Chapter 192 - 191: His Aunt
An older woman who had lived in the alley for decades thought the young man looked familiar. She squinted to get a better look, and what she saw was astounding.
’Is—isn’t that the Lockwood family’s Simon Lockwood?!’
’Didn’t they say he was dead?! How is he driving such a nice car? The license plate is all eights! And he’s dressed so elegantly!’
A middle-aged man on the side of the road flicked away his cigarette butt. As he looked up, he happened to see the scene. He made out the young man’s face in the dim yellow light of the setting sun, and his expression instantly became one of shock and disbelief.
Once he processed it, he started to move forward, but then thought of something. He clapped his hands together and ran home, looking excited.
Simon Lockwood got out of the car and went to the back seat. Without waking the girl sleeping soundly inside, he gently pulled the blanket that had slipped down back up, took her hand, and tucked it underneath.
Drowsily, Joanna Kennedy subconsciously reached for the man’s fingers. Simon Lockwood gently pulled his hand away and soothed her with a soft kiss on the corner of her lips. His voice was very light, "Be good. Sleep a little longer..."
He hadn’t been back in a long time. Although he’d had someone come and clean the house in advance, Simon Lockwood still wasn’t at ease. He planned to do a simple round of disinfecting himself. That would take some time, giving Joanna Kennedy a chance to sleep a little longer.
Hearing Simon Lockwood’s voice, Joanna Kennedy seemed to have found a safe harbor. She turned over and fell back into a deep sleep.
Walking into the alley, Simon Lockwood’s gaze swept past the bright red character for "Demolish" painted on the wall. He arrived at a dilapidated iron gate with peeling paint and easily reached up to retrieve a key from above the doorframe.
The lock was a bit rusty. Simon Lockwood had to turn the key with force to open it.
With a CREAK, the iron gate was slowly pushed open. The musty smell of old wooden furniture washed over him, and Simon Lockwood frowned.
Shauna Lockwood was at home, busy cooking, when there was a BANG BANG BANG on the door. Annoyed, she yelled, "Who is it?!"
"Shauna, open the door!"
It was her husband’s voice. Shauna Lockwood’s expression soured even more. She yanked the door open and snapped, "Are you trying to kill me?! Why don’t you just kick it down? As if you have the money to replace it when you break it!"
She had been incredibly frustrated these past few days over the demolition compensation for the Lockwood family’s house, and on top of that, she had to endure the neighbors’ sarcastic taunts.
’They were all part of the Lockwood family, so how come she didn’t have a share in that house? It was all because back then, she had made a young Simon Lockwood do hard, dirty labor all day. And because she was too cheap to spend a few bucks, she had even tried to stop Simon Lockwood from going to school,’
’She’d forced Simon Lockwood to work odd jobs and collect bottles at such a young age...’
The memory made her furious, mixed with a hint of guilt she refused to admit even to herself. She could only take it out on her husband. "If you hadn’t insisted on kicking that little brat Simon Lockwood out back then, how could he not give us that house?!"
"Alright, alright, what’s the use of saying all this now!" Jared Aldrich wasn’t angry; his expression was excited. "Do you know who I just saw?!"
"I don’t care who you—"
"Simon Lockwood!" Jared Aldrich cut her off excitedly. "Your nephew, Simon Lockwood, is back! He’s in the house that’s about to be demolished right now!"
He then embellished his story, saying Simon was driving a luxury car, wearing expensive clothes, and acting just like a rich man.
"That little brat is back?!" Shauna Lockwood was in disbelief.
’I’ve been waiting here for so many days trying to catch him, and Simon Lockwood just came back on his own?!’
"Yeah, so what are you still cooking for!" Jared Aldrich pulled her along. Thinking of Shauna Lockwood’s temper, he added in a low voice, "Simon Lockwood is rich now, he won’t care about this little bit of demolition money. When you see him in a bit, speak nicely. No matter what, you’re his biological aunt, and our family raised him. If you can make him happy, maybe he’ll even give us some extra money!"
"But..." Before Shauna Lockwood could finish, Jared Aldrich cut her off, adding a stronger incentive: "Think about our son! He couldn’t even go to college, he doesn’t have a job, and he’ll need a house and a car to get married in the future. Isn’t that all money? Where are we going to get that much cash?"
"Your nephew is a rich man now. I heard people say that car he drives costs tens of millions! Forget the demolition money, even if he gave us another ten million, it’d be what he owes you. You’re his only living relative in this world!"
’If he can casually buy a luxury car worth tens of millions, wouldn’t giving his own aunt’s family a few tens of millions be a piece of cake?’
Jared Aldrich spoke with righteous indignation, his tone full of jealousy and resentment. After hearing him, the last bit of guilt and shame in Shauna Lockwood’s heart vanished completely.
’That’s right, I’m Simon Lockwood’s biological aunt, his only relative in this world. Simon Lockwood has no father or mother; all his future money should come to me out of filial piety, shouldn’t it?’
’Blood is thicker than water. Family ties can’t be severed by just a word or two.’
"Fine, I’ll speak to him nicely when I get there." Shauna Lockwood made up her mind. Afraid that Simon Lockwood would leave if they were late, she quickly turned off the gas, untied her apron, and said, "Let’s go right now. Call Kyle and tell him to come too."
Shauna Lockwood thought of something and added, "Tell Kyle to buy some fruit, milk, or something. Get that kind of milk that comes in individual bags. Don’t go empty-handed."
"Alright, alright, don’t you worry about it."
...
The old house hadn’t been lived in for a long time.
The water and electricity bills had been paid in advance. Simon Lockwood turned on the light, and the bulb flickered a few times before stabilizing.
His gaze slowly swept across the simple, cramped space, pausing for a moment on the folding bed against the wall.
Nothing had changed. It was as if he could see a young and shy Joanna Kennedy sitting at the table, cupping her face in her hands, and whining to him that studying was really hard.
In that moment, he desperately wanted to go back to the car to make sure it wasn’t all a dream—that he had found his Joanie again.
Thinking of the girl sleeping soundly in the car, Simon Lockwood’s tense heart relaxed.
The house was small but had been cleaned very well. Simon Lockwood rolled up his cream-white sleeves and wiped down the table and stools again with a disinfecting wipe before taking out his phone to send a message.
Just as the message was sent, there was a knock on the door. Simon Lockwood went to open it and frowned slightly. "Who are you looking for?"
Shauna Lockwood was still frozen in the motion of knocking. She stared for a moment at the tall, distinguished man who was a head and a half taller than her, stunned.
’Is... is this her nephew, Simon Lockwood?’
Although she had already seen photos of him online, seeing him face-to-face was still a shock.
In her memory, Simon Lockwood was still a thin, cold teenager, so hostile that he rejected everyone who tried to get close. In the blink of an eye, he had grown into the man he was today...
Nudged by her husband, she finally snapped out of it. Seeing Simon Lockwood’s unfamiliar gaze, she said awkwardly, "Look at you, child. It’s me, your aunt..."
She tried her best to act affectionate, but she couldn’t hide her stiff, awkward expression and movements.
Shauna Lockwood had aged a lot. The years had not been kind to her, and the marks they left on her face were especially obvious.
Simon Lockwood recognized her. His expression was somewhat cold, but he still opened the door to let the two of them in.
"Is there something you need, Aunt?"
Although his attitude wasn’t exactly warm, it was still polite. Jared Aldrich breathed a sigh of relief and, jumping in front of Shauna Lockwood, said with feigned warmth, "Simon, ah, why haven’t you contacted the family all these years? Your aunt has been missing you terribly."