2024-09-10 08:20:13Shock rippled through the room as they heard the voice. A guest of the Washington family? Eyes turned to Tedmond, widening in disbelief.
To be a guest of the Washington family meant that Tedmond was a big shot or potentially related to them. Even some of the Washingtons' relatives had tried to get in but were always denied entrance.
How could someone like Tedmond be allowed?
“Are you sure it’s the right person?” Gregory questioned. Despite shivering, he couldn’t help but ask.
“How dare you ask me that?” the person on the other end bellowed. “If I lose my job, you're going to regret it! You’d better let that fellow into the ward, or else!”
Gregory was taken aback by the mention of his boss losing his job. As the call ended, he hurriedly bowed to Tedmond, terrified that he might lose the position he had worked so hard for.
“I’m sorry for not recognizing you, sir,” he apologized. “I’ll walk you to the room,” he added, raising his head to look at Tedmond. “Let’s get—”
“No need,” Tedmond cut him off, disgusted by how quickly Gregory had changed his attitude once he realized Tedmond was a guest. “I can find it myself, just like I intended to do before.”
The phone call had confirmed that everything was real, but Tedmond still needed an explanation for all this.
“Sir!” Gregory called out, but Tedmond ignored him and walked off to find the ward.
The women were equally stunned, unable to speak. They just watched Tedmond leave, clinging to the thin hope that they wouldn’t get fired.
Minutes later, Tedmond’s eyes lingered on the sign above the ward that read Room 509. The door was slightly open, and he could see the window but not the hospital bed. He hesitated, wondering if it was right to enter without knocking.
“You’re here,” a familiar voice said.
Tedmond’s head snapped down to see the little girl he had saved earlier peering up at him. She had changed into different clothes and was holding a teddy bear in her hand.
“My grandpa wants to see you before he…” she trailed off softly. “You have to come in quickly.”
Tedmond nodded and followed her into the ward. The first thing that greeted him was the stare of a middle-aged man in glasses and a frail old man lying on the hospital bed.
“Hello,” Tedmond said, swallowing hard. He had no idea what else to say. “I got a call from you and noticed my account had been credited, and you mentioned I’m the heir of the Washington family. What’s going on?”
The man in glasses bowed slightly. “I’m Thomas, the Washington family’s butler. You’ll get your answers soon.” Gesturing to the old man on the bed, he sighed. “This is Mr. Jeffrey Washington, the head of the family.”
Tedmond stepped closer until he could see the old man clearly, the little girl clutching her grandfather’s hand.
“Hello, Mr. Washington,” Tedmond said politely, controlling his curiosity.
Jeffrey didn’t look well, as if he was about to take his final breath, just as his granddaughter had hinted earlier. Tedmond realized the girl was indeed the Washington family’s granddaughter.
Jeffrey managed a smile. “Ted…” he called weakly. “I’ve finally found my heir. Welcome back, grandson.”
“What’s going on?” Tedmond asked, shooting Thomas a questioning look. “Why is he calling me his grandson?”
His question went unanswered as the life support machine began beeping, and the room filled with tension. The beeping quickened, and Tedmond froze. Thomas immediately sprang into action, pressing a button by the bedside.
“We need a doctor! Now!” Thomas shouted, his voice steady but urgent.
A nurse rushed in moments later, her expression shifting to concern as she assessed the situation. “His condition’s worsening,” she muttered, checking the machines. “We need to stabilize him.”
“Where’s the doctor?” Tedmond asked, glancing between Thomas and the nurse. He felt the weight of the situation crashing down on him—he had no idea what was happening, but it seemed he was now part of something much larger than he had ever expected.
“Dr. Howard is on his way,” the nurse replied quickly, turning back to the patient and adjusting the machines.
Jeffrey’s breathing grew more labored, and the little girl clutched her teddy bear tighter, standing silently by her grandfather's side, her eyes filled with worry.
Moments later, a tall man in a white coat stormed into the room. “Step aside!” he ordered, moving swiftly to the bedside. His hands flew over the equipment, exchanging rapid words with the nurse.
Tedmond stood helpless, watching as the doctor and nurse worked to stabilize Jeffrey. Every second felt like an eternity, and the feeling building in his chest intensified.
Jeffrey’s breathing became increasingly shallow, and the beeping from the machine slowed. Dr. Howard glanced at the nurse, and they exchanged a look that told Tedmond all he needed to know.
Despite their best efforts, it was too late.
The doctor shook his head, his face grim as he checked the old man’s pulse one last time. The room fell silent, except for the soft whimpering of the little girl clutching her grandfather’s hand.
“I’m sorry,” Dr. Howard finally said, his voice low. “He’s gone.”
Tedmond stood there, disbelief washing over him. The man who had just called him his grandson—who had somehow linked him to this mysterious fortune—was now dead.
The little girl let out a soft sob, and Thomas closed his eyes, his expression unreadable as he whispered, “Rest in peace, Mr. Washington.”
Tedmond, unsure of what to feel, watched as the nurse gently covered the old man’s body with a sheet. It was surreal—a few minutes ago, Jeffrey Washington had been calling him “grandson,” and now he was gone. The answers Tedmond had hoped for had died with him.
“What now?” Tedmond whispered, his voice barely audible.
Thomas, though visibly shaken, straightened and turned toward Tedmond. “Mr. Washington made his decision before he passed. You are now the heir to the Washington family’s legacy, Tedmond. It’s up to you to carry it forward.”
Tedmond stared at him in shock, the weight of those words crashing down on him. How could this be happening? Just hours ago, he had nothing—and now he was the heir to a family he didn’t even know.
“What… what does that even mean?” Tedmond stammered, the enormity of the situation closing in on him.
