Free Web NovelChapter 493: Chapter 493: An Unexpected Ally
When Mitchell Sheffield first learned that Brandon Walsh wanted to have Caleb Summers transferred, he had tried to talk him out of it. But Brandon’s attitude had been firm, so Mitchell hadn’t dared to press the issue.
Looking back now, Brandon Walsh’s expression at the time made it seem like he had a personal vendetta against Caleb Summers...
Mitchell Sheffield felt that Caleb Summers had, in all likelihood, offended Brandon Walsh!
Caleb Summers was completely baffled. Shaking his head in confusion, he replied, "How could I have possibly offended Director Walsh? I’ve barely exchanged a few words with him..."
Mitchell Sheffield frowned. He couldn’t figure it out either. Though Caleb Summers was mediocre, he was very smooth in his dealings with others and had mastered the art of flattery. Logically speaking, he wouldn’t go out of his way to offend a high-ranking official like Brandon Walsh.
Recalling something Brandon Walsh had said before, Mitchell Sheffield asked hesitantly, "Summers... you haven’t been running your mouth, have you? Did you get drunk and tell someone you were about to be made director?"
Caleb Summers was so scared by Mitchell Sheffield’s words he nearly pissed himself.
He shook his head frantically, his face filled with terror. "Impossible! I... I would never dare say something like that! Besides, I have no way of getting any alcohol!"
It wasn’t like before the cataclysm. Alcohol was an extremely scarce commodity now.
Forget real liquor; even counterfeit stuff made with industrial alcohol was hard to come by. The same fake liquor that people couldn’t give away on livestreams, no matter how dramatically they acted, was now a rare find.
Caleb Summers hadn’t touched a drop of alcohol in over a year, so how could he possibly have made any drunken blunders?
Mitchell Sheffield had no idea what was really going on either. He could only sigh and say, "Summers, I really can’t help you this time. You’d better go home and think hard about who you might have offended recently."
Caleb Summers left Mitchell Sheffield’s office, utterly crestfallen. Mitchell felt a sense of unease as well.
Mitchell Sheffield couldn’t understand why Brandon Walsh had suddenly targeted Caleb Summers, but he did realize one thing: if Summers had truly offended Walsh... then it was no longer appropriate for Jim Sheffield to marry his daughter. The marriage alliance might bring unnecessary trouble to the Sheffield Family.
His father, Mr. Sheffield, was already retired, while Deputy Director Walsh was a newly-appointed leader, very much in his prime. There was no need to risk offending him just for the sake of marrying Nina Summers.
With this in mind, Mitchell Sheffield took his wife, Lana Grant, to his parents’ house for dinner after work. He planned to persuade his parents to find a different wife for his third brother, Jim Sheffield, and drop Nina Summers.
But to Mitchell Sheffield’s surprise, he saw two unexpected people at his parents’ house—
"Winston? What are you doing here!"
Before the astonished eyes of Mitchell Sheffield and Lana Grant, Mrs. Sheffield finished a devout bow to the Buddha statue in front of her, then slowly rose and walked over.
Two young people flanked her, one on her left and one on her right. It was Winston Sheffield and Sylvia Lancaster. They had just been accompanying Mrs. Sheffield in her prayers.
Lana Grant was even more surprised to see Sylvia Lancaster. She blurted out, "What are you doing here?"
’She could understand Winston being here, but why was Sylvia Lancaster here too?’
Before Sylvia Lancaster could answer, Mrs. Sheffield shot her eldest son and daughter-in-law a glare and snapped, "What are you two shouting for? I told them to come!"
Winston looked at his parents with displeasure. "Dad, Mom, my apartment complex is flooded. The water in the public square is waist-deep. You two weren’t looking out for me, so I had no choice but to bring Sylvia here to Grandpa and Grandma’s to take shelter."
Winston Sheffield’s apartment was in the southern part of the city. Due to the continuous rainfall, the floodwater couldn’t drain in many areas, and quite a few places were already submerged.
Although Winston lived on a high floor, the rain was relentless. He worried he would get trapped in his building, just like during the snow disaster, so he brought Sylvia Lancaster to his grandparents’ home in the north of the city.
When Mitchell Sheffield heard his son’s words, his face immediately darkened.
Of course, he wasn’t upset about his son taking refuge at his grandparents’ house; he just didn’t want to see him with Sylvia Lancaster!
As for Sylvia Lancaster, Mitchell Sheffield and Lana Grant had absolutely no intention of acknowledging her as their daughter-in-law.
The couple had done some digging. Not only was Sylvia Lancaster’s family bankrupt, but she was also divorced and had miscarried a child. Most importantly, she had murky ties to the Hayes Family—a group previously designated a "criminal syndicate"—and she might even be related to them by blood!
’Winston just entered the public sector. He’s young and promising, with a bright future ahead of him. How could he marry a woman like Sylvia Lancaster, a woman with such a stained family background? She’ll only drag him down!’
So, when Winston had brought Sylvia Lancaster home for dinner a few days prior, Mitchell Sheffield and Lana Grant had hinted, both directly and indirectly, that she and Winston were not a suitable match. They had even made a few cutting remarks to Sylvia.
Wendy Sheffield had even taunted Sylvia Lancaster at the dinner table, likening her to a common sparrow trying to become a phoenix and saying all sorts of nasty things.
They had hoped to make Sylvia Lancaster back down and break up with Winston on her own accord. But to their surprise, Sylvia showed no reaction to their words. Instead, it was Winston who flew off the handle.
Winston said he would only ever marry Sylvia Lancaster in his life. In a fit of rage, he even flipped the table and left with Sylvia, not returning home for several days.
Mitchell Sheffield and Lana Grant had assumed that after a couple of days, once Winston had nowhere else to go, he would naturally come home and apologize. But they never expected the little brat to actually run off to his grandparents’ house with Sylvia Lancaster!
What surprised Mitchell Sheffield even more was that his mother, Mrs. Sheffield, seemed quite pleased with Sylvia Lancaster. She even had Sylvia accompany her in her prayers, looking for all the world like she had already accepted her as her granddaughter-in-law.
’This is unacceptable!’
Anxious, Mitchell Sheffield pulled his mother out onto the balcony. "Mom," he said in a low, serious tone, "how can you indulge him in this nonsense!"
Mrs. Sheffield was immediately displeased. Grandparents often dote on their grandchildren, and both she and Mr. Sheffield absolutely treasured Winston, the eldest grandson from their main family line.
Mrs. Sheffield rolled her eyes at her son. "Am I the one being ridiculous, or are you?" she said coldly. "I heard from Winston that the two of you only think of yourselves and don’t give a damn about him! His neighborhood is flooded, but you wouldn’t even give him money for rent. What kind of parents are you!"
At this, Mitchell Sheffield’s expression turned foul. "Mom, you don’t understand," he explained. "Winston insists on getting mixed up with that Lancaster woman. We only cut off his bank cards to force him to come home!"
Just then, Lana Grant came over to add her own explanation. "That’s right, Mom. You don’t know, but that Sylvia Lancaster’s family is buried in debt. They’ve been living off the supplies Winston gives them. They’re a bunch of leeches! How can we let Winston marry a woman like that!"
But Mrs. Sheffield just waved her hand dismissively. "That’s enough. Winston likes her, so why are you two worrying for nothing? I think the girl, Sylvia, is perfectly fine. Since Winston wants to, just let them arrange the marriage!"
