patrick, don't worry. I will find the person who harmed you and will never let them go."
"Dad." Sandra called softly from behind Owen.
Owen wiped away his tears, put the photo frame back in place, and turned to look at Sandra. "Why are you here?"
"Are you alright?" asked Sandra.
"I'm fine. What do you need?"
Sandra bit her lip. "Now that Cecily is back, I want to talk to you about Darian and Cecily."
"You don't want me to stop them anymore," said Owen.
Sandra nodded. "Rowan and Griffin need their father and mother. For the sake of the children, please let them be. This past year, because you didn't want Darian to see Cecily, you even let Cecily take Rowan and Griffin away. You made Darian forget Cecily, and you achieved your goal. But you've seen it this year, Darian is not happy. Cecily was right, a harmonious family leads to prosperity. Please let them be a family."
Owen looked up at Sandra, not speaking, as if considering something.
Sandra continued, "And the woman you arranged to be by Darian's side, Freya, I want to make it clear that I don't like her being around Darian. She has no family background, her behavior is improper, and she is not worthy of Darian."
Owen said, "She is Bryan's daughter."
"But you know she is not Bryan's biological daughter, just someone who calls Bryan 'father' in name only," said Sandra.
"Bryan has no children, only this one daughter who calls him 'father.' It shows how much she means to Bryan." Owen looked at Sandra.
"That's not true, Dad. You don't really think that way. You just know that Bryan's wife is Vivienne, and you want to make Vivienne and Cecily unhappy, so you helped Freya." Sandra saw it all too clearly and did not agree.
The grudges of the previous generation had already greatly affected Darian and Cecily. If she didn't take action, Darian's happiness would truly be destroyed by Owen.
Owen furrowed his brows deeply as if he were contemplating something.
After a long while, he sighed, "As long as Cecily has the ability to get back to Darian's side, I won't interfere anymore."
He no longer had the energy to stop them. Patrick's death was not an accident; he had to find the culprit and make them pay for his son's life.
He agreed too quickly. Sandra was surprised by Owen's words. "Are you really not going to stop them?"
"But you are not allowed to play matchmaker either. Everything will depend on their own fate," added Owen.
Sandra knew this was the biggest concession Owen could make. She quickly agreed but was also curious about what Cecily had said to Owen to change his mind.
The next day, at Bella Lockwood's birthday party.
At this moment, the Lockwood Manor party hall was bustling with activity.
At the entrance, a luxurious Rolls-Royce slowly came to a stop. Larkin opened the car door and got out, walked to the back, and opened the door, respectfully saying to the person inside, "Boss, we've arrived."
Darian closed the file in his hand, glanced at the time, and with a stern face, stepped out of the car.
Darian had rarely attended parties this past year. He always felt like someone was missing by his side, leaving him with an empty feeling. Apart from work, he had no interest in anything else.
Constant work seemed to numb him, making that inexplicable feeling in his heart more bearable.
The Lockwood family had some connections with the Fitzgerald family; otherwise, he wouldn't have come.
"Boss, Owen arranged for Mrs. Cruz to be your companion tonight. Do you want to wait for her?"
"No."
Darian walked towards the party hall. Meanwhile, another car slowly stopped behind him. Cecily stepped out, lifting her gown, with Rowan and Griffin running out to help her with the dress.
Griffin grinned, "Mommy, let us help. Daddy's not here, so we're the men by your side."
Rowan nodded. "That's right."
Cecily looked at their gentlemanly behavior and realized how much more mature they had become over the past year. "Your daddy will be back tonight. Let's go home early after the party, okay?"
"Okay." The little ones nodded in unison, their hearts full of anticipation and joy.
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