HIDDEN LEGACY : THE FAME OF THE FORGOTTEN HEIR

Chapter 6 : Ben, is That You?"

Elizabeth, Edward, and Victoria sounded unified when scolding Matthew. The expressions on everyone's faces in the room looked genuinely disappointed with him.

"This time, we forgive your carelessness, but there will be no mercy next time for something like this!" Edward scolded, sounding very upset.

If not for Victoria's intervention, he might have already struck Matthew in front of the silent Elizabeth. But within that silence, this old woman could get angry enough to strip away all privileges and even change her heir's name.

It was quite worrisome for Edward and Victoria, especially for Matthew who had been yearning to become a tycoon without having to work hard at a young age.

"You ... how could you even think of buying cheap goods and applying toxic paint to that gift? I, as your mother, am disappointed in you!" continued Victoria, sounding disappointed.

Matthew let out a long sigh while shaking his head. “I-it was unintentional, how could I do it intentionally? I really didn't know it was a fake item, and the paint was dangerous. If I knew, how could I possibly buy it for a million dollars?” he defended himself.

His face looked anxious as Elizabeth gazed at him intently.

"Tell me, from whom did you buy it? I will make that person pay with a fitting punishment," Edward continued, still angry.

"Dad, I think it's better if we ... just forgive him. I don't think it needs to be blown out of proportion. Isn't prolonging this issue just a waste of time?

"At least with this incident, we can kick Ben out of this house, so we won't have to go through the trouble of coming up with a plan to get rid of him," replied Matthew, who had been swallowing hard and holding his anxiety.

He was anxious about being caught lying; the consequences would be severe if he were found to have deceived the entire Campbell family with his actions.

"Enough! Stop discussing this foolish matter! I don't want to hear any more of you talking about such pointless things again. Now, what about Olivia's divorce papers?" Elizabeth's voice and question silenced everyone.

"She..." Victoria didn't get a chance to finish her sentence before Olivia entered with a disappointed look on her face.

"You're all too cruel to Ben, and you're just as heartless to me!" she yelled, holding her tears.

"What do you mean?" Elizabeth asked flatly, as if she didn't understand what her granddaughter was trying to say.

"Stop pretending in front of me. I've heard everything, and I know that you're all framing Ben, when it was actually Matthew's doing.

"I'm very certain that Benjamin is an honest man, but all you're making him out to be the villain in front of everyone. All of you intentionally drove him away. All You're utterly heartless," Olivia explained, her voice trembling with suppressed anger.

Victoria rose from her seat and approached her daughter. "Be patient, Olivia. We're doing all of this for your own good, and for the sake of our family's reputation," she tried to persuade her, hoping to prevent Olivia from getting angrier. However, even this persuasion couldn't calm Olivia's deeply-rooted emotions.

"If we don't do this, then Matthew will be humiliated in public. Are you willing to be so heartless towards Matthew?" Edward continued, lowering his voice in an attempt to be persuasive.

"Of course she would defend her vagrant husband more than me. I think Olivia has fallen in love with him by now, just look at how she always stands up for him everywhere. God forbid she gets pregnant with that poor guy," Matthew interjected, causing Olivia to clench her hand tightly around the letter she had been holding onto since earlier.

"Don't you want to stop causing trouble?" Elizabeth's voice silenced everyone, especially Matthew, who felt anxious as he perceived the reprimand to be directed specifically at him.

"Quiet and shut your mouths tightly. Stop yelling in front of your elders. If you have any manners, you would be ashamed of yourselves," that old woman continued with a terrifying expression, causing everyone to fall silent, too afraid to interject.

Everyone fell silent, but Olivia's grip on her divorce papers remained incredibly tight.

"So, what is your decision, Olivia? Are you going to end your marriage with that man?" Victoria asked, breaking the silence.

Olivia stayed silent, bowing her head to hold back her tears. "Answer!" Edward demanded, raising his voice.

"Once it's done, we can handle it quickly," Victoria said again, while Elizabeth stared intensely at Olivia, who was now also looking deeply into her eyes.

