Chapter 492: Chapter 487: Borrowing Her Momentum
“If you want to go, then let’s go together.” Amanda Leaford nodded with a smile.

Natalie Lambert pouted, excitement written all over her face.

She was in need of new jewelry recently, and this turned out to be a great opportunity to get her dad to give her some money.

The socialites in Capital City often attended various banquets and spent a lot on jewelry and clothing. Each time, James Leaford would give her and her sister a card to spend as they wished.

However, ever since something happened to the Leaford family, James has reduced their expenses.

Molly Walker saw her distress and took the initiative to say, “I’ll cover the jewelry and clothing for this banquet.”

“Thank you, cousin. Heh, I don’t know how to thank you enough.” Although her mouth said so, Natalie was already very excited.

She had seen the news about her cousin and Stephen Crane.

As an heir of Stephen Crane, that meant she is wealthy.

Natalie hugged Molly and kissed her on the face vigorously, “I’ll go get ready. Let’s head out now!”

After saying that, Natalie jumped up and excitedly went upstairs to prepare herself.

Amanda was happy to see Molly being so nice to the Leaford sisters.

Although Gillian Thompson wasn’t a good sister, having two more sisters meant Molly wouldn’t be lonely.

In time, she would have some sister-in-laws to love her; nobody would dare bully her unfortunate daughter.

“I’ll tell you briefly about tonight’s banquet. The husband of my friend is Carter Harrison, a well-known entrepreneur in Capital City. In recent years, he has been very protective of his daughter. Even she didn’t know about her family’s wealth until recently.”

Upon hearing the name “Carter Harrison”, Molly raised her eyebrows slightly.

She had heard of this man, who was straightforward and had a great investment sense. Although he looked like a nouveau riche, he was far more intelligent.

Carter Harrison’s favorite investments were high-end, affordable beverages series, such as the best value-for-money high-end coffee and premium quality milk tea.

Don’t underestimate these seemingly inexpensive items, as their profit margins were huge, and college students and young working professionals were their main consumers.

She didn’t expect that this banquet would be hosted by Carter Harrison.

It would certainly be lively.

“A while ago, Uncle Tian and Auntie Tian somehow found out that their daughter had been bullied. In a fit of anger, they decided to hold this banquet. Ultimately, Uncle Tian’s main goal is to introduce his daughter to the public.” Amanda sighed slightly, “In the past, they had protected their daughter very well. On one hand, they wanted to prevent the child from spending recklessly after knowing her family’s wealth. On the other hand, they also wanted to protect her.”

At this point, a sense of guilt and sadness flashed across Amanda’s face.

Over the years, she had been crazy and lost contact with her true friends, but the incident of the Thompson family’s children going missing served as a wake-up call for her friend.

Daughters from wealthy families, if exposed too early, could be at risk of being kidnapped for ransom or even be inexplicably taken away like her own daughter.

There was nothing wrong with how the people of the Tian Family were protecting their daughter.

As a father, Daniel Thompson, on the other hand, had no intention of loving and protecting his child and instead took better care of other people’s children as if they were his own.

Thinking about Daniel Thompson’s behavior, Amanda frowned, turned her head, and glanced at her daughter.

Seeing that her daughter’s status was now good, Amanda’s furrowed brows relaxed.

Her daughter was now the manager of “W” and Stephen Crane’s successor, backed by both the Thompson and Leaford families. She wouldn’t be bullied any longer.

Molly noticed that Amanda was deep in thought, and held her hand, “We will attend tonight’s event, don’t worry, mom. I will perform well and make you proud.”

“Alright, alright, my darling, remember to bring Ethan Hopkins along as well.”

…

When Gillian Thompson learned that Molly had become Stephen Crane’s heir, she was on a date with Ethan Hopkins.

Ethan had bought her several sets of clothes. Although the quality and price of the clothes were incomparable to what she had before, she adored them simply because it was Ethan who bought them for her, even if they were just rags.

As she came out of the fitting room in a new dress, ready to show Ethan, his eyes were glued to the live broadcast on the small TV in the store.

On the TV, the host was passionately recounting the events of the past few days.

“Stephen Crane has announced that Molly will be his heir, with the right to inherit all his assets. At present, the notarization work is underway, and the industry is conservatively estimating that Molly’s net worth has increased at least tenfold…”

Gillian had just changed into a long skirt and was about to show Ethan when she heard the news and stood rooted to the spot.

