The money from selling shares, the inheritance from her parents, and the annual dividends from her remaining stock were more than enough for her to be financially independent.
Although Claire Winters had failed to get Desmond Lynch a job at the company, she didn't give up. She continued to dote on her.
In the end, she successfully wheedled a commercial property out of her.
The property was in a prime location and was quite large. The annual rent alone was several hundred thousand, improving the Lynch Family's lifestyle by more than just a little.
Autumn Lynch, in particular, became her little sidekick.
Despite being a university student, the days she spent at school throughout the year could be counted on one hand. She was almost always by her side, eating, drinking, and having fun.
She had treated them so well, but in the end, all she had raised were three ungrateful wretches.
At this thought, Sierra Sullivan's gaze turned incredibly cold.
But she quickly concealed the coldness in her eyes.
Sierra first stored everything on the table into her space before getting up, walking over, and opening the door.
The moment the door opened, Autumn Lynch fluttered over to Sierra Sullivan like a butterfly, intimately linking her arm with Sierra's.
"Cousin! What have you been up to these past few days? I haven't seen you in ages, I missed you to death!"
Claire Winters followed her in, a gentle smile on her face and an affectionate tone in her voice. "Yes, Sierra, what have you been busy with? In previous years, before this day, you'd always contact us in advance to plan how to spend it. Why haven't you said anything this year?"
Sierra lowered her eyes, a sorrowful expression on her face. "Aunt Claire, this year... I wanted to commemorate my parents in a special way. I was afraid you wouldn't be able to handle it, so I didn't contact you beforehand."
"Oh, you silly child!" Claire looked at Sierra with mock reproach. "Commemorating your parents is the most important thing. What is there that we couldn't handle? Just tell us! We'll definitely be with you!"
Desmond Lynch nodded in agreement. "That's right! Sierra, your aunt is right! We're family. No matter what you want to do, we'll be with you. We're family, we don't treat each other like strangers!"
Autumn Lynch hugged Sierra's arm even tighter. "Cousin! See? My parents are even better to you than they are to their own daughter! Just tell us! We'll definitely be with you!"
Sierra looked at the three of them with a moved expression. "Aunt Claire, Uncle Desmond, Autumn, since you've all said so, I won't stand on ceremony! I was just thinking, these past few years, I've been eating and drinking well, but my parents can't eat or drink anything anymore. So, I want to spend today not eating or drinking anything, to properly keep them company."
Before the three could say anything, Sierra quickly added, "I know it's difficult. Aunt Claire, Uncle Desmond, Autumn, it's okay if you can't do it. I won't blame you!"
The three of them exchanged a look, their eyes filled with determination.
Claire was the first to declare, "Sierra, what are you talking about? How could we not be able to do it! We'll accompany you! It's just one day without food or water! What's the big deal!"
Desmond nodded repeatedly. "Yes! Your aunt is right! This is what we should do!"
Autumn nodded along as well. "Yeah! Cousin, we're all family. It's only right that we accompany you!"
Sierra looked even more moved. "Aunt Claire, Uncle Desmond, Autumn, you guys are really the best! Don't worry, I won't let you suffer for nothing! Tomorrow, I'll take you to the mall! We'll have a good time and relax!"
Hearing Sierra's words, the three of them grew excited, their eyes shining.
Sierra was a generous person. Since she said that, she would definitely buy them lots of nice things tomorrow!
'It's just starving for one day!'
'No problem at all!'
Sierra saw the excitement in their eyes and sneered inwardly.
'Let these three feast on the empty promises I've made!'
Sierra led the three into the living room and explained in a low voice, "I was afraid I'd get unbearably hungry and want to eat or drink, so I had someone take all the food and drinks out of the villa beforehand. If you can't hold out, you can order takeout. I won't blame you."
Autumn wore a determined expression. "Cousin, what are you saying! How could we possibly order takeout! We said we'd accompany you, and we will! We'll have a good breakfast together tomorrow morning!"
"Autumn, you're so good to me! Several new bags have come out recently that I think would be perfect for you. When we go to the mall tomorrow, try them on. If they suit you, I'll buy them for you!"
"Really!?"
Autumn was so pleasantly surprised she almost screamed. "Cousin, thank you so much!"
"There's no need for 'thank yous' between us. It's only natural!"
Claire and Desmond watched this exchange. The couple looked at each other, the smiles in their eyes deepening.
'That Sierra girl is just too easy to fool!'
'Just by starving with her for a day, we can get hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of stuff from her. It's such a bargain!'
The four of them sat together in the living room, each with their own ulterior motives, but on the surface, everything was perfectly amicable.
On the surface, Sierra ate nothing at all.
But in reality, she used her trips to the bathroom to secretly eat lunch, afternoon tea and snacks, and dinner.
Having starved for a day without a drop of water or a grain of rice, the spirits of Autumn and the others were already starting to flag.
Seeing that it was already ten o'clock, Sierra finally said, "Aunt Claire, Uncle Desmond, Autumn, why don't you go rest for a bit? I'll go out and buy you something to eat. It's pretty remote here, and there aren't many takeout options at night. By the time I get back, it'll probably be past midnight. I'll call you down to eat then."
Claire was already too weak from hunger to have much energy left. She nodded feebly. "Sierra, we'll have to trouble you, then!"
"It's no trouble! You starved to keep me company, so it's only right that I go buy you a feast!"
As soon as they heard Sierra was going to buy a feast, the spirits of the three Lynch family members lifted considerably.
Sierra was very generous. A feast she promised was bound to be incredibly lavish!
The three of them were filled with anticipation, but they still remembered to remind Sierra to be careful on the road.
Amidst their eager anticipation, Sierra walked into the elevator and went down to the basement.
There were many cars in the basement.
Some had been bought when Sierra's parents were still alive, while others were purchased by Sierra over the past few years.
Sierra selected a few cars with better performance and stored them in her space.
'I don't know if I'll have a chance to drive them in the future, but I can put them in the space for now.'
'A few cars won't take up much room anyway.'
Finally, Sierra got into an SUV and drove away from the Lakeside Villas.
Of course, she wasn't going to buy things for those three.
She was heading straight for her apartment on the thirty-sixth floor.
It was also a high-end residence, located in the city center. The environment wasn't as quiet as it was here; it was bustling and prosperous.
In the residential complex where she lived, every building was forty-eight stories high.
'After the apocalypse begins, if you don't want to be buried by sand and dust, it's obviously better to live as high up as possible.'