Faux Vows, True Desires
Chapter 153

Ethan waved his hand, and his two bodyguards immediately stepped forward, forcibly hauling Ashley out of the room.

"Ethan!"

Grace scolded sternly, "Have you forgotten your grandma is right here? You dare to treat your elders like this in front of her?"

"Grandma, don't you think Ashley talks way too much? She's always making a fuss, and it's so annoying. I kicked her out; don't you think it's much quieter now?" Grace was silent.

"This is my home. If she's just a guest, as her nephew, I'd treat her kindly. But if she's here to cause trouble, sorry, I won't put up with her anymore. Respect for elders is important, but has she behaved as an elder should?"

And she claimed to be a high-society lady, but her behavior was just pitiful.

His mother may have some mental issues, but she's still better than Ashley.

Grace was silent.

Ethan held his mother's hand and started heading downstairs. As he passed Grace, he stopped.

He glanced at his grandma, then reminded her, "Grandma, you and grandpa are living in our house. Even if you favor Pete and his family, don't go overboard. Of course, if Kayla is willing to take you guys in and take good care of you, I have no objections."

"I'm taking my mom for a walk."

With that, Ethan, regardless of his grandma's reaction, led his mother away.

Grace was left with wide eyes from shock, but she couldn't do anything to him.

The Blue family's mansion was huge, and Grace and her husband had always lived on Nathan's side. She had no desire to relocate.

She knew that Kayla and Ashley were always sucking up to her because they wanted to use her to suppress Nathan and also gain benefits from her.

Together, Grace and her husband's private wealth amounted to nearly a billion dollars.

And let's not forget her collection of precious jewels.

If she was in a good mood and willing to open her private vault, any piece of jewelry she picked out to give away would be worth a sizable fortune.

Nathan, as the head of the family, was the richest in terms of private wealth, so he didn't always have his eye on Grace's wealth. She was used to living on Nathan's side, where it was peaceful and no one was scheming against her.

Janice had some mental issues and wasn't capable of scheming.

Ethan and Nathan were both busy and had no time to plot against her.

Madeleine hadn't officially become a member of the Blue family yet and was still trying hard to please Grace, so she wouldn't scheme against her either.

Grace watched as her grandson led the mentally unstable Janice away.

It took a while before she moved.

She walked over to the couch and sat down. Once seated, she started spacing out, lost in thought.

Shirley quietly poured her a glass of water before quietly retreating.

When Ethan and his mother reached the large lawn, Ethan finally picked up his phone to call his people.

"So, any progress?"

Ethan asked in a low voice.

As he was on the phone, he kept an eye on his mother, wary that she might wander off.

Her mental health wasn't the best, and she couldn't recognize her own son or even her own home. If she was left alone, she would get lost and couldn't find her way back to her room.

He remembered how, when he was younger, she would often run away from home. When she returned, she would always be hungry, thirsty, dirty, and sometimes even injured. "We have some good news."

The person on the other end was clearly excited.

They had been helping Ethan look for his missing sister, and finally, they made a breakthrough.

Hearing this, Ethan gripped his phone tightly and asked in a deep voice, "Where's my sister?"

"We can't confirm her location yet. The information we got is that Trenton of Pinehurst has been looking for missing children from wealthy families."

"There are several major families in Pinehurst. They're wealthy and influential, and the Martinez family is one of them. Not long ago, Trenton sent people to ask around about any girls who had gone missing in the past two decades."

Ethan asked in surprise, "Pinehurst?"

He had been looking for his sister in Whiterun, not expecting that she might be in Pinehurst.

"Are you sure?"

"We're sure. It's Trenton."

"And my sister's whereabouts?"

"We haven't found her yet, but since Trenton is acting this way, he might have seen Lucinda."

Ethan nodded, agreeing with this.

"Alright, I got it."

"You guys go to Pinehurst; check every young woman of the right age."

He was also planning to go to Pinehurst to pay Trenton a visit.

"Okay."

After ending the call, Ethan turned to look at his mother sitting next to him.

Janice, sitting beside him, was also looking at him. Her gaze was calm and indifferent.

"Mom."

Ethan said softly, "Lucy might be in Pinehurst. I'm planning to head there right away, but I'm worried about leaving you alone at home."

Janice suddenly gripped his hand tightly.

Ethan was taken aback.

"Nathan, you promised we'd always be together."

Janice's words brought Ethan back to reality.

He thought she understood his meaning.

But she still mistook him for his father.

"I want to go with you!"

Janice declared resolutely

Ethan quickly placated her, saying, "Alright, Mom, we'll go together. But you have to be quiet, and you can't run around when I'm busy."

He wasn't comfortable leaving her alone at home.

Once he went to Pinehurst, she would have no one to protect her, and those people might take advantage of the situation to bully her.

Although taking his mother out would attract a lot of attention, at least he could ensure her safety.

Only after obtaining Ethan's promise did Janice release her hand, then lower her head to comfort the doll in her arms not to cry, even though the doll hadn't been crying at all.

Ethan immediately called his assistant, instructing him to make arrangements. He was planning to fly to Pinehurst right away.

Then, he gave Shirley a heads up that he had some urgent stuff to deal with out of the blue and had to hit the road for a long trip. Not trusting his mom to be alone, he decided to take her along. He asked Shirley to pack a few changes of clothes for his mom.

By the time the private jet was ready, Ethan and his mom were on board, flying straight to Pinehurst.

On the plane, he remembered the nightmare his mom had.

Someone in their family must have a clue about his sister's whereabouts.

Ethan felt relieved; his people had already found some leads.

He hoped he could still protect his sister in time.

When Ethan took his mom out, he told everyone he was going on a business trip. No one was sure if he was pulling their leg.

Ever since he started working at Blue Corporation, he had never been on a business trip.

He was worried that his mentally unstable mom would get pushed around.

As the head of the Blue family, Nathan was the first to know that his son was taking Janice on a long trip. He knew what was up, but he covered for his son. When people started guessing, he would say that his son really was on a business trip and that it was him who had sent him.

With his dad covering for him, others didn't know for a while whether Ethan was really on a business trip or whether he was off to meet someone really important, like his sister, who had been missing for over two decades.