Chapter 1597: Chapter 1597: The Whole Family Died
In an instant, everything grew quiet again.
Sunlight poured through the clean, transparent glass window, casting colorful beams onto the floor. The entire office was bathed in sunlight.
Aunt May’s chest felt tight, her breath catching.
It had been a long time since she had been this unsettled.
Calmly and comfortably, she had spent most of her life this way, never expecting at this age to revisit things she wished to forget.
She remembered that Qiana’s hands were most often cold. When she clutched hers, there was always an endless despair in her grip.
A kind of despair that no longer wanted to live.
Qiana had been gone for over twenty years.
"Aunt May, you don’t look well. Let me help you to the lounge to rest, okay? I’m sorry—it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have brought these things up. Honestly, I’m not feeling much better than you are." Lana Fern sighed. "After growing up, I learned all about my sister’s situation. A five-year-old little girl..."
As she spoke, Lana Fern’s tears began to fall.
Drop by drop, they landed on the back of her hand, even dripping onto Aunt May’s neck.
"If what you’re saying is true, then what do you think of Sylvan’s wife?" Aunt May asked calmly.
"Aunt May, everything I’ve said is true. Jasmine Yale is a Ximenez! The biological granddaughter of Patronus Ximenez! I haven’t told a single lie!" Lana Fern became emotional, her words coming out in a breathless rush. "Every time I think about my sister, I just can’t stand seeing Jasmine Yale again. Aunt May, do you understand how I feel?"
"I understand. You’re Yolanda’s younger sister, so it’s normal for you to hate Jasmine."
"Then what about you, Aunt May? Don’t you think all of the Ximenez family is hateful?"
"Your sister was innocent, and so is Jasmine Yale." Aunt May was clear-headed, unwilling to pin the blame for a massacre onto a young woman.
"Aunt May, she may be innocent, but now she’s married to Mr. Cheney. What gives her the right to marry him? Ha, I just don’t understand. How could Mr. Cheney marry her? I suppose, after twenty years, Mr. Cheney has already forgotten about his own mother."
"Enough." Aunt May rebuked. "Don’t speak ill of Sylvan in front of me. Qiana’s suicide—no one bore more pain than Sylvan!"
Aunt May vividly remembered the image of fourteen-year-old Sylvan Cheney kneeling for hours before his mother’s coffin after Qiana’s death.
A fourteen-year-old boy, forced to grow up overnight, taking on the burdens of the entire Cheney Family.
Just a middle schooler, yet Sylvan Cheney had already shouldered the weight of the Cheney Family’s empire.
Lana Fern swallowed hard, not daring to speak further.
In Aunt May’s presence, she had no room to be reckless.
Now, her family was in ruins. All of her loved ones were gone. She was the only one left, surviving like an ant, insignificant, wretched.
"Did you come here today just to talk to me about this?" Aunt May asked slowly.
"No. I came today because I wanted to see you, Aunt May. If possible, I’d also like to think of you as an aunt. I no longer have any family."
"No need. If you need help with something, feel free to ask, but as for calling me ’Aunt,’ I don’t think I’m quite worthy of that title," Aunt May replied bluntly.
She wasn’t naïve. Lana’s visit today was clearly intended to inform her of these matters.
"Aunt May, I truly didn’t think you were unaware. I didn’t mean to provoke your emotions. I apologize to you."
"There’s no need. What’s past is past. I’m not Sylvan’s biological aunt. Whoever he loves, whoever he marries, as long as he’s happy, that’s what matters. As for the rest, I have no right to interfere. If you’re hoping I’ll try to advise Sylvan, you’re wasting your effort."