Chapter 213: The Vance Family’s Thank-You Gift
Caspian Rhodes and the other man froze mid-stride. They turned to look at each other, utterly bewildered, and then, with a shared understanding, both looked toward Arabella Donovan.
Little did they know, Arabella Donovan herself was still in a daze.
"Sir, do you know me?"
"I don’t, but I know your master. I also know your surname is Donovan, and that you’re his one and only treasured disciple."
"My master?" Arabella Donovan’s eyes lit up. "You know my master?"
"It’s much more than just an acquaintance." You could tell Man Vance was incredibly excited to bring up Arabella Donovan’s mysterious master.
Just as he was about to pull Arabella Donovan aside to tell her all about his history with her master, Vance, the manager who had stepped in to host the second half of the auction, arrived. Ms. Kerr and her son were with him.
"Dad."
"Erin, come over here! Take a look! This is the one we’ve been waiting for."
Vance looked surprised, but he quickly composed himself and gave Arabella Donovan a polite nod.
"This isn’t the place to talk. Miss Donovan, would you be open to joining us in a private room to discuss this?"
Arabella Donovan exchanged a glance with Brandon Jennings and Caspian Rhodes before nodding in agreement. "Alright."
"Miss Donovan, what’s going on...?" Ms. Kerr, sensing the strange atmosphere, gave Arabella Donovan a discreet tug on her sleeve.
"Um... I’m not really sure myself."
Vance raised an eyebrow, a little surprised. "Mr. Kerr, you two know each other?"
"Miss Donovan is our family’s benefactor."
"A benefactor?" Man Vance seemed quite interested in that term. He gave Ms. Kerr a long, meaningful look and said with a faint smile, "In that case, you should all come along."
"Go ahead and process young Miss Donovan’s card. Bring it to the private room when you’re done." After saying this, Man Vance seemed to have another thought. He added with a grin, "Actually, no rush. Just set it aside for now. I have a feeling it won’t be needed anymore."
Arabella Donovan and the others: "???"
’Wh-what does he mean, it won’t be needed anymore? Don’t tell me the old man plans on comping my bill out of respect for my master? Oh, how could I possibly accept? My master—the lazy glutton whose favorite pastime, aside from ordering me around during morning rites, is picking his feet in his room—could he really have that much clout?’
Caspian Rhodes and Brandon Jennings were speechless. ’Does her master know that’s the image she has of him? And judging by her tone, she doesn’t sound the least bit embarrassed!’
The large party proceeded to the private room. The moment the door closed, the gazes of the Vance father and son shot toward the two men standing behind Arabella Donovan.
They both recognized the heir to the Rhodes Family, giving him a brief nod of acknowledgement before immediately shifting their focus to Brandon Jennings.
"And this is..."
Brandon Jennings felt his scalp tingle under the probing stares of the two powerful men.
"This is my cousin, Brandon Jennings."
"Ah, Mr. Jennings. A pleasure to meet you." Vance took the initiative to stand and offer a handshake.
Brandon Jennings was so startled he nearly broke out in a cold sweat. He shot to his feet and said hurriedly, "Oh, no, please, the pleasure is all mine."
"Since there are no outsiders here, I’ll be blunt. Miss Donovan’s master, Mr. Rooney, and I... we’re said to be old acquaintances, but strictly speaking, he’s our family’s benefactor—much like Miss Donovan is to the Kerrs."
*SPUTTER...* Arabella had just poured herself a glass of water to calm her nerves, but instead of being calmed, she received an even bigger shock!
Caspian Rhodes, sitting right beside her, had already anticipated her reaction. He effortlessly dodged the water that nearly sprayed him and even had the presence of mind to pat her on the back as she choked.
"COUGH, COUGH... What did you just say? My master... he’s your..."
Man Vance chuckled. "There’s no need to doubt it. Your master is our entire family’s benefactor. About forty-odd years ago, I was traveling for business with my wife and son when I was sabotaged. I was saddled with a mountain of debt, and my wife, who was pregnant with our second daughter, almost died, taking our unborn child with her."
"It just so happened that your master was wandering at the time and stumbled upon my wife, who had unfortunately gone into premature labor. He helped get her to the hospital, which saved her life and allowed our daughter to be born safely. Afterward, he figured out that my business had failed and I was in debt because someone had used dirty tricks to sabotage me. He then helped cleanse me of the bad luck and made sure the person who tried to ruin me reaped what they sowed."
Recalling the events of that year, Man Vance was filled with a mixture of lingering fear and melancholy. "You could say that without your master, our family wouldn’t exist today."
Arabella Donovan nodded thoughtfully.
’I never would’ve guessed my master did good deeds like this back in the day. It’s quite surprising.’
Caspian Rhodes and Brandon Jennings: "..." ’So, what exactly is her usual image of her master? A slob who picks his feet?’
Brandon Jennings’s focus, however, was on something else. He remembered Arabella mentioning at his house that her master was already at the Sacred Temple forty years ago. Now, Man Vance was saying that her master was already traveling the world forty-odd years ago.
’So just how old is my cousin’s master, anyway?’
"You recognized my Five Emperors Coins at a glance just now, and you knew my surname and that I was his disciple. Have you two been in contact all these years? Did he mention me to you?"
Hearing this, Man Vance’s smile faded, replaced by a bitter expression. "The truth is, after that incident was over, your master resumed his travels. His movements are erratic; I had no way of contacting him. Until..."
"Until twenty years ago. Perhaps I should take it from here," Vance said, adjusting the glasses on his nose and taking over for his father.
"Twenty years ago, our family was targeted again. We were at our wit’s end when your master reappeared. He helped my father and me thwart our adversary’s plot, which in turn allowed our family to reach even greater heights."
’Well now, your family sure has a lot of enemies. It’s understandable, I guess. When you have that much money, you’re bound to make enemies and attract a lot of envy. Still, Master, your timing is a little too perfect, isn’t it? It’s hard not to suspect you predicted something!’
But regardless, the fact remained that Arabella Donovan’s master had undeniably saved the Vance family from harm.
"Forty-odd years ago, my family was nearly destroyed. We were fortunate to have your master’s help, but having just suffered that catastrophe, it took me a great deal of effort to get back on my feet. It has always been my greatest regret that I was unable to repay him in a timely manner."
"Twenty years ago, when our family faced a similar crisis, your master appeared again and saved my son and me. This time, we finally had the means to repay him. But he had no interest in money or treasures. Eventually, annoyed by our persistence, he finally relented and allowed us to acquire a small shop for him, saying that his future disciple might have use for it."
"We followed his instructions and bought this very place. Then, step by step, we expanded it. That little shop slowly evolved into what is now the Pavilion of Many Treasures auction house."
*SPUTTER...*