Next Man, Better Plan novel Chapter 209

Grace Winters Vasquez was Jonathan's birth mother.

Many years ago, while taking Jonathan to visit her family, she had tragically lost him. He was only five at the time.

After that, Grace was overcome with grief and passed away just a few years later.

Stephanie felt she should pay her respects.

She quickly changed and headed for the Vasquez estate, where Mrs. Vasquez Sr. had already sent Verna to wait for her at the main gate.

This was Stephanie's first visit to the Vasquez estate, the grand and solemn place where Jonathan had grown up.

She and Verna had met once before at Aeterna Abbey, and the older woman seemed to have a good impression of her. As they walked, Verna said, "The situation at the estate is a bit complicated, and the grounds are vast, ma'am. Please stay close to me."

Stephanie nodded. Before them stood the main house, its stone walls covered in deep green ivy, with a few vibrant flowers blooming here and there. The sight gave the whole building an artistic feel. Three equally impressive annexes were built around it.

On the way over, Stephanie had asked Steven to fill her in on the Vasquez family.

York was the family patriarch and the chairman of Ironhold Investment Group. After Jonathan was lost, he and Grace had searched everywhere for their son for years, but to no avail. Grace, consumed by guilt and grief, passed away in her early thirties, forever idealized in York's memory.

After her death, York had relationships with three other women.

One was Elva, who had been Grace's maid. During the final stages of Grace's illness, when she was bedridden, Elva had cared for her with unwavering devotion, personally seeing to every detail. She was Grace's most trusted confidante.

Sitting in the car, Stephanie could only imagine how complicated the atmosphere at the Vasquez estate must be.

The drama with three mistresses under one roof... The family dynamics must be treacherous. Stephanie couldn't help but wonder how Jonathan had managed to grow up caught between these three women.

And he even had a half-brother.

Just as Stephanie stepped into the garden, a handful of dirt flew right at her face.

She dodged to the side and turned to see a boy of about five or six, holding a small shovel and digging in a flowerbed.

Stephanie assumed it was an accident and thought nothing of it, but as she started to walk again, the boy deliberately threw a bucketful of soil at her.