Chapter 0008

Louis followed Ariana out into the garden, a garden full of fragrant flowers and exotic plants, meticulously trimmed and beautifully arranged.

Walking a bit further, Louis could see fountains and several small pavilions used for resting.

Ariana walked beside Louis, smiling as she introduced some of the rare flowers in the garden and explained the basic layout to him.

The topic wasn't anything new or extraordinary, but it was enough to make Louis feel a warm sense of comfort inside.

He looked at Ariana and nodded, saying, "Thank you very much."

Ariana could hear the sincerity in her brother's words.

She couldn't help but turn around and gently pat his head, smiling as she said, "It's nothing. You don't always have to thank me like that. We're family, you know."

Louis widened his eyes slightly at Ariana but couldn't find the words to respond.

Seeing his expression, Ariana couldn't help but laugh, although she felt a twinge of sadness in her heart.

Louis must have gone through a lot, which is why he could be so moved just by a few words of care from her.

At this moment, Ariana's phone suddenly rang. She looked at Louis, somewhat apologetic, and said, "I need to take this call..."

Louis almost immediately nodded, "Go ahead, I can be by myself."

After all, he wasn't really a little kid. Ariana felt reassured seeing Louis like this and left.

Louis watched her until she was completely out of sight. He then shifted his gaze and continued to stroll around the garden.

To be honest, this was the first time he had seen such a magnificent and beautiful garden.

Just then, Louis heard a sound like large shears cutting through plants. He looked over and saw an older woman, appearing to be around fifty years old.

She was wearing a maid's uniform and was holding large shears to trim the branches.

However, what caught Louis' attention even more was the aura surrounding this woman.

It was a dark, sinister energy, the kind of energy that only murderers have, and certainly with a heavy burden of crimes.

At least, Louis had never seen anyone with such an aura walking freely before.

Instinctively, Louis moved a bit closer to the woman.

It seemed as if she had heard his footsteps, for the older woman suddenly turned her head.

After seeing Louis, she appeared a bit startled before quickly bowing and saying, "Hello, young master, is there something you need help with?"

All the household servants had been shown photos of Louis, so they naturally treated him with the utmost respect.

Her behavior was completely normal, but Louis couldn't help but frown slightly.

Just as he was about to say something, footsteps suddenly echoed. A sharp voice immediately followed, "You bastard, what are you doing here?!"

Louis didn't even need to turn around to know who the speaker was.

He looked back and indeed saw Mrs. Smith standing next to the Astor family's butler, and beside her was Mason.

At this moment, Mason was also frowning at Louis, his eyes filled with anger and disgust.

Both Mrs. Smith and Mason were extremely suspicious as to why Louis, who had just been kicked out of their house, was now appearing in the Astor garden.

Their gazes quickly shifted to the woman standing next to Louis, and thoughts began racing through their minds.

Mrs. Smith sneered and said disdainfully, "I didn't expect you'd find your mother so soon. Turns out your mother is just a maid, no wonder she never came looking for you."

Mason stood by, also smirking with contempt, feeling superior due to their different statuses.

Louis' mother was just a maid, while he was the future heir of the Smith corporation!

The butler standing by frowned, about to say something, but Louis raised his hand, and the butler fell silent.

Louis then looked at Mason and said in a low voice, "Little brother, you should stop wandering around outside so much; otherwise, one day you might get into trouble."

Louis called Mason his little brother, but there was little warmth in his tone.

He could clearly see a solid black shadow perched on Mason's back; at least his warning was sincere.

However, neither Mason nor Mrs. Smith understood this.

Mason felt humiliated and angry at Louis' words, and Mrs. Smith almost immediately shouted, "You bastard, are you insulting my son?! You're truly ungrateful!"

After a brief pause, she turned to the butler and quickly said, "He used to be our adopted son, and now he's behaving like this. I advise you to throw him and his mother out of this house!"

Hearing Mrs. Smith criticize Louis like this, the butler's eyebrows furrowed even more tightly.

However, Louis didn't let him speak at this moment, as he felt it would be better to discuss this with Mr. David.

Therefore, the butler's expression became somewhat indifferent, and he looked at the Smith family with an emotionless gaze. Mrs.

Smith noticed the butler's indifference but didn't understand it.

She just thought that the butler had started to be dissatisfied with Louis and his "mother," and that perhaps the two of them would soon be thrown out of the Astor household!

This thought made Mrs. Smith delighted, and she looked at Louis with even more smugness and malice.

The gardener and the servants following the butler felt puzzled by this situation.

It seemed that the young master's adoptive mother didn't know his true identity.

However, since neither the young master nor the butler spoke up, they could only remain silent and pretend to know nothing.

At this moment, the sound of high heels clicking on the ground was heard. Everyone's eyes turned in one direction.

Ariana slowly approached, her steps confident and commanding.

Mrs. Smith and Mason almost froze in place upon seeing her. Mason even lowered his head, his cheeks flushing strangely.

Ariana walked over to Louis and looked coldly at the Smith family, asking in a deep voice, "What's going on here?"

Mason swallowed, mustering all his courage to take a step forward, seemingly wanting to speak with Ariana.

Louis looked at him, seemingly able to read his thoughts instantly.

He smirked disdainfully and then said to Ariana in a downcast voice, "Sister, these two are insulting me."