Several days later.
The Saunders family, in the villa community.
During this time, Vicki had taken care of the aftermath and settled everyone. At this moment, she stood in Reese's room.
Since the ordeal, Reese seemed to have aged several years; his body was not as robust as before. He lay in bed, alongside a cardiac monitor and an oxygen machine, requiring oxygen at any moment. Vicki had arranged for several senior caregivers to look after him at all times.
Reese looked up at Vicki. His face, wrinkled with age, expressed a mix of emotion and gratitude. "Vicki, I misunderstood you before. You have always had the best interests of the Saunders family at heart. I apologize to you."
Vicki crossed her arms. She had no patience for this kind of grateful talk.
Sighing, Reese said, "Ah, I never expected Fox to be such a deceitful woman, and I was blind to it. I've been reckless all my life. Now that I think back, only Felix's mother truly cared for me, and I let her down. It's hard on Felix; he's been wandering outside all these years, unwilling to come home or see me. It's all my fault. I know he resents me because of his mother. I was wrong; I deceived her before marriage, and I didn't wholeheartedly stay with her afterward. She was saddened and fell ill, and it's all my fault. Now I regret it. I truly apologize to her."
"People die, what's the use of saying all this now?" Vicki scoffed incredulously.
Reese was almost driven to frustration by Vicki's attitude. She was unrelenting in her scolding.
Vicki impatiently said, "Stop rambling and repenting afterward. Do you think it will make a difference to speak to me when you're dead? It's useless."
Reese was nearly driven to his wits' end by Vicki's words and demeanor.
"Enough, Vicki. The Saunders family is fortunate to have you managing things. I know Felix has no interest in managing the family's affairs; he's more suited for business. I also know he's been running several companies behind my back. The future of the Saunders family is in your hands; I'm old and it's time for me to let go," Reese said, taking out a ledger from the bedside. "This details the special channels of the Saunders family's transactions. I'm entrusting all these people and matters to you."
He then handed over a stack of cards and a small booklet. "These are the accounts under the Saunders family's name and their passwords. They are all yours to manage from now on."
Vicki took them. She knew that these accounts had previously been managed by Fox. Now that Fox was gone, Reese was effectively transferring all the family's authority to her, including the relationships the Saunders family had built up, both domestically and internationally, over the years.
"You truly are old and unable to judge people clearly. At least you have some sense in entrusting the secret vault to Felix," Vicki said coldly. "Otherwise, it would have fallen into Seren's hands long ago."
She couldn't shake off her unease about Felix ultimately handing the key to the secret vault to Seren. Even if Felix added a network key, she wasn't willing to let Seren get involved, even if there was the slightest risk.
Speechless in the face of Vicki's retort, Reese, though being berated, knew that without her, the Saunders family would be in dire straits.
Moreover, he could see that Vicki genuinely loved Felix. She had risked her life several times to protect him, and he had also heard that Vicki had nearly sacrificed herself to save the entire Saunders family from Seren. He was both shaken and moved by this realization.
"There are a few more things I need to tell you," Vicki said as she organized the accounts. "Firstly, Fox. I buried her in the Saunders family's cemetery; after all, she is Bride's mother."
She omitted the part about disposing of Seren's body, simply leaving it at a random burial site. This time, she was finally convinced that Seren was completely dead.
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