Chapter 0007

"There's no need to be so formal, Louis. My son, we have finally found you! I am your father, Vincent."

The speaker was a man with bright red hair, just like Louis, though his eyes were black.

He spoke while walking towards Louis with barely concealed joy.

Others also began to introduce themselves. Louis quickly memorized the family members.

Uncle Adolf, a former Hollywood actor, and his wife, Eve, who served as the housekeeper at the mansion.

They had two children, Kate and Jacod.

Uncle Alexis, the vice president of the AST Corporation, and Aunt Emma, a famous designer whom Louis had even seen on magazine covers.

They had two daughters, Kylie and Karina.

His grandfather, David, sat next to a younger man who simply introduced himself as Walter, without mentioning his role in the family.

The older family members seemed polite, some even quite friendly, while the younger ones appeared less welcoming of his presence.

Nevertheless, Louis didn't mind too much.

At that moment, Eve suddenly spoke, "Louis, I have prepared a room for you. Would you like to go there now?"

Louis looked at Eve, but before he could respond, an annoyed voice interrupted, "No, Aunt Eve, the room you prepared for Louis is Walter's room! That's where he keeps his puppets. You can't do that!"

The speaker was Karina, the younger daughter of Uncle Alexis. As soon as she finished speaking, the room fell into an eerie silence.

The family almost immediately quieted down, though Karina seemed unaware of her mistake.

She continued, "Aunt Eve, please choose another room. How could you do that?"

Her father, Alexis, was quick to reprimand her, "Karina, what is wrong with you? How dare you speak like that to your brother? Apologize to Louis immediately!"

Karina, an eight-year-old girl, couldn't hold back her tears when her usually indulgent father scolded her. "What did I say wrong?! He doesn't deserve to stay in Walter's room!"

Alexis was truly exasperated by his daughter, but before he could say anything, another gentle voice directed at Louis spoke up, "Louis, I sincerely apologize. I have a hobby of collecting puppets and displaying them in that room. Karina is still young and doesn't understand. Please forgive her."

The speaker was none other than Walter.

His appearance was quite refined, resembling that of a scholarly, elegant individual, always with a slight smile on his face.

However, his attitude puzzled Louis.

Walter stepping in at that moment only worsened Karina's mood and made him seem pitiable, as if Louis were the one bullying him.

Seeing Louis remain silent, Walter turned to Karina and gently advised, "Karina, you shouldn't behave like this. Apologize to your brother."

Sure enough, Karina immediately retorted, "He's my brother? He's just a dirty, smelly country bumpkin, not worthy of being my brother!"

Louis even wanted to remind her that he wasn't her brother but her cousin.

However, before he could speak, a sharp noise rang out.

"Crash!"

The heavy sound of shattering glass filled the space, the cup hitting the ground plunged the room into silence.

"Karina, what did you just say?" Vincent, Louis's father, spoke, his gaze heavy and cold, embodying a stern elder.

Karina almost immediately fell silent out of fear.

At that moment, Ariana smiled and looked at Walter, softly saying, "Walter, are you really dissatisfied with Aunt Eve's arrangement?"

Walter quickly bowed his head and replied, "Of course not, sister. I never said I was dissatisfied."

Ariana looked at him with deep eyes, saying nothing more, and only glanced at the remaining young people.

Almost immediately, they lowered their heads when Ariana's gaze passed over them.

The older family members also remained silent, clearly indicating Ariana's high status within the household.

Suddenly, Louis felt an arm around his shoulders. It was Ariana.

She looked at the others with a serious expression and said firmly, "Louis is my biological brother and the only son of Vincent Astor. He deserves a better room, not one converted from a puppet room. Don't you think so, Aunt Eve?"

Her words clearly indicated that Eve's arrangement was a mistake. Eve pressed her lips together, feeling a bit indignant.

However, she couldn't say anything further and simply responded, "I will arrange another bedroom for Louis."

After a pause, she looked at Louis and said, "I apologize for putting you in an awkward situation, Louis. I didn't think it through."

Louis quickly shook his head and said, "It's alright."

Then he looked at Ariana, his eyes filled with joy, gratitude, and obvious admiration.

His sister was truly wonderful.

Feeling protected by a family member for the first time in his life made Louis's heart race with emotion.

Ariana spoke again, "Let's go outside to the garden and get some fresh air while they set up your new room. It won't take long."

Louis nodded almost without hesitation. The two of them left the grand hall of the living room.

At that moment, a slow but stern voice rang out, "Louis is my eldest grandson. I hope that I will not see anything like this happen again in the future."

The speaker was Grandfather David, who had been silent throughout the ordeal.

The others fell silent and bowed their heads. Karina had started to tear up, feeling a bit wronged, but she could only respond with a "Yes, understood" along with the others.

David continued, "The tradition of the Astor family is unity. I do not want to see family infighting because of the greed of some individuals. Do you understand?"

As he said this, he particularly glanced at Eve and Walter.

They both bowed their heads, unsure if they felt the weight of his gaze.

Just then, a security guard suddenly knocked and entered, announcing, "Mrs. Smith and her son are here to visit, sir."

Hearing this, everyone couldn't help but look thoughtful.

They all felt that the Smith family's sudden visit to the Astor household was likely because of Louis.

However, David and Vincent frowned, sensing something amiss.

Clearly, Louis didn't look well, his clothes dirty and old. They didn't feel that Louis had been living well at the Smiths'.

The guard seemed to hear something additional through his earpiece and added, "They said they are here to visit Mrs. Eve."

Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look at Eve.

Eve furrowed her brows slightly, seemingly puzzled by this unexpected visit from the Smith family.