Mr. CEO, You Look Strangely Familiar

Nora Ainsworth was clearly in a terrible state, but she forced herself to speak. "What happened to my two precious babies taught me a lesson. People will only stop bullying you when you’re so powerful they tremble at the mere mention of your name. From now on, I don’t want to be a good person. It’s not my job to be the good guy. I’m going to pour all my energy into finding my mother. After I finish filming my show, I won’t work again until I find her. Quentin, will you take care of me?"

Quentin Grant looked at her eyes, which were fighting back tears. He hugged her, gently rubbing her ear. "I’ll take care of you. Of course, I’ll take care of you."

She closed her eyes, and images of her two children, from their birth until now, suddenly flooded her mind. She couldn’t control it anymore and choked out a sob. "If I could, I wouldn’t want anything. I just want them back... My babies!!!"

Sierra Ainsworth lowered her head, silent, and wiped her eyes. Her heart ached for her.

She slowly stood up. "Quentin, you stay here and take good care of my sister. I’ll go sleep in another room."

Quentin Grant nodded.

The door closed. Quentin Grant pulled the quilt over her. After a long while, he finally spoke. "Nora, I’ve failed you both."

Her hand covered his lips. "This wasn’t your fault. I know that."

"Right now, you need to try and pull yourself together. I’m here. We’ll find your mom together. Even if there’s only a sliver of hope, we can’t give up."

"I will find my mom. I have to see her, whether she’s alive or dead. And then, I’ll cut the person responsible into a thousand pieces."

He sighed. "Letting them die would be getting off too easy. A fate worse than death would be better."

In the silent night, the two of them held each other tightly, neither willing to let go.

「The next morning.」

Mrs. Grant heard the news that Nora Ainsworth had woken up and came to see her early in the morning with some nourishing food.

When she reached the door, she found herself hesitant to go in.

She didn’t know how to face Nora Ainsworth.

After standing there awkwardly for a long while, she finally mustered the courage to enter.

Nora Ainsworth was eating breakfast. When she saw Mrs. Grant arrive, her expression was indifferent. She glanced over once, then looked away without another word.

Mrs. Grant was a bit embarrassed. She placed the food container on the table and said, "Nora, I misunderstood you before. For so long, I wasn’t thinking straight, and I did many terrible things to you. I feel deeply guilty. Now that I know the truth, I hate myself for it. I hope you can give me a chance, for Quentin’s sake, all right?"

Nora Ainsworth thought for a moment before speaking. "Back then, why didn’t you show me any mercy for the sake of me being the woman Quentin loved? You let Catherine Callahan hurt me time and time again. She was locked up in prison. If you hadn’t gotten her out, if you hadn’t let her go again and again, how could my two sons suddenly be gone!"

She shot to her feet, her voice trembling with emotion as she stared at Mrs. Grant.

"You owe me a debt you can never repay. Don’t use your status as Quentin’s mother to force me to forgive you. Forgiving you is God’s job. I’m human, not a god."

Mrs. Grant grew frantic and grabbed Nora Ainsworth’s hand. "Nora, I was a victim in all this from the very beginning, too! Catherine Callahan’s lies were so convincing. You know I didn’t like her at first. But then she showed me that Jade Pendant and knew so many things... I came to believe she was the child I had lost. If I had known it was you, I would never have allowed her into my home! None of this was what I wanted. Nora, I know you can’t forgive me right away, but I’m prepared to spend the rest of my life atoning to you."

"No excuse is good enough. My two children are gone. Nothing you say can change that. From now on, you should try to stay out of my sight. Seeing you just reminds me of those awful things, and it ruins my mood."

Mrs. Grant pushed the food container toward her. "I made this myself. Please have some while it’s hot. If you don’t want to see me, I’ll leave right now, okay?"

Nora Ainsworth turned and walked upstairs.

Mrs. Grant’s face was filled with shame. She said to Quentin Grant, "This is very nourishing for her. Try to persuade her to have some. I’ll be leaving now."

’She’s my own mother, after all. Even if I don’t want to deal with her, I can’t just act like a mute.’

"Okay."

Mrs. Grant’s mood was complex all the way home.

’Every time I think about the past, I just want to slap myself. I must have been so arrogant; how could I have been so blind?’

Just as she returned to the entrance of the Grant Residence, she saw Jean Grant’s car parked there.

She strode inside.

"Mom, where were you so early in the morning?"

"I went to see Nora. I brought her some soup I made."

Jean Grant didn’t know the full story yet. She hadn’t been back in a week or two, and even after hearing that her two nephews had died, she hadn’t gone to see her brother.

"Why are you being so nice to her all of a sudden? Do you feel sorry for her?"

Mrs. Grant went inside and sat on the sofa. "It’s not pity. I owe her. It’s a debt I’ll probably never be able to repay in this lifetime."

"What do you owe her?"

So, Mrs. Grant told her the whole story, from beginning to end. When she finished, Jean Grant was stunned speechless.

"Mom, are you serious? You’re not just telling a story?"

Mrs. Grant said irritably, "Would I make up a story about something like this? Of course it’s real! Tell me, how can things in this world be so convoluted? Why is it so unbelievable? Why did things have to turn out this way!"

Jean Grant thought for a moment, then said, "Well, Mom, it looks like you’re going to be in Nora Ainsworth’s hands for the rest of your life. Just think about how you treated her before. You really think she’s going to let bygones be bygones and treat you well?"

"Let bygones be bygones? Impossible. She made it clear this morning. She said it’s impossible for her to forgive me, that forgiving me is God’s job because she’s human, not a god. I don’t think the rest of my life is going to be easy."

"It’s okay. If you can’t rely on your daughter-in-law, don’t you still have a daughter?"

Mrs. Grant held out even less hope. "My son’s unreliable, so I should rely on you? You’re married, you’re part of another family now. Besides, you don’t call the shots in the Ainsworth Family. I’d better not count on you."

Jean Grant huffed. "Speaking of which, it’s always been about favoring sons over daughters. We’re both your children, so why do only the sons get to inherit the family fortune while the daughters only get a pitifully small dowry?"

Mrs. Grant looked her up and down. "What’s there to be upset about? Sons carry on the family line. In our branch of the family, your brother is the only son. If we don’t give it to him, should we give it to you? You already belong to another family. If we gave it to you, the Grant Group wouldn’t be named Grant anymore! Besides, you’ve been married twice. Didn’t I give you a dowry of tens of millions both times? For your first marriage, I even bought you a villa in the same community as your brother. That’s not a small amount. Whenever you’re short on money, you always come back asking for more. What else do you want?"

Jean Grant said, "Mom, I want to work at my brother’s company."

"You studied medicine. What could you possibly do at your brother’s company?"