Chapter 475 - 472: My Adoptive Parents, My Nightmare

Nina Sinclair’s case would still take some time to process, but the Emberfall Police had made a point to call and tell her that Nina would definitely receive a heavy sentence.

Chloe Sinclair, however, didn’t really care.

Even if Nina Sinclair only got three years, Chloe could just send her right back to prison if she got out and started causing trouble again.

Three days after the incident concluded, it was time for Chloe Sinclair to start the new semester.

Chloe Sinclair was very low-key when she arrived at campus to register. She wore a padded athletic jacket from a domestic brand, and a black mask covered most of her face. Her bangs hid her forehead, leaving only her dark eyes visible.

Chloe Sinclair first went to find Joel Quincy and Nathan Trenton.

Thanks to the success of the reactor, Joel Quincy had been struck with new inspiration and was recently working on a new proposal.

Since it was the first day of the semester, Joel Quincy was on campus.

At the beginning of the year, Nathan Trenton had also become a professor at Emberfall University—a tenured one, at that.

Chloe Sinclair was a little surprised when she found out.

"I thought you would’ve gone home to inherit the family fortune, Nathan."

’Just like her brother, using their family’s fortune to fund his own research.’

Nathan Trenton gave a bitter smile. "My family isn’t nearly as open-minded as your dad."

Back when his father found out he was studying Physics—nuclear physics, no less—he nearly broke his legs.

After that, how could he dare to use the family’s money?

But Chloe Sinclair shook her head. "Nathan, if your family truly didn’t support you, they wouldn’t have let you stay here and do research all this time."

Nathan Trenton was from a certified powerhouse family in Emberfall, a famous second-generation heir in the Emberfall Circle. If his family didn’t want him involved in research, they would have had a million ways to drag him back home long ago.

How could they possibly have let Nathan stay in this field for so many years?

Besides, back when research funding was tight, the Trenton Family had helped out.

Nathan Trenton, being in the thick of it, couldn’t see it, but Chloe Sinclair, as an outsider, saw it more clearly than anyone.

"You can’t see the forest for the trees."

Those few words from Chloe were enough to make Nathan Trenton’s expression shift.

The perpetual knot in his brow seemed to finally loosen at that moment.

Nathan Trenton faced Chloe Sinclair and said with sudden solemnity, "Chloe, thank you."

Chloe Sinclair just smiled without saying a word.

Nathan Trenton helped her finish registering and pick up her textbooks, and she prepared to head back.

Classes started the next day. Chloe had been busy for so long, she planned to get a good night’s sleep.

But she didn’t expect to run into major trouble before she even left the office.

At some point, a man and a woman had appeared at the door. They looked to be middle-aged.

Neither of them looked pleased. The man wore a military-green vest, his temples graying. The woman had long hair, but her face was haggard.

The one thing they had in common was a petty, unrefined air that made one feel distinctly uncomfortable.

They peered into the office with shifty, furtive glances.

Although Nathan Trenton felt uneasy, he assumed they were some student’s parents. He frowned but still asked, "Excuse me, are you two looking for someone?"

The pair froze, saying nothing.

Suddenly, Chloe Sinclair, seeing that Nathan wasn’t moving, stepped forward from behind him to see what was going on.

"What’s wrong?"

As she spoke, her gaze fell upon the two middle-aged people in front of them.

With just one look, Chloe Sinclair’s pupils contracted.

Before she could speak, the expressions of the two people before her changed. "Chloe Sinclair!"

Chloe Sinclair frowned. "What do you want?"

The woman immediately grew hostile. "Heh, what’s this? You move to the city and become a rich young miss, and now you won’t even acknowledge your own adoptive parents?"

The woman’s words were scathing. Combined with her small, fox-like eyes, her spitefulness was laced with a cunning that was deeply unsettling to look at.

Nathan Trenton still hadn’t grasped the situation, but he instinctively moved to shield Chloe Sinclair behind him. In a low voice, he said, "Excuse me, you two, this is a university."

His only intention was to remind the two people to watch their words and actions.

But he had no idea what nerve his words had struck. The woman’s face immediately soured.

She eyed Nathan Trenton suspiciously. Recalling the "old man" her son and daughter had mentioned, she sneered, "Heh, you must be my daughter’s boyfriend. Well, I’m telling you, I don’t approve!"

Before Nathan could react, the woman turned back to Chloe, trying to pull her out from behind him. But Nathan, at nearly one-point-nine meters tall, stood like an immovable mountain.

The woman was clearly intimidated and backed down slightly, but her tone remained accusatory. "Chloe Sinclair, you ungrateful girl! Even if we aren’t your birth parents, we still raised you for so many years! How could you treat my son and daughter like this? Don’t you think you’ve gone too far?!"

"Hah!"

Chloe Sinclair was stunned for a moment, but she quickly recovered.

Upon hearing this, she just let out a soft scoff but didn’t say anything more.

But her scoff wasn’t soft and meek like it used to be. It was as cold as a block of ice.

Goosebumps erupted on Liana Marsh’s skin, and a shiver ran down her spine.

’Why is this adopted daughter so different from before?’

Back in Corvin, this adopted daughter had been completely at her beck and call. If she said east, the girl would never dare go west. If she told her to kneel, she would never dare to stand.

But now, the young woman’s face had changed. Her features were a bit sharper, her gaze was piercing, and her voice was no longer timid and submissive.

Even the clothes she was wearing looked to be made of fine material.

Thinking of her own son’s clothes, which already had several holes in them just a few days ago, Liana Marsh was instantly filled with bitter resentment.

"What are you ’hah’-ing about? Did your brother come looking for you before?"

Chloe Sinclair thought for a moment, then nodded honestly. "He did."

Liana Marsh hadn’t expected Chloe to admit it so readily. The speech she had prepared before coming suddenly felt like a fishbone stuck in her throat, and she couldn’t get the words out.

But looking at the young woman’s aloof expression, Liana Marsh stiffened her neck. "Then if your brother came to you for help, why didn’t you give him any?"

"Help?" Chloe Sinclair blinked. "He has hands and feet. Why does he need my help?"

"You’re his older sister! It’s your duty to help your brother!"

Chloe suddenly broke into an innocent smile and said earnestly, "But I’m not on the same household register as you. Even if he needed help, shouldn’t he be asking Nina Sinclair? Why ask an outsider like me?"

’Shamelessness really does run in the family. They’re all trying to one-up each other.’

After speaking, the smile on Chloe Sinclair’s face abruptly vanished, replaced by a cold glint. "So, is there anything else? If not, I’ll be leaving."

Then, Chloe turned her head back and added earnestly, "Also, could you two please show some decency? This is a public area. Don’t be so classless as to shout like this. It’s very uncivilized, you know!"

Before the pair could react, Chloe Sinclair grabbed Nathan Trenton’s arm and left.

Once they reached an open area, Nathan Trenton finally asked, "Those two just now were..."

"My adoptive parents. My nightmare."