Victoria felt uncomfortable and whispered behind her daughter's ear. "Don't look at your grandmother like that, Elizabeth won't like it."

Now Olivia strengthened her gaze, her voice resolute. "I will not get a divorce!"

Everyone was surprised.

"What do you mean?" Edward stood up in anger.

Olivia displayed her divorce papers in front of her chest and tore them in front of everyone. Elizabeth let out a short sigh, holding back her emotions.

"I will not get a divorce, and I will stay with Benjamin!" Olivia asserted once again, without any fear.

"Stubborn!" Edward retorted, losing his patience.

Olivia seemed to want to turn around and leave them, but her arm was grabbed by Matthew, who was now standing beside her. '”Where are you going?” he asked, eliciting sharp glares and an angry expression from his sister.

Olivia forcefully jerked Matthew's hand away from her arm.

"It's none of your business!" Olivia snapped.

"Olivia, where are you going?" Victoria asked, unable to contain her daughter's steps.

"Finding Benjamin! I will find him and I will go back to him," she yelled while slamming the door.

The doorkeeper couldn't stop the daughter of his master in front of the door, leading to a chase down the corridor. In the end, Olivia was caught by a spirited Matthew.

"Take her to her room!" Edward's command was loud, instructing the guard to bring Olivia inside immediately.

This woman was hysterical. "Let me find Benjamin!" Olivia shouted repeatedly, but it seemed like she wasn't heard. Finally, when she reached the bedroom door, she fainted. Everyone panicked, especially Victoria, who had never known her daughter to be this weak.

Finally, at 3 in the morning, when everyone was sound asleep, Olivia rose from her bed. It appeared that she had been pretending to sleep since earlier. Upon seeing and confirming that Victoria was deeply asleep beside her, she quietly slipped out.

She had been walking barefoot in the corridor since earlier, making sure no one saw her, although there were surveillance cameras monitoring her every move.

Olivia realized it, there was no opportunity for her to evade. In the end, she managed to run away, even though she was chased by several guards.

Edward, who was sleeping on the sofa, was awakened by Victoria's call. She was now so worried about losing her daughter. "Olivia is gone, please find her," she said, eliciting a nod from her husband who was already prepared to go find their daughter.

Meanwhile, Matthew, who had just fallen into a deep sleep in his bed, was now awakened by a servant's call. This man seemed indifferent, but he joined the pursuit, pretending to be enthusiastic.

"Olivia is so annoying, she disrupts my precious sleep, but I have to appear concerned and search for her, or else ... Daddy will surely scold me. By pretending to be worried and joining the search, my fate will be secure," he thought.

To be honest, he was genuinely pleased if Olivia left, as it would allow him to easily become the sole heir. This is because there were no cousins or younger siblings in the direct lineage from Elizabeth's family, aside from him and Olivia.

***

Olivia was already on the streets, barefoot, running in search of Benjamin, who had vanished without a trace.

She was confused but kept searching. "Ben, where are you?" she shouted, calling out several times without a clear direction.

As she screamed, she saw several cars heading her way, so she decided to stay silent and hide behind the walls of the shops in the middle of Eldoria town.

Some people could be heard making noise as they got out of the cars, but then it fell silent again as their vehicles continued on their way.

Feeling safe again, this woman continued to walk along the streets, but still couldn't find Ben, whom she had been searching for since earlier. Meanwhile, she remained barefoot, catching the attention of both passersby and homeless people along the roadside she had been passing.

Olivia's eyes glanced down at her dirty feet, now realizing the soles were stinging. She attempted to rest, but seeing the cars she knew were searching for her compelled her to keep running and hiding.

Several times she suppressed her fear when entering dark alleyways while fleeing. After calming down, she resumed her search.

While running along the shoulder of the road, her injured foot caused her to stumble, and her head hit the roadside barrier. In an instant, everything went dark and only faint sounds could be heard.

"Are you okay?" a voice of a man, unclear who, was heard. In this condition, it was very difficult for her to remember or recognize him.

"Ben?" Olivia whispered softly.