That afternoon, when Charlene arrived home, Jasmine was already there, having just gotten back from school. As Charlene stepped through the door, she heard Jasmine on the phone. The little girl''s face lit up. "Mommy!"


    After a quick exchange with the person on the other end, Jasmine ran over, holding out the phone. "Mommy, Daddy wants to talk to you."


    Charlene sighed and took the phone. "Hello?"


    "Happy birthday."


    She was silent for a couple of seconds before replying, "Thank you."


    This was the moment she should have mentioned his extravagant gift, but the words wouldn''te. Thorne, for his part, didn''t bring it up either, acting as if he hadn''t just sent her a fortune in a box.


    "I''ve got a lot on my te here," he said. "It''ll be a while before I''m back."


    Charlene understood his meaning. She pressed her lips together, saying nothing.


    "Are you angry?" he asked into the silence.


    She ignored the question. "Was there anything else?" she asked coolly.


    "No, that''s all."


    The moment the words left his mouth, she hung up. But just before the line went dead, she could have sworn she heard him chuckle. She froze, phone in hand, a deep frown creasing her brow.


    Thorne had told Jasmine the same thing, so she happily settled in at the Ross family home for the


    foreseeable future. He called almost every day. And while Charlene never spoke to him again, she couldn''t avoid hearing about him. His name was all over the newstely, with endless reports on his current investment strategies. From those reports, she knew he had flown abroad several days ago and wasn''t expected back anytime soon.


    Charlene wasn''t actively seeking out news about him; it was simply unavoidable. The Hawkins and Spencer families, however, only knew that Thorne was "busy with work They had no idea what he was actually doing until they saw the same news reports.


    The sheer scale of his investments was staggering, and the financial world was abuzz, calling his moves a bellwether for future market


    trends Vesta''s uncle


    Spencer, couldn''t hide his envy "With all this insider knowledge, you''d think Thorne would throw us a bone."


    He didn''t say it aloud, but everyone knew what he meant. Even a small piece of that action would be a massive windfall for them. The others felt the same way. Henley Hawkins was practically salivating at the thought.


    "These aren''t projects just anyone can get into," Henley said, ying devil''s advocate. "If something goes wrong, Thorne is the one on the hook. Not to mention the capital required is immense." They simply didn''t have that kind of money.


    Forrest scoffed. "If Thorne wanted to, he could find a way."


    Vesta remained silent. She knew her uncle was right. If Thorne really wanted to help the Hawkins family, he could make it happen. A month or two ago, she would have been certain he would have moved mountains for her. But now...