2024-09-10 08:22:31Those words sent shockwaves through everyone who had heard them. They couldn’t believe it, but the person who was most in disbelief was the first saleswoman. She snatched the phone from her colleague and dialed the number.
“Are you sure it was $500,000 received?” she yelled, her voice sharp with frustration.
Her tone was so rude that the person on the other end snapped back. “Why are you asking me an obvious question?!” he demanded. “$500,000 has been received! Is there some hotshot there or something?”
The saleswoman's words stuck in her throat as the confirmation hit her. The others who had belittled Tedmond earlier now remained silent, lips tightly sealed.
“Did you do something?” the voice on the phone asked, but the saleswoman quickly hung up, lowering her head.
She turned to Tedmond, bowing slightly. “I am extremely sorry for doubting you,” she stammered. “Can I get you a cup of tea as an apology while your things are packed?”
Tedmond glared down at her in silence. As she raised her head to meet his eyes, she flinched under his cold gaze.
“We made a deal, didn’t we?” Tedmond said calmly. “You were supposed to apologize while crawling around the store.”
Her eyes widened in disbelief. She hadn’t actually expected to do it. “But... but…”
His eyebrows arched. “What are you waiting for? Did you forget what I asked you to do?”
Trembling slightly, she shook her head. “I never intended to do that. Couldn’t we just—”
“Your job or the deal?” Tedmond asked casually, cutting her off.
Without hesitation, she hurried away from the front desk and fell to her knees, shivering with embarrassment. She was about to start crawling when he stopped her with his foot.
“You seem to be forgetting something,” he said darkly. “I told you to apologize to your co-worker.”
She turned her head toward the salesman and yelled, “I’m sorry!”
The salesman was taken aback, awkwardly averting his gaze.
“Now, continue crawling,” Tedmond ordered.
The woman resumed, her face flushed with humiliation, while the other customers who had supported her earlier began recording the scene on their phones.
Tedmond glanced at the other saleswomen, and they all avoided his gaze in fear. “The one crawling could’ve been any of you,” he warned, and the women flinched.
“I’ll get your things ready,” the salesman said quickly, as though trying to rescue the situation. “Thank you for your help.”
“Don’t flatter yourself,” Tedmond replied. “I was only doing it for myself.”
Despite that, the salesman thanked him again and hurriedly packed Tedmond's purchases. Soon, Tedmond walked out of the store, and with the help of the staff, all of his items were loaded into the car.
“Should I drive you home, young master?” the driver asked, glancing back at Tedmond as he settled into the car.
Tedmond thought about it for a moment. He had left the house with only a few bags from his vacation, but he still had his things at the Griffin home.
“Drive me to Rolling Street,” he replied. “I have something to do there. Don’t wait for me—just drop me off.”
“Yes, young master.”
A few minutes later, Tedmond got out of the car far from his father's home to avoid drawing unnecessary attention. He waited for the driver to leave before walking toward the building.
The atmosphere was still cold, though not as biting as it had been earlier. After a short walk, he entered the Griffin compound. He wondered if his father had returned yet. Then, with a bitter thought, he corrected himself.
‘Ex-father.’
The man was no longer his father.
He pushed open the door and stepped inside, expecting to see his former family in the living room, but no one was there. He made his way toward the kitchen, glancing up the stairs as he walked.
His room wasn’t upstairs like the others'. Instead, it was in a small basement. The memory of the cramped space resurfaced as he approached.
“Didn’t you say he was in his room?!” a loud voice demanded, making Tedmond frown. It was Harold Griffin, his father—or rather, ex-father. “Where the hell is that brat?”
“He was here hours ago,” his stepmother, Evelyn, said, trying to calm him down.
“That brat!” Harold yelled.
Tedmond peeked through the open door. They were all in his room, no wonder the house had been quiet. Harold’s face was twisted in anger, the lines on his forehead prominent as he raged.
“Why are you looking for him?” Max, Tedmond's half-brother, asked. “We kicked him out of the family, like you said. He’s 19 now, and we no longer have to take care of him.”
Harold turned to glare at Max. “You should’ve done it while I was here!” he bellowed. “He has something important!”
Of course, Tedmond sighed. His father had no use for him unless it involved something valuable. Tedmond had considered giving them what they wanted and cutting all ties, but the next words made him pause.
“That stupid necklace his mother left him is valuable!” Harold claimed. “I just figured out its name and its worth!”
Tedmond’s hand instinctively reached for the necklace around his neck. It was the only thing his mother had left him, and for years, they had mocked it as something worthless. If they had known its value earlier, they would have sold it long ago.
His jaw clenched. Now, they wanted to find him only because they wanted something.
“I can get him back,” a voice said. It was Lisa, Tedmond’s ex-girlfriend, her face determined.
“And who the hell are you?” Harold demanded.
Apparently, he hadn’t attended the wedding.
“She’s my wife,” Max replied, and their sister Maxine nodded in agreement. “She’s Tedmond’s ex, and he’s still in love with her. She can trick him into giving us the necklace.”
Hearing that, Harold finally relaxed. “That’s settled then. We don’t need to bring him back here. That useless brat has caused enough trouble already. Get his stuff out of his room and toss it in the trash.”
“His room will become a storage space from now on,” Evelyn said, with a note of satisfaction. “I’ve wanted to get rid of him ever since he was brought here as a baby.”
