“It's our private matter what our relationship with Laurence Young is. I don't think there's a need to tell you."
Tony was left speechless for a moment before he continued, “Please don't misunderstand. I'm not trying to trace his family tree or anything like that. It's just that Laurence has the same name as one of our family's children who got lost thirty years ago.
"Thirty years ago, a tragedy occurred for us Longbottoms. Our family head at the time and his whole family were murdered by some robbers who stole a lot of very valuable items. By the time we arrived, it was too late.
"Then, when we were tidying up their bodies later on, we realized their youngest son was missing. He was only about a year old at the time and could not walk or speak smoothly, and his nanny and bodyguards had gone missing too.
“We think that the child was taken away by his nanny and his bodyguard, and avoided being killed.
"That child was named Laurence, and if he hadn't gone missing, he would be the only remaining member of the direct and legitimate branch of our family. And as the family head's son, he would have taken over the leadership of the family once he grew up.
"But our family couldn't find him no matter where we looked despite searching for thirty years. Now, we finally have a lead, but we can't confirm it's him.
"Thirty years ago, you picked up a child in Meadspring and later adopted him. If we tie that in with what we've managed to find out from various sources, it's very possible that the child you adopted is the very child we've been looking for for thirty years.
“Back then, we visited FC Manor to ask about this, looking for confirmation, but you were so guarded against us like we were thieves, thinking we wanted to harm that child and not allowing us to see the child, and also denying with all your might that that child was who we were looking for.
"Not long after, we stopped hearing anything about that child from your family. Mrs. Johnson, where is that adopted child of yours today? Is he called Laurence? Or has he adopted your husband's surname and changed his name to Laurence Young?"
Tony kept his eyes fixed on Jane, not wanting to miss a single change in her expression.
Jane, however, remained very calm.
"Thirty years ago, I did pick up a lost child in my hometown. I don't know who his family was, but I brought him back to my family to take care of him, and did adopt him.
"But I only took care of him for a while. Later on, he caught the eye of someone and I was pregnant at the time. I didn't have much energy to take care of him, so I handed him over to the care of that person.
"I don't know how he did after that. Is he a Longbottom? You're based in Havenmill, though, and I picked him up in Meadspring. That's thousands of miles apart.
"As a child who'd only just learned to walk, how could he possibly have traveled so far? Even with his bodyguard and nanny with him, it would be a feat. Plus, you said the Longbottom child was taken away by his nanny and his bodyguard. He must have been raised by them.
"What does he have to do with the child I picked up? There are so many orphans out there who've lost their families and parents. You can't be insisting that he's the child you're looking for just because I picked him up and took him in?"
Jane's words were both true and false.
"As for the boss of Longtail Group coming to receive us from the airport, that's because he has some business dealings with my nephew and is quite close with him. My nephew asked him to pick us up from the airport and arrange a place to stay for us since we're visiting."
Laurence did have plans to reveal his identity, but he should be the one to do it. Jane would not let it slip before he did so.
Besides, the Longbottoms did not have enough evidence, so even if she told a whole bunch of truth and lies, the Longbottoms would not be able to tell the difference.
"We came for a holiday to de-stress and will be attending the auction in Satbury in a couple of days. We're planning to buy some things for our collection. That's the intention of our visit.
"Do you have any other questions, Mr. Longbottom?"
Tony did not believe a single word of what Jane said.
Even if she had been pregnant, she would not have given her adopted son away.
He chuckled, "Mrs. Johnson, I do still have some questions. Did you really give that adopted son of yours away? Who did you give him to? Whose eye did he catch, and why?"