Chapter 0011

"I really can't understand how they can act like this!"

The voice, tinged with anger and innocence, belonged to Karina.

After being scolded without being able to retort, she was feeling quite upset.

At the moment, she was strolling around the estate, accompanied by none other than her beloved brother, Walter.

Although they weren’t blood-related, Walter didn't even carry the Astor surname.

He was a descendant of Vincent's in-laws, his wife’s family.

Due to some incidents, Walter had been adopted by the Astor family from a young age.

On the surface, Walter was an outstanding person who could charm anyone with his generous personality and innate business acumen.

Karina looked at Walter, expressing her frustration, "Uncle Vincent and Aunt Ariana are clearly favoring Louis! They're being so unfair to you!"

In reality, this was only natural.

Louis was Vincent’s son, and of course, he and Ariana would treat him as well as they could. However, Karina didn’t understand this.

Walter looked at Karina with a gentle smile on his lips, but his eyes clearly showed anger and mockery.

The anger was directed at Vincent and Ariana's attitude, while the mockery was for Karina's stupidity.

These emotions quickly vanished when Karina looked back at him.

He smiled and said, "No, Karina, don’t say that. Those are things Louis deserves."

His words only made Karina feel even more sorry for him and resentful towards Louis.

She believed that if it weren’t for Louis, Walter wouldn’t have to endure such humiliation.

Angrily, Karina declared, "I will never accept Louis as the heir of the Astor family. You are the only brother I acknowledge, Walter!"

Walter felt a surge of joy inside, but he quickly noticed something. He gestured for Karina to lower her voice because there was a crowd up ahead.

Despite her bold words, Karina was genuinely afraid of Vincent, so she almost immediately fell silent.

They exchanged a glance and then quickly moved forward.

As they approached, they heard Louis’s voice: "Father, the maid Sophie seemed very strange earlier. There was an evil aura around her, which could affect the Astor family. If you give me $10,000, I can resolve this issue."

Both Vincent and Ariana, standing nearby, looked puzzled upon hearing Louis say this.

Ariana’s mind raced, and she wondered if this was perhaps one of Louis's personal interests—maybe he liked horror stories?

Or perhaps he needs money right now but is too embarrassed to say so?

Ariana felt she had figured out the answer, so she didn’t hesitate to pull out a card worth $100,000 from her purse and handed it to Louis, saying, "Take this for now, and I’ll give you more later."

Seeing this, Vincent quickly took out a card containing a million dollars. He also said, "Use this for now. I'll soon arrange your assets."

After a pause, he added seriously, "However, you need to spend wisely. The Astor family must not be wasteful."

Despite his words, there was no real sternness in his expression.

Perhaps if Louis were to say he wanted to buy a palace or a fleet of supercars, Vincent would happily stand by clapping, thinking how adorable his son was.

Naturally, Ariana would also stand by and indulge Louis.

Louis hadn’t realized this yet. He looked at the two cards being offered to him, feeling dizzy.

Honestly, it was the first time he had seen so much money, even if it was just in card form.

But he quickly waved his hands, saying, "No, I’m being serious!"

They misunderstood that he needed money, but he was clearly telling the truth.

He felt he would be ostracized if he revealed this ability of his at the Smiths' and would have a harder time living with them.

But with the Astors, he didn’t feel that way.

Because with Vincent, Ariana, and even his grandfather David around, he felt they would accept him no matter what.

Vincent and Ariana exchanged glances, both feeling that perhaps Louis was just shy about accepting such a large amount of money from them, even though to them, the amount on the two cards wasn’t considered "large."

Ariana said seriously, "There’s no need to be nervous, Louis."

Vincent nodded in agreement, "Yes, we understand, Louis."

Ariana nodded in agreement.

The maid, who was also the gardener, chuckled kindly and said, "Young master, now you can chase away the evil spirits for me."

Louis: "..." No, they didn't understand at all.

Louis knew they didn’t believe him. It was understandable; this was really hard to believe.

When he first acquired this ability, he also felt like he was dreaming a silly dream.

Louis opened his mouth, thinking about what to say next, when Karina’s mocking voice suddenly rang out, "Are you trying to swindle money from everyone, Louis?"

Even though she was reluctant to call Louis her brother, with Vincent present, Karina didn't dare not to.

Karina was just an eight-year-old girl, usually doted on by her parents, Alexis and Emma.

She always held her head high with a bit of arrogance. Despite her adorable appearance, her personality was anything but.

At least, that was Louis's current impression of his cousin, who was twelve years younger.

Walter quickly intervened as soon as Karina finished speaking, saying, "Karina, why would you say such a thing?"

Then he turned to Louis and said hurriedly, "I'm really sorry, Louis. Karina doesn't understand."

Louis could clearly sense something odd about Walter. Maybe because of his ability, he was very sensitive to other people's emotions.

Ignoring them, he looked at Sophie and said, "Obviously, you’ve stolen from the Astor family."

Hearing Louis say this suddenly, everyone present couldn’t hide the shock on their faces.

Vincent and Ariana seemed surprised that Louis would say such a thing, but they looked at Sophie with deep eyes.

Meanwhile, Walter and Karina stared at Louis as if he were a fool.

The maid, Sophie, was taken aback and quickly waved her hands in denial, "No, what are you saying, young master? I haven't done anything like that. I haven't stolen from the Astor family!"

Sophie had worked for the Astor family for over a decade with diligence and dedication.

Seeing her panic and tears, the others didn’t say anything, but Karina frowned.

She looked at Louis and said loudly, "How can you say that? Are you trying to seek attention with such despicable tactics?!"