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Chapter 8: Chapter 8: Madam, Something Is Wrong with Our Young Master

Butler Hughes beamed at the thought. Ten phones as compensation. Three each for his wife and daughter, three for himself, and one for his son—a perfect split.

As he walked, he thought to himself, ’Please, go ahead and smash it, Mr. Sterling. ’

Ian Sterling sat on the floor, leaning against the bed. His head was tilted back, his eyes staring blankly at the ceiling.

Jasper Jennings called back quickly.

"Lynn Winslow is living in Amberly Bay. She bought two adjacent houses. She’s in one, and her staff—nannies, butlers, and her private physician—are in the one next door."

Ian Sterling blinked his dry, sleep-deprived eyes, murmured a quiet "mm," and hung up.

He slowly stood up, shuffled downstairs in his slippers, and tossed his phone to Butler Hughes, radiating an aura of dark despair.

"I’m going to sleep. Don’t wake me for anything."

Butler Hughes caught the phone. Seeing Ian turn to go straight back upstairs, he took a step forward and said with concern, "Sir, how about some breakfast before you sleep?"

"I’m not eating."

Butler Hughes could only stand rooted to the spot, watching him go upstairs. The moment he was gone, the butler turned and placed a call to Ian Sterling’s mother—Nina Norton, the renowned Quartos socialite known as Mrs. Sterling.

"Ma’am, something’s not right with Ian."

Nina Norton was having breakfast in the Sterling family’s garden. She wore an elegant light-colored dress, her hair coiffed in an elegant and dignified style. Seated at an English-style dining table, she exuded an air of grace and nobility.

Of the five children she had borne, only the youngest, Ian Sterling, resembled her, and so she doted on him especially. Upon hearing Butler Hughes’s words, all her grace and nobility vanished. She asked in a panic, "What’s wrong? What happened?"

Butler Hughes recounted how Ian Sterling hadn’t slept all night, had smashed his phone, and had called Jasper Jennings to ask about someone being sick.

Nina Norton breathed a sigh of relief and settled back into her chair. Her grace and nobility returned. She said softly, "It’s a small matter. He probably had a fight with a girl he likes. It’s about time he started thinking about getting married, anyway. Did you happen to hear the girl’s name?"

Butler Hughes thought hard for a moment. "It sounded like... Ling? Lynn Winslow?"

"Who did you say?!"

Nina Norton shot to her feet. She was well aware of the effect the name "Lynn Winslow" had on her youngest son. And just like that, her grace and nobility were gone for good.

"You’re saying Ian asked where Lynn Winslow lives, if she’s sick, and if she’s seen a doctor?!"

Butler Hughes said, "Um... I believe so?"

Nina Norton began to pace back and forth, muttering in a low voice, "It’s over. It’s all over."

Butler Hughes was confused, but Nina Norton offered no explanation. The family had hushed up that incident from the past. Aside from Ian Sterling’s friends, the head butler of the main residence, and a few loyal servants who had witnessed it, virtually no outsiders knew. Coincidentally, Butler Hughes had been on a six-month leave at the time, so he remained in the dark.

Nina Norton instructed him, "Take good care of him. Pay close attention and tell me immediately if you notice anything else out of the ordinary." She paused, then added, "I’ve already had someone arrange for your daughter’s school admission. She can start next semester."

Butler Hughes thanked her joyfully and promised he would keep a close eye on Ian.

After hanging up, Nina Norton called her second son, Connor Sterling. Connor had just arrived at his company and was about to walk into the conference room for a meeting with senior executives.

He motioned for the executives to go in and wait for him, then walked over to a scenic window in the hallway to take the call.

Connor asked with a warm smile in his voice, "Mom, have you had breakfast?"

In Quartos, the Sterlings’ three sons and two daughters were the kind of children every parent dreamed of. The eldest son, Elias Sterling, had naturally taken over the corporate group. The eldest daughter, Selene Sterling, handled real estate and property development. Her fraternal twin, the second son, now ran his maternal family’s business, the Norton family enterprise. The second daughter was a violinist, performing in concert halls around the world.

And the youngest son, Ian Sterling, had started his own financial investment holding company and, by his own merit, had taken it public.

"How can I think about breakfast!" Nina Norton said frantically. "Quick, go and check—has that Lynn Winslow come to Quartos? Has she seen Ian?"

Connor was taken aback for a moment, then gave a helpless smile. "Mom, even if Lynn Winslow came to Quartos and saw Ian, that’s his business. If I go investigating and he finds out we’re meddling in his affairs, he’s bound to throw a fit again."

Nina Norton sighed. "I don’t want to investigate either, but you saw what Ian was like three years ago. I get scared just thinking about it."

Connor tried to comfort his mother, but she was lost in her memories, gloomy and withdrawn. In the end, Connor had no choice but to agree to investigate for her.

"Mom, I’ll have someone look into it, and I’ll let you know what I find, okay? Don’t worry. Ian isn’t the same person he was back then. What happened three years ago won’t happen again."

Only then did Nina Norton let out a small sigh of relief.

When Lynn Winslow woke up again, she was hot and stuffy. Her pajamas were soaked with sweat, and she felt as if she were in a steam box.

She got up, feeling that the heaviness in her head had lessened. She got out of bed and went to the bathroom to soak in a hot bath.

When she returned to her bedroom, she found her incessantly ringing phone under the covers and answered it.

"What took you so long to answer? Did you manage to snag Ian Sterling?" a man’s lazy voice came through the phone.

"No," Lynn Winslow said, her voice tinged with disappointment as she recalled that phone call. "I had a fever. I just woke up."

"What’s wrong?" The man’s voice was tinged with panic, but Lynn Winslow didn’t notice and simply recounted the events of the previous day.

The man said through clenched teeth, "You’d risk your own health just to plot against Mia Rhodes?"

"It’s the only way to make them doubt Mia Rhodes’s false benevolence and pave the way for my next moves. Besides, I’m fine, aren’t I?" Lynn Winslow pouted, completely unconcerned.

But the man only grew angrier. "Have you forgotten your own condition? A simple illness could half-kill you, and yet you still dare to pull stunts like this."

Lynn Winslow found it a bit strange herself. "Nothing happened to me this time. I just had a fever, and I was fine when I woke up."

The man said nothing more. After a moment of silence, he hung up the phone.

Lynn Winslow didn’t understand what was wrong with him. She blinked, scratching her nose in confusion. Just then, there was a knock on her bedroom door, and Mrs. Sterling’s voice called out, "Lynn, are you awake?"

Lynn Winslow stood up, walked over, and opened the door. She smiled sweetly and said, "Mrs. Sterling, I’m awake."

Mrs. Sterling touched her forehead. It wasn’t hot anymore, and she sighed in relief. "Thank goodness the fever’s gone."

Lynn Winslow beamed. "Mhm, I don’t know why, but I recovered really quickly this time."

Mrs. Sterling shot her a look. "And is recovering quickly a bad thing?"

"Of course it’s a good thing," Lynn Winslow said, looping her arm through Mrs. Sterling’s as they went downstairs together. Mrs. Sterling suddenly tapped her own head and said, "Oh, I forgot. I meant to ask what you wanted for lunch."

Lynn Winslow thought for a moment. "I’d like noodles. Clear broth noodles, the kind you make for me."

For some reason, ever since she’d first tasted the noodle soup Mrs. Sterling made, the memory had stuck with her, and she would crave it from time to time.

Mrs. Sterling patted her hand dotingly and said with a smile, "Alright, I’ll go make it for you."

After Mrs. Sterling left, Lynn Winslow picked up her phone again, her eyes falling to the call history displayed on the screen.

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