Chapter 13 Secret Identity

• Despite being a complete idiot, Shandie still has Cindy to protect her in case anything happens. I, on the other hand, have no one at all... My mother died of mysterious causes, and my father is a heartless man. I don't feel loved in this household at all, but that's all right. At least my parents from overseas are really nice to me, and I have a brother that depends on me a lot. He must be missing me like crazy while I'm gone, but I have to cut them off temporarily to keep them out of this mess.
• Arielle was snapped out of her train of thoughts when her phone started ringing all of a sudden. She glanced at the caller ID and saw that it was one of her friends from Moranta.
• “Hello, San. How have you been lately?” the person asked in Ustranasion.
• “I'm doing fine, Vance. I just got home a while back. Ran into some trouble, but it's all taken care of now. So, to what do I owe the pleasure of your call?” Arielle responded fluently in Ustranasion, sounding exactly like a native speaker.
• “You remember that island project I'm working on? The expenses have gotten really high lately, and I'm having some issues with my capital chain. I was wondering if you could either lend me some money or invest it in my project and become a shareholder?” Vance asked awkwardly.
• “I have high hopes for your island project. Go ahead and tell me how much money you need. I'll gladly become a member of your team,” Arielle replied.
• “Oh, that's good to hear! I'll be needing a billion. Would that be okay with you?” Vance asked.
• “No problem!” Arielle agreed to it without any hesitation.
• After hanging up the phone, she contacted her personal finance manager overseas and transferred one billion to Vance's bank account.
• She then had her lawyer help sign the shareholders' agreement with them on her behalf.
• Having taken care of all that, Arielle glanced at the two credit cards that Henrick gave her and let out a chuckle before deleting the records of that transfer.
• Five days soon went by in the blink of an eye.
• Neither Shandie nor Cindy made a single move throughout the entire time. On top of refraining from asking Henrick to let Shandie out of her room, Cindy even went as far as taking great care of Arielle. Naturally, that helped improve Henrick's mood a little.
• By forbidding any and all mentions of the venomous snake in the manor, it created the illusion that nothing had ever happened.
• Henrick felt as if the exhaustion he felt from work was gone when he saw his family happily having dinner together.
• It's good to see that they're getting along well. I hope they'll remain this way so I won't have to deal with their drama...
• His train of thoughts was interrupted when Cindy spoke up all of a sudden. “There's something about Shannie that I haven't told you about, Dear.”
• Henrick's mood was ruined the moment he heard her mention Shandie. “Are you trying to defend that little sh*t? Given what she's done, being grounded for a month is probably the lightest punishment she could ever hope for! Don't even think about trying to defend her!” he shouted angrily while slamming his fork on the table.
• Arielle shot Cindy a suspicious glance.
• Huh... This isn't like Cindy at all... She should know better than to defend Shandie at a time like this. What could she possibly be planning?
• “I'm not trying to defend her, Dear. There's just something that I'm not sure if I should tell you about,” Cindy said with a conflicted look on her face.
• The frown on Henrick's face eased up a little when he heard that. “What is it?” he asked coldly.
• Cindy let out a sigh as she pulled out a piece of paper from her pocket. “I received a notice today. It says Shannie was awarded first place in the Socialite Coffee Competition organized by Crown Coffee Academy.”
• “What?”
• Getting first place in that competition is as good as obtaining an endorsement for Soir Coffee, a world-renowned coffeehouse chain!
• With that in mind, Henrick took the notice over from Cindy to have a closer look at it. His eyes lit up with greed when he saw Vinson's name on the guest list.
• He got so excited that his hands were trembling as he asked, “This is really great news! Why didn't you tell me about this sooner when the ceremony is tomorrow afternoon!”
• “It's because of that crazy stunt Shannie pulled. I told her about this today, but she said she wanted to skip the ceremony so she could stay home and repent,” Cindy replied with a guilty expression.
• “That simply won't do!” Henrick exclaimed.
• This is the perfect opportunity for her to present herself before the elites of this society! She can't just sit out on such an event!
• It wasn't until he noticed Arielle's pure, innocent gaze that he realized he had to at least put up an act to hide his intentions.
• Henrick then cleared his throat awkwardly and asked, “Shandie must've learned the error of her ways if she said that, so it doesn't really matter how long she was grounded for. What do you think, Sannie?”
• Yup, there it is! He's showing his true colors like the great dad that he is!
• Despite being utterly disappointed in him, Arielle maintained a friendly smile as she said, “I've actually been meaning to say this for quite a while now, Dad. Keeping Shandie locked up in her room isn't going to do her much good, so I think it's about time you let her out. I'm sure she has learned her lesson and knows right from wrong now. Besides, you can just give her a more severe punishment if she repeats her mistake.”
• Cindy gritted her teeth in anger when she heard that.
• D*mn it! There's no way Henrick will let Shandie off the hook so easily next time!
• Surely enough, Henrick said with a frown, “That's right. Something like this mustn't happen again! Cindy, tell her that I'll kick her out of the house if she pulls any more crazy stunts like this!”
• As much as Cindy hated it, she had no choice but to play along. “I'll be sure to relay the message, and I'm sure she has learned her lesson. Thanks for forgiving her, Sannie.”
• “No problem. We're a family, after all. It's only natural that we forgive each other, even if she did try to kill me,” Arielle replied with a smile.
• Unable to keep up that act any longer, Cindy stood up and excused herself. “I'll go pack the bags for our trip to Norham tomorrow!”
• She was about to head up the stairs when she recalled her plan and added, “Since you don't have work tomorrow, how about you and Sannie come with us?”
• Henrick nodded without any hesitation as he remembered Arielle's relationship with Vinson. “Of course! Pack Sannie's bags too, and take her shopping for some clothes while you're at it!”
• “Okay, Dear!” Cindy said with a forced smile.
• Take that, Arielle! I'll make you watch how successful my daughter is!