CHAPTER 479: YOU ARE NOT GETTING YOUNGER

"It’s a chain,"

Vicente replied nonchalantly. "Including overseas locations, there are about fifty or sixty branches."

Vincent had always been low-key, never mentioning his business ventures to others—but Taylor was different.

"Hmm, not bad," Taylor murmured, the corners of his lips curling slightly in unsurprised amusement before he resumed eating.

After speaking, Vicente suddenly smirked and raised an eyebrow.

It struck him that his relationship with Taylor had somehow shifted—from equals to something that now felt like he was a generation younger.

His gaze flickered to Melissa, whose face was plastered with shock, and the amusement in her eyes deepened.

Ah well.

A generation younger it is, then.

Sinclair remained expressionless, his attention solely fixed on Camilla, completely indifferent to the others’ conversation.

The only ones genuinely stunned were Camilla and Melissa.

Fifty or sixty high-end chain restaurants—that meant an annual income of at least ten figures.

"You—you’re actually this rich?!"

"Really now?"

Vicente narrowed his eyes slightly as he gazed at Melissa, his expression gentle.

"Does it not seem that way to you?"

Was there something about him that made Melissa think he was poor?

"Well, not exactly," Melissa admitted honestly.

"I just didn’t expect you to be *this* wealthy."

She tilted her head, curiosity flickering in her eyes.

"If money isn’t an issue for you, then why did you agree to my brother’s request to be my bodyguard?"

Vicente glanced at his old friend before answering.

"The main compensation your brother offered wasn’t money."

It was a favor—a debt of friendship.

"Not money?"

Melissa blinked, shifting her gaze between Vicente and her brother.

Her eyes darted back and forth before suddenly freezing in realization.

"...Wait, was it *me*?"

Could it be that they had planned this all along?

Had they been afraid she’d refuse, so they sent Vicente to get close to her first—using his charm as bait?

Did he find a roundabout way to make himself agree?

Some people’s thought processes really do take the strangest turns.

Camilla couldn’t help but laugh.

Some people are just born adorable.

Taylor paused mid-bite, his lips curling into an amused smirk as he glanced at Melissa.

If he hadn’t been waiting right outside the delivery room when she was born—eliminating any possibility of a switch—he might have suspected this sister of his, who shared both parents with him, had been swapped at birth.

"Finish your meal and stop talking nonsense."

"...Okay."

Melissa obediently picked up her utensils, though her suspicious gaze still darted between the two of them.

Vicente’s doting eyes lingered on Melissa for a moment before shifting to Melissa.

"You mentioned earlier that you came to Country E for a wedding. Whose wedding?"

Taylor didn’t look up, his voice calm and composed.

"Mine."

*Clatter.*

The Spoon slipped from Melissa’s fingers the moment the words left his mouth, her almond-shaped eyes widening in shock as she stared at her brother.

"Brother, what did you just say?!"

Her reaction was even more stunned than when she’d learned about Camilla’s pregnancy.

Vicente’s face also registered surprise.

Taylor had anticipated his sister’s response.

Setting down his Spoon, he took a slow sip of wine before speaking in his usual composed tone, briefly explaining the Bernardo family’s marriage proposal to the two of them.

Of course, he left out the part about the switched engagement.

Melissa’s brows furrowed tightly, her anger flaring up instantly.

"Those old fools have gone too far!

How dare they keep something this huge a secret?!"

"No need to get worked up," Taylor said soothingly.

"Everyone involved has already been dealt

with." His words did little to extinguish her fury.

"The Bernardo family?"

Vicente interjected, as if recalling something.

"The same Bernardo family planning to ally with the Harrison family through marriage?" Taylor nodded.

"That’s the one." "So, what’s your move?"

Vicente took a sip of wine, his gaze steady on Taylor.

"Need any help?"

"The engagement with the Bernardo family will definitely be called off, but—"

Taylor set down his napkin with deliberate calm, his well-defined fingers curling slightly on the table as they tapped lightly in an absent rhythm.

"—when and how it happens hasn’t been decided yet."

His voice was steady and detached, as if discussing someone else’s affairs.

"Still, there is something I’d like your help with."

Vicente arched an eyebrow leisurely.

"Name it."

After all, this was someone he needed to stay on good terms with right now.

"Look into the Harrison family," Taylor cut straight to the point without preamble.

"Especially Harrison Junior."

Sinclair lifted his gaze, studying Taylor for a moment.

Camilla also turned to look at him.

They both understood exactly why Taylor was making this request.

"You don’t need to investigate your own future wife, but you’re digging into your future brother-in-law?"

Vicente smirked, his eyes glinting with playful mockery as he regarded his friend.

"What’s the matter?

Afraid of being outshined?"

Taylor narrowed his eyes slightly, his fingers tapping the tabletop in an absentminded rhythm.

"Something like that."

Before Vicente could respond, a deep, cool voice cut in.

"Drop the investigation."

Both Taylor and Vicente turned their heads toward the speaker—especially Vicente, whose sharp eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

"What, does the Harrison family matter have anything to do with you, President Luther?"

"Mn."

Sinclair took his time ladling a bowl of soup for Camilla, handing it to her with a rare gentleness in his expression.

"Drink it while it’s hot."

"Okay."

Camilla nodded, picking up her spoon to sip the soup with deliberate grace.

Only then did Sinclair shift his gaze to Vicente, his voice icy as he briefly recounted the incident at the auction.

"So that’s what happened," Vicente murmured, his expression shifting to one of understanding, a hint of seriousness settling in his eyes.

"Actually, I know a thing or two about Harrison.

To sum him up in three words—"

Vincent tapped the table twice with his bent fingers.

"a womanizer, a schemer, and someone who never lets a slight go unanswered."

Never let a slight go unanswered.

Camilla’s hand paused mid-sip, her cool, striking eyes lifting.

Under the others’ watchful gazes, Vicente continued, "Harrison won’t just let the auction incident slide."

Vincent narrowed his eyes meaningfully.

"I’ve got enough men on standby. If you need reinforcements, Mr. Luther, just say the word."

After all, this wasn’t the capital of San Francisco, where the Luther Family’s influence reigned supreme.

"Vicente’s right,"

Taylor studied Sinclair with a concerned gaze.

"Sinclair, it’s better to err on the side of caution."

"Don’t worry," Sinclair replied, his brows relaxing as he lifted his eyes to meet theirs.

There was something deliberately suggestive in his tone.

"What I want is precisely his vindictive nature."

His voice dropped lower, his unusually cold stare fixed on some distant point in the air before him.

"I knew from the very beginning that the person in Booth Six was him."

The Mega family was his stepping stone, while the Harrison family would be his ladder to scale greater heights. Vicente frowned.

The intricacies of business dealings weren’t his forte.

Taylor, however, narrowed his eyes as he observed his old friend.

A moment of realization seemed to dawn on him, and he leaned back in his chair with a faint smile playing on his lips.

"If that’s the case, then we’ll proceed according to your plan."

Camilla’s expression remained unreadable. When Sinclair made a move, he always thought ten steps ahead.

Therefore, she wasn’t the least bit worried and would always stand by him.

After everyone had shared their opinions, Melissa finally snapped out of his thoughts with a belated realization.

"Bro," she said, twirling the straw between her delicate fingers while fixing her gaze on Taylor,

"I think we should at least see what your future wife looks like before deciding whether to call off the engagement."

A mischievous glint flashed in her eyes as she added,

"After all, you’re not getting any younger."