She hurriedly walked over to the TV, staring fixedly at the host.

Molly had really become Stephen Crane’s heir?

Her eyes widened, afraid of missing anything.

When Molly Walker’s photo appeared on the screen, Gillian Thompson felt as if her whole body fell into an icehouse.

She suddenly felt her cheap clothes become unbearably hot, as if they could burn through every inch of her.

“Molly…is your sister, right?” Ethan Hopkins could hardly believe it.

Stephen Crane’s heir, something he didn’t even dare to dream of.

Some people had once calculated that Stephen Crane’s wealth was at least in the top ten in the world, even close to the top three, but Crane had always been low-key, with many of his businesses hidden, and he didn’t like to appear in rankings.

Many people had been wondering how a man like Stephen, with no wife or children, would deal with his fortune; they never thought he would leave it all to an unknown girl from Orientopia.

“Molly…” Ethan narrowed his eyes.

How could a country girl like Molly, who had been raised in a poor family since childhood, have anything to do with Stephen Crane? It was like they belonged to two different worlds.

“Molly’s grandmother was Stephen Crane’s first love.”

On the TV, the host continued: “Mr. Crane had always felt guilty towards Miss Wen and, upon hearing about her adopting Molly, he pinned his hopes on her and treated Molly as his own granddaughter.”

“Such luck is truly enviable.”

The host’s voice was filled with astonishment and helplessness about fate.

Not only her, but perhaps everyone in the country envied this kind of luck.

Out of so many elderly scavengers, it just so happened that Miss Wen and Stephen Crane were connected, and out of so many girls, Molly happened to be the Thompson one.

This kind of coincidence was too dramatic even for TV dramas.

And yet, it had actually happened in real life.

Watching this news, Gillian Thompson opened her mouth, feeling a stinging sensation in her nose and her face flushed.

Ethan Hopkins looked at Gillian and, considering her relationship with Molly, his face was filled with regret.

What a pity…

He had already investigated that Molly was protective of her family and treated them well, but she also remembered slights and never let herself be held hostage by kinship.

If Molly decided Gillian Thompson was not her family but rather an enemy, then she would become her actual enemy.

“Let’s go.” Ethan took out his card to pay the bill, considerately picked up the bag, and held Gillian’s hand as they walked out.

Gillian looked at Ethan’s profile, her heart filled with trepidation: “Ethan…do you think I’m stupid? Do you regret being together with me?”

Ethan’s face stiffened, and he gave her a deep, meaningful look: “No, if I were you, I would do the same.”

Gillian stared at him, dumbfounded.

“After all, part of the Thompson family’s wealth should have been yours, but in the end, she took it all. Your years of hard work have been in vain.”

Hearing this, Gillian’s eyes reddened further, and she couldn’t help but let her tears fall.

Everyone thought she was selfish, greedy, and had no right to covet what didn’t belong to her, even calling her a nest usurper.

But only she knew what it felt like to have the hardships of these years turn into nothing.

She hadn’t expected Ethan to support her.

“However, your sister is now very valuable. If you can reconcile with her, it will be good for you.” Ethan changed the subject. “People in the Capital City circle want to win her over, and if you offend her, you’ll be making an enemy of the whole world.”

Gillian’s lips quivered, a mixture of being aggrieved and jealous.

She knew Ethan was right, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

“There’s a banquet tonight, hosted by a friend of my dad and his wife. My mom will be on an afternoon flight, and I want you to go with her.” He held her hand, expectant. “It’s the first time my mom asked you to accompany her, so remember to perform well.”

Upon hearing that her future mother-in-law was coming, Gillian became nervous: “I’m a bit nervous.”

“Don’t be scared. Uncle Tian and my family have a good relationship, and he dotes on his daughter. They don’t like gossip and won’t ask about your relationship with Molly. Just get along well with his daughter.”

Gillian’s anxiety was pacified.

Yes, Molly was now on the rise, and her relationship with Gillian wasn’t known to the outside world. At that time, she could totally use this momentum to make good connections with people in the Capital City circle.

“Don’t worry, Ethan. With Auntie there, I won’t make any mistakes.” Not wanting to disappoint him, Gillian took a deep breath and then asked, “By the way, what’s the name of Uncle Tian’s daughter?”