Chapter 796

Evelyn Ross did not lower her voice when she spoke these words.

As her words fell, Natalie Castillo, who had been stuffing food into her mouth, froze abruptly.

Her mouth hung open, her eyes wide, staring fixedly at Joanna Sterling.

Several seconds passed before Natalie managed to swallow her food with difficulty, her finger trembling as she pointed at Joanna. "Who did you say she is?"

She simply couldn't believe it.

That meek, nearly invisible maid Joanna Sterling in the Ashcroft household.

That Joanna Sterling who she might have long forgotten if she hadn't saved Preston Valentine years ago.

Could she actually be Scarlett King?

Had Evelyn made a mistake?

Evelyn's gaze was calm, a faint, elusive smile playing at the corner of her mouth.

Joanna clenched her fists, meeting her stare.

After a long moment, she suddenly sighed, her entire body relaxing. "How did you figure it out?"

Evelyn answered directly, "Sebastian Truman told me. He said every member of the Sterling Family has 'Sterling' in their name. Scarlett King had already arrived in the country and was in the Ashcroft household."

Joanna understood. "No wonder you suddenly moved back. It was for me."

"Not entirely." Evelyn spread her hands. "Mainly to spend more time with Chloe Davis. Discovering you was purely accidental."

She took a step forward. "Between you and Preston Valentine, it always seemed like he was the active one, you the passive. But the best hunters often appear as prey. Your existence was indeed hard to suspect. After all, from the very beginning, you were the victim whose credit was stolen."

Evelyn stared into Joanna's eyes. "But thinking about it now, how could Susan Langley so easily claim the huge credit for saving Preston Valentine? Did you intentionally let her have it back then? Then you entered the Ashcroft household as a victim, so no one would suspect you."

Joanna said, "But you still suspected."

"Because it was too smooth." Evelyn said coolly. "Discovering Susan wasn't Preston's savior, discovering you were... it all went too smoothly, unrealistically so."

Joanna raised an eyebrow. "Wasn't it smooth? I went through several loops back then."

"But it was too coincidental." Evelyn shook her head. "Why would the savior just happen to come work for the Sterling Family? New York is so big. What are the odds of such a huge coincidence between people?"

She took another step forward. "But I'm curious, why aren't you staying in Aldoria, coming to the United States instead? And from my investigation these past few days, you should have come a long time ago. Five years? Six years? Why?"

Joanna fell silent for a moment.

Evelyn turned to look at Natalie. "You told me before that there are nine contenders in this generation's Sterling Family succession battle. But how many have appeared in the United States? Let me count... Nicole Sterling? What's her code name?"

"Butterfly." Natalie mumbled through a mouthful of food. "She was the first to pledge allegiance to me."

Evelyn nodded. "So that's Butterfly, Rabbit, Fox, Lion... four people are already in the United States. The world is so big. Isn't it a bit unreasonable for four out of nine to end up in the United States?"

Natalie and Joanna exchanged a glance.

Natalie spoke lazily, "Actually, it's perfectly reasonable."

Evelyn paused. "What?"

Natalie continued eating, too lazy to explain.

Joanna took over. "Let me explain. The final battle among the Sterling Family heirs out in the world, do you know what it is?"

Evelyn frowned.

She hadn't really thought about it carefully.

Joanna said slowly, "It's economics. Among all the countries in this world, the struggles between nations, whether from a military or other perspective, ultimately compete for interests, which is economics. So, whoever builds the largest commercial empire wins."

Evelyn was slightly taken aback. "Is that so?"

Natalie nodded. "Yeah, no one said the heirs have to fight to the death, right? Otherwise, how could Nicole and I ally? And how could we ally with you?"

Joanna lowered her eyes. "Exactly. This leads to the heirs clustering together. After all, there aren't many economic superpowers in this world."

She looked at Evelyn. "The United States' economy was still lagging forty years ago, but its development over the past decade has been incredibly rapid. No heir would pass up the United States as a strategic location. So, everyone converges here. It's not strange at all."

Natalie chimed in, "Only four have come to the United States, what's the big deal? Five years ago when I went to the UK, I felt there were at least five or six Sterling Family heirs there! Besides, when we left the Sterling Family, we each chose a country, but no one said I couldn't come to the United States to develop my business, right?"

Joanna also nodded. "The United States' current economic standing is extraordinary. It's long become a place where Sterling Family heirs compete for resources. And within the entire United States, the economy is centered in New York; in New York, the economy is centered in the Sterling Family!"