CHAPTER 676: CHAPTER 676: A WELL-LAID SCHEME

Ann Vaughn took advantage of his departure to leave the attic and quietly made her way to the Sheridan family shrine.

She had just managed to slyly get the general direction of the shrine from Uncle Vance; she still needed to slowly explore for the exact location.

After all, this estate was truly vast.

It was almost on par with Cyrus Hawthorne’s private estate on the mountaintop.

Half an hour later, Ann Vaughn finally found the building where the shrine was located and entered after swiping her key card.

The interior arrangement was somewhat different from the Hawthorne Family shrine where Laura Quinn had once punished her to kneel; it seemed... less ornate.

But after looking around the entire shrine, she did not see the figures of Eli Sheridan or Wilder Sheridan.

Ann Vaughn took a few steps forward and lifted the beaded curtain, only to step on something protruding and accidentally knocked over a high table, falling to the ground herself.

"Hiss." Ann Vaughn drew in a sharp breath, unable to see her injuries clearly due to the lack of light, but her elbow was likely scraped.

She pushed herself off the ground and righted the high table, only to find that the things on it had fallen to the floor.

She picked them up to see—they were two small, cool-to-the-touch, lustrous jade pieces that looked remarkably like... her Dragon Marrow Jade Longevity Jade Plate?

Skeptical, Ann Vaughn was about to return the object that resembled the Longevity Jade Plate to the high table when she suddenly heard sounds from behind a screen.

"Who’s there outside?"

It was Old Mrs. Sheridan, who was also Ann Vaughn’s... grandmother.

As Ann Vaughn hesitated whether to leave immediately to avoid being caught, the shrine door suddenly swung open from the outside.

At that moment, Old Mrs. Sheridan, leaning on a huanghuali cane, walked out from behind the screen and happened to notice the Longevity Jade Plate, broken in half, on the high table.

"Grandma, I heard an alarm and came over immediately. Are you alright?" Jane Sheridan entered from outside the shrine, shot a sideways glance at Ann Vaughn standing to the side and went to support Old Mrs. Sheridan’s hand.

Seeing the broken Longevity Jade Plate in Old Mrs. Sheridan’s hand, Jane Sheridan asked in surprise, "Isn’t that sister’s Longevity Jade Plate? How did it get broken like this..."

Old Mrs. Sheridan remained silent with a solemn expression, clutching the broken Jade Plate tightly to her chest. Tears streamed down her aged eyes.

Ann Vaughn suddenly realized that those two pieces were indeed her own Longevity Jade Plate, just broken, making it unrecognizable in the dim light.

Presumably, after Cynthia Vaughn’s death, the Sheridan family thought it belonged to her and placed it in this shrine.

Even though Ann Vaughn knew Cynthia Vaughn wasn’t the Sheridan daughter, and that the Longevity Jade Plate was stolen from her, Old Mrs. Sheridan didn’t know that.

Ann Vaughn bit her lip, stepping forward to apologize to Old Mrs. Sheridan—not only for disturbing her but also for breaking the Longevity Jade Plate...

"Old Mrs. Sheridan, I’m so..."

"Was it just you in here earlier?" Jane Sheridan interrupted Ann Vaughn before she could finish, looking at her angrily, "Did you break the Longevity Jade Plate? Do you have any idea how important this is to our family!"

Holding the broken Longevity Jade Plate, Old Mrs. Sheridan had no interest in lingering any longer. She looked at Ann Vaughn, only seeing a silhouette behind the beaded curtain, not even making out her features clearly.

Seeing that the figure seemed to be a girl, she was reluctant to be too harsh.

"Forget it," Old Mrs. Sheridan sighed deeply, clutching the Longevity Jade Plate tightly in her hand, "Just have her removed. Pursuing this won’t restore anything. What is meant to be lost, cannot be retained."

Just like her dear sweetie.

For some reason, upon hearing Old Mrs. Sheridan’s last words, Ann Vaughn’s eyes stung with a surge of emotion, an overwhelming urge to tell her that she hadn’t lost her granddaughter.

"Grandma, you go rest first, I’ll handle things here." Jane Sheridan didn’t say much more, instructing the servants outside to help Old Mrs. Sheridan leave the shrine, before walking up to Ann Vaughn.

"Do you know how precious the broken Longevity Jade Plate is? It was Grandma’s only cherished memory, and you’ve been so cruel!" Jane Sheridan frowned, "Despite Grandma letting you off, I don’t intend to settle this privately with you. You’ll have to come with me to the precinct!"

Ann Vaughn was still dazed from the sorrowful tone of Old Mrs. Sheridan earlier, only regaining her senses when Jane Sheridan pushed her out of the shrine.

"You deliberately lied to lure me to the shrine just to have me break that Longevity Jade Plate?" Realizing the key point, Ann Vaughn steadied her steps, gazing mockingly at Jane Sheridan, "You orchestrated quite the show."

Jane Sheridan laughed and asked back, "I don’t understand what you’re talking about. You were the one who sneaked into our family shrine, and you broke the Longevity Jade Plate. What does it have to do with me?"

Even if they checked that key card, they wouldn’t trace it back to her.

But considering the value of the Dragon Marrow Jade Longevity Jade Plate, Ann Vaughn might not be able to leave the precinct’s detention room before this year’s end!

"Hold on."

Just as Jane Sheridan was calling for the security patrol to take Ann Vaughn away, a voice suddenly stopped her.

Ann Vaughn frowned, looking toward the corridor to see Stanley Sheridan walking over with a serious and commanding demeanor, causing her gaze to flicker with a sense of foreboding.

Given Stanley Sheridan’s dislike for her, if she was brought into the precinct, there’d be no contacting the outside world; he might just lock her up directly...

She needed to think of a plan...

"Dad, she barged into our family shrine for no reason, broke Luna’s Dragon Marrow Jade Longevity Jade Plate, and upset Grandma as well." The moment Jane Sheridan saw Stanley Sheridan approach, she immediately went up to report.

Stanley Sheridan nodded, his authoritative gaze swept over Ann Vaughn, with an indescribable emotion flickering in his eyes.

"Your sister is no longer around; keeping a Longevity Jade Plate only makes one nostalgic. If it’s broken, it’s broken."

Surprisingly, Stanley Sheridan did not pursue the matter, seemingly indifferent to it.

Jane Sheridan’s eyes widened with confusion, yet she didn’t let it show on her face, "But that was Luna’s favorite thing..."

Dad always doted on Cynthia Sheridan. When a servant accidentally damaged a piece of Cynthia Sheridan’s jewelry before, Dad had them dismissed from the Sheridan family, no longer employing them.

Now Ann Vaughn has broken a Dragon Marrow Jade Longevity Jade Plate—not only a memory but also a priceless treasure.

Why let Ann Vaughn off so easily...

Stanley Sheridan looked at Ann Vaughn, who kept her lips pressed tight and remained silent, and asked calmly, "Would Miss Vaughn like to stay for a meal?"

Ann Vaughn: "?"

Was this Stanley Sheridan possessed by someone else, or was he planning to deal her a soft blow?