“It means,” Thomas replied solemnly, “that everything Mr. Washington owned now belongs to you. The fortune, the businesses, the responsibilities—it’s all yours.”
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CHAPTER 633
Tedmond turned away from the mirror, and for the first time in three days, a slow, boyish grin spread across his face, a look that was almost more unsettling than his coldness.“Oh, she didn’t bring me the silver trays, Persis,” he said with a light shrug. “She used the servants’ crawlspace behind the wardrobe. Apparently, she found a way to slide snacks and takeout through a gap in the wood.”Persis gaped at him. “Takeout? Snacks? Tedmond, where would a five-year-old get—”“She must have hidden a stash,” Tedmond chuckled, his eyes dancing with a brief, rare flash of warmth. “While you were all mourning me as if I were already in the ground, that little rascal was smuggling in chocolate bars and cold sandwiches she swiped from the pantry. She told me I looked ‘grumpy’ and needed to eat my feelings.”He let out a short laugh, shaking his head.“So no, Mary doesn’t need to cook a feast. I’ve lived on sugar and Bianca’s ‘secret’ rations for seventy-two hours. I’m quite fueled.”Persis r
CHAPTER 632
He paused.“Have you identified all the locations where women could be sold?”Wherever they had sent his mother, whatever they had done to her, he would find her himself and make sure she came home.After being gone for so long, he knew one thing: if she had regained her memories and been free, she would have found a way to contact Thomas. The fact that she hadn’t meant there were only two possibilities.Either she had regained her memories but was being held captive without access to a phone, orOr she hadn’t regained them at all.Persis and Thomas exchanged a quick, worried glance. They had far more to tell him, not only about the search for Mill, but about the collapse of the Griffin line he had left behind.“Eat first, Tedmond,” Persis said, her voice soft but firm. “Then we’ll talk. There’s… quite a lot to catch up on.”Tedmond nodded and headed toward the dining hall with a brisk, measured stride.“Fine. But keep it brief. I have a hectic afternoon ahead of me.”As they descen
CHAPTER 631
Three days had passed since the gunshot in the courtroom shattered the world.Three days since the name Mill Washington had been dragged from the shadows of a dead man’s throat.Inside the sprawling estate, the air felt stagnant.The staff moved on tiptoe, their eyes constantly drifting toward the heavy oak doors of the master suite.Tedmond had not left his room.Food was placed on silver trays outside the door, only to be collected hours later, cold and untouched.Behind those doors, there was no sound at all, only a crushing, absolute silence.Tedmond was a prisoner of the realization that he had mourned a ghost for twenty years while his mother was likely suffering in a cage Harold had built.Persis stood in the hallway, her hand hovering inches from the door handle.The only thing separating her from Tedmond was that door, and she had been standing there for a long time, wanting to knock, unable to find the courage, endlessly deciding what to do.She wanted to give him space to c
CHAPTER 630
Persis stood her ground until the last of her breath was spent, chest heaving, eyes still burning.The brothers crumbled under the weight of the room’s collective scorn, faces pale, eyes darting.Just as the chaos reached its peak, a heavy hand landed on Persis’s shoulder.She jumped, turning to see Thomas. He had returned from the car, his expression unreadable but his presence grounding."It's enough, Miss Persis," Thomas said quietly. "You’ve said what needed to be said. He needs you now."Persis glanced at the broken remnants of the Griffin family, then back at Thomas. The fire in her eyes dimmed, replaced by weary exhaustion. She nodded once, tucked a stray hair behind her ear, and let Thomas lead her through the throng of shouting police and angry spectators.*****The cool, damp air of the parking garage was a sharp contrast to the courtroom’s suffocating heat.As Thomas opened the rear door of the black sedan, Persis sank into the leather seat, adrenaline finally draining f
CHAPTER 629
Back in the courtroom, the gunshot’s echo finally died, replaced by a silence so dense it felt as if it were crushing the air from the room.Harold’s body lay slumped on the floor, his final act of spite complete.He had died as he had lived, sacrificing everything to ensure he had the last word.Tedmond stood frozen, his hand still reaching into empty air.“Tedmond!”Persis broke through the crowd, her face ashen. She grabbed his arm, her touch finally grounding him.“Tedmond, we have to move. The police are calling a lockdown.”He turned his head slowly. His eyes were hollow, reflecting the red and blue flashes of emergency lights through the high windows.“He did it,” Tedmond whispered, his voice cracking. “He killed the only map I had.”“We’ll find another way,” Persis said fiercely, pulling him toward the side exit as bailiffs shoved the shouting press back. “Thomas is already on the phone. We’re not giving up.”As they passed the defense table, Tedmond’s gaze caught on Frank a
CHAPTER 628– Harold’s Backstory I
The courtroom floor was cold, but the memory that flooded the void in the wake of the gunshot burned white-hot.Before the mansions, before the Griffin Group, before the corruption, there was a seven-year-old Harold.He wasn’t a monster then. He was just a boy living in the shadow of his mother, Vivian Griffin.The memory unfolded in the sprawling, manicured gardens of the old Griffin estate.Back then, they weren’t billionaires, but they were the elite of the county.Harold’s best friend wasn’t a Griffin.It was Leo, the son of the estate’s head stableman.They were inseparable.Leo was bold and charismatic, with a laugh that made Harold’s stiff, disciplined life feel bearable.“We’re brothers, right, Harold?” Leo had asked one afternoon, perched high in the branches of an oak tree. “When we grow up, we’ll run this place together.”“Brothers,” Harold had whispered, looking up with genuine adoration.But the core memory that broke Harold came during the Griffins’ annual Autumn Gala, th
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