After His Sweetheart Moved In, He Came Home Every Night-Chapter 160: Could Alice York Be My Sister?

Upon learning the secret, Finn Hawthorne didn’t walk away. Instead, he went straight to the door and knocked.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

The sudden knocking gave the old couple inside quite a fright.

The old man nearly dropped his pipe. He glanced at the old woman, who looked just as nervous.

"Who is it?" the old woman called out.

Finn Hawthorne’s voice came from outside. "Old lady, it’s me—the handsome guy who’s in your debt."

The old woman sighed in relief. She lowered her voice and said to the old man, "Thank goodness it’s not our Little Girl. We weren’t watching our volume just now. If she’d heard us, I wouldn’t know what to say."

The old man tapped his tobacco pouch. "She’ll find out eventually. We should just let nature take its course."

The old woman said nothing more and got up to open the door.

Finn Hawthorne stood ramrod straight, a practiced smile on his face. "Old lady..."

The old woman cut him off, her face stern. "Have you no respect for your elders? Call me ’old lady’ one more time, and I’ll chain you up with the dog tonight."

Finn Hawthorne wasn’t intimidated this time. He leaned a hand against the doorframe, striking a handsome pose. "You won’t do that."

The old woman had a bad feeling.

Then she heard the kid say, "Alice York is your adopted granddaughter, right?"

The old woman’s expression changed. She grabbed Finn Hawthorne by the arm and yanked him into the house.

Sprawled on the floor, Finn Hawthorne grimaced. He heard the lock click shut behind him, and his heart sank. When he turned his head, the old woman’s face was looming over him.

"Whoa—!"

"Shut your mouth."

"..."

Finn Hawthorne clapped both hands over his mouth, his terrified eyes wide open.

The old woman crouched in front of Finn Hawthorne. "You little brat, you heard everything just now, didn’t you?"

Finn Hawthorne nodded vigorously. He uncovered his mouth and said, "I heard every word. Alice York isn’t your biological granddaughter. You adopted her from an orphanage."

The old woman’s face darkened. "Keep your voice down! What are you shouting for?"

Finn Hawthorne wiped the nervous sweat from his forehead. "I know the secret you’ve kept from Alice York for more than twenty years. If you want me to keep my mouth shut, you’d better start treating me with some respect."

As he said this, he was practically bursting with smugness.

’He’d had such a frustrating day.’

’Now that he had this secret, he had leverage over the old couple. Couldn’t he do whatever he wanted from now on?!’

"Go ahead and tell her. Do as you please," the old man said, setting down his pipe. He walked over, his expression grave.

He stopped beside Finn Hawthorne, looking down at him. "Since you heard everything, it must be fate. It’s time for our Little Girl to know the truth. Your showing up is the perfect catalyst. Why don’t you be the one to tell her?"

"..."

’Huh? Wait, aren’t they even going to struggle a bit?’

He immediately checked the old woman’s reaction and saw her hesitation.

Seizing the opportunity, Finn immediately said, "Old lady, you don’t really want to tell Alice York the truth, do you?"

The old woman stood up, her hesitant gaze shifting to Old Vaughn. "Old Vaughn, do we really have to tell our Little Girl?"

Old Vaughn was frantically making faces, trying to signal her. The old woman froze for a moment before she understood. "Fine," she said immediately. "Our Little Girl will find out eventually anyway. Why don’t you find a chance to tell her tomorrow."

Old Vaughn chimed in, "That’s right. Our Little Girl is old enough to get married now; she can handle it. If we tell her sooner, she might even be able to look for her birth parents."

The two elders put on a coordinated act, all to fool Finn Hawthorne.

In truth, they hadn’t decided whether to tell Alice York or not. They were just afraid this kid would mess things up by suddenly spilling the beans.

At that moment, Finn Hawthorne slowly stood up. He walked over to the two elders and spoke a harsh truth. "You adopted Alice York from an orphanage more than twenty years ago. That means she was abandoned, right? I heard things were very poor in the mainland back then. How could an abandoned child possibly find her birth parents? Even if she did, they wouldn’t want her."

The old couple exchanged a look and fell silent.

Because he had a point.

Finn Hawthorne laughed, a merciless sound. "See? I hit the nail right on the head. Even if Alice York learns the truth and sets her heart on finding her birth parents, no one will take her in. She’ll only suffer more, wondering why she was abandoned as a child. And to top it off, her adoptive parents don’t even treat her well. Tsk, tsk. So pitiful."

The old woman couldn’t listen anymore and snapped, "Not another word!"

Finn Hawthorne crossed his arms and said nonchalantly, "I’m just speaking the truth. So, are you still going to tell her?"

’In Alice’s situation, it was obvious a reunion would be next to impossible. The only exception would be if she became incredibly successful and could offer her birth family some kind of benefit. But she was living such a lowly existence with the Sterlings; she’d be lucky not to bring them disaster.’

’Not everyone was like his sister, after all.’

’His whole family dreamed of the day she would come back.’

Just as Finn was lost in these thoughts, he heard Old Vaughn say, "Perhaps... our Little Girl wasn’t abandoned."

Finn looked over at him and clicked his tongue. "Are you sure about that, old man?"

"...I’m not sure."

Old Vaughn shook his head and spoke slowly, "Back when we adopted her, I remember the orphanage director told us something. When our Little Girl was left at the orphanage gates, she was disheveled and filthy, like a little beggar."

Finn snorted. "Then she was probably thrown out of some slum."

"No, no."

Old Vaughn’s expression grew solemn. "Even though our Little Girl was filthy, the material of her clothes was exceptionally high-quality. The director told us that even the dirty hair clip she wore, once it was washed, turned out to be a design you couldn’t find in a regular store. The director reported it to the police, but the investigation went nowhere. The police speculated that she had wandered through many places before arriving and had likely gotten separated from her family. The director promised to call us if her relatives ever came looking, but it’s been over twenty years, and we’ve never gotten that call."

When he finished, Old Vaughn heaved a heavy sigh.

The old woman’s face was also filled with sorrow.

But Finn Hawthorne, who had been enjoying the spectacle, suddenly couldn’t laugh anymore.

His expression shifted from surprise to solemnity, his nonchalant air completely gone.

As if struck by a sudden, important thought, his breathing grew ragged. He blurted out, "How old was Alice York when she was left at the orphanage? How old was she when you adopted her?"

The old couple turned in unison to look at Finn.

It was because his voice had suddenly gone hoarse.

"What’s wrong with your voice?" the old woman asked, a hint of concern in her tone.

Finn Hawthorne touched his throat and then waved a hand dismissively. Though he was visibly tense, he said, "It’s nothing. I’m fine now."

Then he repeated his question, his tone utterly desperate for an answer.

Old Vaughn thought for a moment before replying, "When our Little Girl was left at the orphanage, the director estimated she was just under two. We adopted her as a two-year-old, and we made the day of her adoption her birthday."

"Two years old... She was adopted when she was two," Finn Hawthorne murmured. "Then... doesn’t that mean..."