Chapter 11

Hector noticed the maid's conflicted expression. He asked, "What's wrong, Stella?" The maid, Stella Jones, immediately stepped forward and said, "When Carla first came to the Jensen residence, she did mention that there was something wrong with Jet's intelligence. I remember he used to be at a school for the intellectually disabled." She and Carla had started working at the Jensen residence at the same time and got along well. That was why she knew a thing or two about Carla's family situation. Shannon asked, "Do you know when Jet became normal?" Stella thought hard. Then, she said, "I think it was about eight years ago. I remember she was particularly happy one day and told me it was because of Jet. It should've been in the summer." Shannon turned to Hector. "Were there any children close to Carla or the Jensen family who suddenly became intellectually disabled eight years ago when they were previously normal?" Everyone was taken aback by her question, including Adam, who hadn't spoken thus far. "Do you mean…" "The only way to make a child who's lost one wisdom become normal is to take it from another normal child. But the child whose wisdom is taken away will take the place of the first child and become intellectually disabled," Shannon explained. She'd asked about people around Carla and the Jensen family because Carla had worked at the Jensen residence for close to a decade. She spent more time there than anywhere else, which limited the range of suitable candidates she could choose from. Everyone understood what Shannon meant now. Scott had been pissed at her for ignoring him, but his mind jumped to someone at her description. He blurted out, "Mr. Shaw's retarded daughter, Emily Shaw!" Everyone turned to look at him. Adam said sternly, "Don't call her that!" He turned back to Shannon. Up until this point, even if he didn't really believe Shannon had some special abilities, he couldn't help looking serious. If things really were as she'd said, and this had to do with Emily, dealing with Carla alone wouldn't be enough to resolve the matter. The Shaw and Jensen families had some history and were considered good friends. And indeed, Emily had become intellectually disabled eight years ago. But… "Emily became intellectually disabled because she hurt her head. She fell from her horse during a horseback riding class," he said. If not for that, with the Shaw family's might, they would've gotten a geomancy master to check on Emily's sudden change. The Shaw family hadn't considered anything other than seeking medical help because the intellectual disability had been caused by an external force. Shannon didn't rebuke him. Instead, she asked, "Did Ms. Shaw visit the Jensen residence eight years ago?" Hector looked serious as he said firmly, "Yes, she did." As the oldest grandchild, he was in charge of attending to the younger generation whenever there were visitors to the Jensen residence. Naturally, he could remember meeting her. If his memory served him right, the horseback riding accident had happened after her visit. And after that, the Shaws had never brought her along anymore. "Are there any photos of her?" Shannon asked. Hector didn't have any photos of Emily, but it was easy enough to have someone get one. Soon, his subordinate got him a photo of her from social media. He showed it to Shannon. She took one look at it and said, "It's her." She sounded confident, but the others didn't look relieved at her words. If this had to do with the Shaw family, then it was no laughing matter. The Shaw family was also a powerful family that came from old money. If this matter was true, the Jensen family could be considered an indirect cause of Emily's condition. Even if they hadn't known about this from beginning to end, it wouldn't make any difference to outsiders because Carla had been behind it. Judging from how protective and loving everyone in the Shaw family was toward Emily even after her accident, this matter could very well end the friendship between the Shaw and Jensen families if not handled appropriately. "Tsk. All this nonsense about wisdoms sounds ridiculous. If it were really that easy to switch these things out, I could've done it, too!" Deep down, Scott couldn't tell whether he still didn't believe Shannon or purely wanted to refute her words. Seeing how he hadn't stopped making noise thus far, Shannon finally deigned to respond to him. She said seriously, "Well, you could do with having an extra one." Her features were delicate, and her face still had some baby fat. At first glance, she gave one an impression of obedience. And so, when she spoke so seriously and matter-of-factly, Scott thought she was genuinely giving him a suggestion. In the next second, he processed what she'd said and realized she was calling him an idiot! His face turned red, and he pointed at her, looking like he wanted to charge at her. "How dare you insult me!" Just then, Alex, Adrian, and their families came downstairs. When Adrian saw this, he hurried over to Scott and smacked him on the butt. "What are you doing? Why won't you leave Shannon alone?" Adrian hadn't held back, so the smack was loud and crisp. It made Scott howl and jump on the spot. "Dad!" He turned to Adrian and stuck his nose in the air, crying, "Why'd you hit me? She's the one who insulted me first!" "What nonsense! Why would Shannon insult you for no reason?" Adrian glared at him, looking like he didn't believe Scott. Scott was exasperated. He pointed at Shannon and said, "But that's exactly what she did! She called me an idiot!" Adrian, Alex, and their families turned to look at Shannon. Cecily hurriedly explained what had happened, including Shannon's deduction that Carla had taken Emily's wisdom, causing her to become intellectually disabled. Janice, Scott's mother, rubbed Scott's head with heartache. "Shannon's not wrong." Scott could do with a better brain. He looked at her in disbelief. Was she really his mother? Compared to his accusation that Shannon had insulted him, the rest of the Jensens were more concerned about Carla burying the talisman in the garden. Though they didn't believe in these things much, it was still a little hair-raising to know something like that had been buried in their home. As for Shannon, everyone thought she'd just stumbled upon the matter. They didn't believe her claims that Emily's wisdom had been transferred to Jet. "It's not a big deal for you young women to like these horoscopes and astrological stuff, but it'd be better not to talk about these things at home," Alex said. He was in the entertainment industry but didn't believe in these things at all. In fact, he found Shannon to be rather flighty and airheaded for causing a fuss over these things to attract attention. He thought he'd already seen through Shannon—she just wanted her presence to be acknowledged since she'd just returned to the Jensen family. He wasn't the only one who thought that. The others, more or less, shared the same thoughts. Adam's gaze darkened as he observed everyone's attitude toward Shannon. Ultimately, he turned to her and said, "I'll have someone speak to the Shaw family about this. You stay out of it." She'd just returned to the Jensen family, so he didn't want her to become a target of ridicule. She looked at him for a while at his words, then nodded. Since the Jensens didn't want her to get involved… she'd do it in secret. She didn't care what others thought of her—all she knew was that she couldn't let this opportunity to make money get away.