Tedmond’s eyes darkened. He turned and left before they could notice him. Now he knew why they were looking for him, and he couldn’t wait for them to try. When they did, he would be ready with a nice surprise.
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CHAPTER 757
To the world, Millicent was back to being a maid. But behind her hollow eyes, a clock was still ticking. She would scrub their floors, she would endure their cruelty, and she would wait. She had to survive long enough to find the exit that Martha had died trying to show her.The eighth month arrived like a heavy shroud. Millicent’s body was a map of exhaustion, her frame gaunt everywhere except for the prominent swell of her stomach. She was a walking shadow, held together by nothing but the rhythmic kicks of the life inside her.Harold, however, could no longer tolerate the sight of his mistake. The scandal was a ticking bomb, and he decided to defuse it. He cornered her in the secluded wing of the upper gallery."I’ve made arrangements, Mill," he said, his voice as cold as a winter grave. "A clinic on the outskirts. They’ll take care of the... problem. It’s too late for a simple procedure, but they are discreet. You’ll be rid of it by morning."Millicent clutched the railing, he
CHAPTER 756
Martha squeezed Millicent’s hands one last time, her eyes burning with desperate resolve. "Don't move. Don't even breathe loud," she cautioned, before vanishing into the corridor’s shadows.The darkness of the basement didn't stay empty for long. Hardly a minute had passed when the heavy door at the top of the stairs groaned on its hinges. These weren't Martha’s hurried, scuffling steps; these were slow, rhythmic, and heavy. The sound of expensive leather soles striking the wooden treads sent a fresh jolt of terror through Millicent’s body.Harold stepped into the dim light of the cellar. He had shed his suit jacket, his white shirt sleeves rolled up as if for labor. The kind benefactor was gone, replaced by a man whose eyes held the flat, dead sheen of a shark. He walked into Millicent’s small room and loomed over her cot, his presence sucking the oxygen out of the cramped space. He didn't look down at her with pity, or even the lust that had once fueled his pursuit. He looked
CHAPTER 755
By the third day, Millicent’s voice was gone. She hung from the bindings, her head lolling, her consciousness flickering like a dying candle. She prayed for the darkness to take her, but their cruelty was precise; they ensured she stayed awake to feel every insult."That's enough," Evelyn finally said on the third evening. She stood and smoothed her silk skirt. "Untie her. And listen well: not a scrap of food. Not a drop of milk. If she wants to eat, she can pray to the God of strays. Let her rot in that cellar until she learns that a Griffin husband is not for the likes of her."The guards roughly cut her down. Millicent collapsed into the dirt, her body a map of pain. She crawled, inch by agonizing inch, toward the service entrance and down into the darkness of the cellar.Hours later, the heavy door creaked open. Millicent flinched, pulling a tattered blanket over her ruined back, expecting another blow. Instead, a shadow fell over her. Martha knelt by the cot, her face a m
CHAPTER 754
"Sir? The mistress is asking for you in the solarium. The gala committee has arrived."Martha stood in the doorway, her face a mask of iron. She didn't look at Millicent, but her presence was a physical barrier. Harold stiffened, the predatory heat in his eyes flickering out as he straightened his silk tie. He stepped back, giving Millicent one last, warning look that promised this wasn't over."See to it she finishes the dusting, Martha," Harold snapped, brushing past the older maid with cold arrogance.As soon as his footsteps faded, Millicent collapsed against the shelves, her breath coming in ragged hitches. Martha moved quickly, shutting the door."I told you," Martha hissed, though she gently squeezed Millicent's shoulder. "He’s a beast in a suit. Now, move. You can't be found here like this."***Six Months Later,The seasons shifted, and so did the weight Millicent carried.Her uniform, once loose and crisp, was now a prison of tight fabric. She had mastered the art of th
CHAPTER 753
The girl staring back looked older, the light in her eyes replaced by a hard, flickering survival instinct."I need to leave," Millicent said, turning back to Martha. "I can't stay here until the baby... until it's too late.""You need money," Martha said, standing up and smoothing her own uniform. "And you need a plan. For now, you go upstairs. You serve breakfast. You smile at the children. And you wait."Millicent nodded, her hand instinctively drifting to her stomach. It felt as though a ticking clock were now buried deep inside her. As she walked up the basement stairs, the transition from the dark, damp cellar to the sun-drenched, opulent hallways felt more jarring than ever.The smell of fresh coffee and expensive lilies was suffocating. She was halfway to the dining room when she saw them. Harold was standing by the large bay window, his back to her, sunlight glinting off his silver hair. Evelyn was beside him, adjusting his tie with a tender, adoring smile. They looked
CHAPTER 752
Millicent looked at Martha, her chest heaving as the walls of the basement seemed to pulse with the rhythm of her racing heart. She was terrified, a cold, paralyzing fear that made her knees feel like water."She’s a woman," Millicent countered, her voice gaining a desperate, hysterical edge. "She loves her husband. She... she won't let him do this. She has to know what he’s doing in her own home!"But as the words left her mouth, a jagged realization pierced through her panic. Her mind searched frantically, clawing at the empty spaces where memories should have been, trying to find the moment it had happened. The car came back to her, the roar of the engine and the terrifying impact of her head against the wood, but after that, there was only a void.A dark, suffocating silence.No memory of the act. No recollection of his touch, his weight, or the moment her life had been stolen from her."I don't... I don't remember," she whispered, her eyes widening in horror. "Martha, I can't
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