Web Fic
Chapter 469
Leah couldn't forget.
"Wasn't that the engagement gift Lucas and Chloe exchanged when they were kids?"
She remembered that the Moncada family had gifted a beautiful piece of Hetian jade as a token. It was quite valuable and still safely tucked away in her vault.NôvelDrama.Org owns © this.
"Do you know the story behind this locket?"
Leah mused, "Didn't you mention it once? On the day Chloe was born, someone felt a connection with her and gifted her this locket. Who was it again? I can't recall."
"It was Neil."
"Neil? Who's that?"
"You really don't keep up with things, do you? Not even knowing about Neil."
"The Shaw family is one of the big four in Eldridge City, once neck-and-neck with the Sartori family."
Leah thought about it.
Who wouldn't know? The Eldridge
Elites have four powerhouse families: Nagel, Shen, Xue, and Shaw. They practically control all the economic strings in the city. But
Eldridge City is quite a dista
their own Riverbrook. If it weren't for Connor, they'd probably never have crossed paths with those high up in the social ladder.
Leah was taken aback, "How on earth are you connected to the Shaw family, and why would they give Chloe such a lavish gift?"
Neil explained, "I heard Neil's folks are from Riverbrook, like his wife, who was a famous reporter at our TV station. On Chloe's birth day, his wife was also giving birth at the same hospital, Harmony General. Do you remember all the commotion that day?"
Leah's memory was sharp.
A lot indeed happened. Rumor had it
that a woman went into labor with heavy bleeding, and it was touch-and-go. Every doctor and nurse rushed to help, and the place was a madhouse. All the resources were diverted there. Although the woman pulled through, her baby was stillborn. Later, a nurse mentioned that the baby was fine at birth, taken to the nursery as usual. But in the chaos, by the time someone checked again, the baby had been gone for a while.
Many were caught in the chaos that day. The hospital shut down shortly after they left. Whether this was linked to the Shaw family was anyone's guess.
The Shaws were once a powerhouse, their influence in the Eldridge Elites outshining the Nagel and Gilbert families, and they were on par with the Sartoris for years. But from that year on, they stepped out of the limelight. Neil and his wife moved overseas, and he shifted his businesses abroad, although some of his sons stayed, while others left.
Jacob only thought of Neil recently after hearing some big news. Neil plans to return with his wife this month for an ancestral visit. Leah commented, "Ms. Ruby went through hell, and though she survived, she lost her child. Maybe that's why they moved abroad, but what's Chloe got to do with any of this? Why would Mr. Neil give Chloe such a valuable locket when she was born?"
Jacob explained, "That locket was for his own newborn daughter, but she was stillborn. Mr. Neil was devastated. On the day we took Chloe home, he was in the hallway, just staring at the locket and crying. Then Chloe started crying, catching his attention."
"It's odd. Chloe seemed to have a special bond with him. She was bawling her eyes out, and nothing worked. But when Mr. Neil picked her up, she stopped immediately and even smiled at him."