Chapter 270: More Like a Clean Transaction

What kid from a wealthy family can’t play an instrument? It’s a prestigious hobby, after all—perfect for showing off at all sorts of arts festivals.

Besides, Jane Lancaster picked up the erhu so quickly as a child. It was obvious she was gifted.

Caleb Lowell looked awkward. He hadn’t thought that far.

Jasper Sterling’s voice was flat. "She doesn’t owe anyone anything. She didn’t before, and she certainly doesn’t now."

"So what are you doing here at the Lancaster residence? Do you think she owes Adrian something? Are you here to call her to account?" He looked up, his icy gaze fixed on Caleb Lowell.

Caleb Lowell’s heart lurched. "Don’t be ridiculous!"

Butler Forbes looked at the two young men and sighed softly. "I’m sorry, young sirs, but we have family matters to attend to today. I apologize for the poor hospitality, but please, it’s time for you to leave."

Caleb Lowell said, "Butler Forbes, I still want to keep Jay company..."

Butler Forbes’s face was devoid of expression. "Please leave, sir. If you don’t approve of the Young Miss, why come at all?"

So much had happened to the family recently. He was heartbroken over what had become of Alvin and Adrian.

But to blame Jane for it, to shift all the responsibility onto her shoulders... that was simply unthinkable.

Butler Forbes never believed his Young Miss would harm the second and third young masters. Her behavior could be baffling at times, but she had always been a good child at heart.

There was no way she could have caused the misfortunes that befell the second and third young masters.

Caleb Lowell’s face turned livid. He had never been so openly rebuffed by Butler Forbes before.

"Butler Forbes, I’ll be leaving then. I’ll come to pay a formal visit another day." With that, he turned and left.

Butler Forbes turned to Jasper Sterling. "Young Master Sterling, you..."

Jasper Sterling rose unhurriedly. "Butler Forbes, do you happen to know who it was that invested in Uncle Lancaster all those years ago?"

Butler Forbes hadn’t expected the question. He thought for a moment. "I believe it was someone with the surname Walden..."

Jasper Sterling said, "One moment, please."

He stepped out and returned a moment later with a tablet. After a few taps on the screen, he placed it in front of Butler Forbes.

"Based on the capital the Lancaster family needed to get back on its feet, the other party must have invested at least five hundred million. Over a decade ago, that was no small sum. As for families with the surname Walden who could afford such an amount, I’ve listed them all here. Do any of them look familiar to you?"

Butler Forbes studied the list for a moment, his hesitant gaze finally landing on a single name.

"Nicholas Walden?" Jasper Sterling read. "Ever since their patriarch passed away more than ten years ago, the Walden Family has been on a steady decline. They’re completely ruined now. I doubt the family could even scrape together five million today."

Butler Forbes said, "Then I must have remembered incorrectly."

He had never met the benefactor in person, but he had overheard his master on the phone a few times and thought he’d heard that name.

For the Walden Family to have fallen so far, it couldn’t possibly be them.

’After all, the person back then could easily produce five hundred million. How could it be?’

"Young Master Sterling, what exactly are you up to? Why are you investigating the person who invested in the Lancaster family back then?" Butler Forbes felt a growing sense of unease. Something wasn’t right.

He glanced toward the second floor and lowered his voice. "Although my master has never said so, I can tell he doesn’t want to talk about that investor. Don’t do anything rash!"

Jasper Sterling met his gaze, his eyes as deep and still as a dark pool. "Then have you ever considered why Uncle Lancaster is so reluctant to mention that investor?"

Butler Forbes shook his head. He couldn’t think of a reason.

Jasper Sterling pushed the tablet back toward him. "After Uncle Lancaster received the investment, he lost money for three straight years."

The Lancaster Family wasn’t starting from scratch. They had existing resources and connections. As soon as the capital was in place, things should have started running smoothly, so a long-term return on investment shouldn’t have been an issue.

With this kind of investment, you should see results within a year. No one would wait patiently for three years.

But the mysterious investor never once demanded accountability, as if they had simply given the money away and forgotten all about it.

Butler Forbes’s eyelid twitched. He had, of course, also noticed how unusual the investor was.

You invest to make money, of course. If you don’t care whether a project is profitable, why invest so much? It’s not charity.

Jasper Sterling’s voice was soft. "The other party’s actions seem more like a one-time transaction. A clean exchange."

’Yes, that’s what it felt like to me too,’ Butler Forbes’s mind went blank, ’but I never dared to say it.’

’Because the Lancaster Family had nothing back then. What could they possibly have had to sell?’

’The only things left to sell were Timothy Lancaster himself... and the young daughter he had by his side.’

The more Butler Forbes thought about it, the more his heart pounded with terror.

He remembered now. For the first two or three years, his master would still make calls to Solara. But then one time, after a particular call, his master locked himself in the study for a very, very long time.

That was when his master started to become mentally unstable. If he came home and didn’t see the Young Miss, he would be thrown into a state of panic.

Butler Forbes took a deep breath and moved to usher him out. "Young Master Sterling, shouldn’t you be on your way?"

Jasper Sterling put the tablet away. The truth, it seemed, was far more horrifying than he had imagined.

"Butler Forbes, you have to believe me. No matter what I do, I will never, ever harm Jay," he said with grave sincerity. "I love her more than my own life."

He opened the manila envelope in his hand, took out a document, and handed it to Butler Forbes.

Butler Forbes took it and glanced down. It was a will.

"Months ago, I had a lawyer draw up this will," Jasper Sterling said frankly. "If anything should happen to me, all of my assets—including the Sterling Group—will go to Jay."

’If something happened to him and the Sterling Group was left to Lana, she probably wouldn’t be able to hold onto it.’

’Better to leave all his property and stock to Jane. That way, Lana could live comfortably off the dividends for the rest of her life.’

From the moment he first heard Jane’s thoughts, he was certain that he had been blessed by fate.

For many days and nights before that, he’d been having a strange, hazy dream.

He was in a plane crash overseas, but he didn’t die.

He went to a strange realm where the stars shone brilliantly, and cosmic storms turned the wheel of fate.

He vaguely understood that he was both unlucky and incredibly fortunate. The plane had malfunctioned because it had hit a rift in spacetime, but it was that very same rift that had allowed him to be... transported.

The dreams were chaotic and hazy, and he would forget them completely upon waking, as if they were hidden behind a murky film.

It wasn’t until hearing Jane’s thoughts that he was jolted awake, allowing him to slowly tear away that film and glimpse a corner of the truth.

He made the decision to write the will as soon as he thought of it. After all, the heart-wrenching nights he’d dreamt of her leaving him were just as deeply etched into his memory.

Butler Forbes stared at him in shock. He could never have imagined someone would go to such lengths.

Even Caleb Lowell, all those years ago, had been forced by Timothy Lancaster to sign an agreement that came with numerous preconditions, and even then, he hadn’t given everything.

Butler Forbes sighed. It was hard not to let the scales in his heart tip in favor of the young man before him.

"I understand. I will keep what happened today a secret. I ask that you please do not tell anyone either."

Until things became clearer, he didn’t want to expose the young man to any danger.