Chapter 3

Margaret was furious to see her son-in-law staying in his room for several days, even though she believed Adam's injury wasn't too severe. There were only a few stitches on his temple.

In a fit of anger, Margaret marched into Adam's room. A loud noise was heard as the door leaf collided with the wall. Adam, who was sleeping, woke up and sat up, leaning his back against the headboard.

"You lazy good-for-nothing! Aren't you healed already? Why are you still holed up in the room? Look, the backyard has too much overgrown grass! Get up quickly and clean it!" Margaret's face was full of anger as she saw Adam still on the bed.

"Don't you dare yell at me!" Adam retorted, catching Margaret off guard. She didn't expect Adam to raise his voice at her.

"Are you defying me, huh?!" The woman approached Adam. As her hand raised, intending to slap him, Adam immediately grabbed her wrist. Margaret's eyes widened in surprise. What had happened to her son-in-law that he dared to do this to her?

"You, lowly person! You shouldn't defy me!" Margaret glared at Adam fiercely, and Adam returned the gaze equally fiercely. The two locked eyes filled with anger for a few moments until Margaret broke the gaze first. She felt a shiver run down her spine when Adam stared at her earlier.

Quickly, Margaret withdrew her hand. She turned her face away, feeling like she was facing a different person.

'Has Adam regained his memory?' Margaret thought, occasionally glancing at Adam. Once again, Margaret felt a chill when she discovered Adam's cold gaze.

"I'll give you one more day to rest. Tomorrow, you have to tend to the garden again!" Though still sounding sarcastic, Margaret's tone was no longer as harsh. After saying those words, she left Adam's room. Truthfully, she was afraid of the different look in Adam's eyes.

Days passed quickly, and night fell. Laura entered the room staggering, appearing to be drunk. Adam could tell from the scent of alcohol emanating from Laura's body. He waved away the smell passing in front of his nose.

Laura, in a drunken state, collapsed onto the bed. Adam sighed heavily. He helped Laura remove her shoes still clinging to her feet and took the bag still on her shoulder.

"I'm so tired today," mumbled Laura with her eyes closed. "Mr. Luis Anderson is truly bothersome."

Adam, who was about to leave the room, pricked up his ears when he heard that name mentioned. Was the Luis Anderson Laura referred to the same as the one in his mind?

To satisfy his curiosity, Adam sat on the edge of the bed. He shook Laura's body and asked, "Who is Luis Anderson?" he asked cautiously.

"The owner of Anderson Group." Though just a muffled response, Adam could understand his wife's answer.

"That person...," growled Adam. Adam was clearly shocked and angry; Luis Anderson was his late father's stepbrother who tried to remove him as the rightful heir.

Unconsciously, Adam clenched his fists. He was sure his uncle took advantage of his disappearance to take his place. No one searched for him when he went missing; Adam was certain there was a connection with his uncle.

"Someone has betrayed me. I need to find out who the traitor is before taking action. For now, I will stay longer in this family."

***

Adam had fully recovered. The Smith family reverted to treating him like a servant. In truth, Adam was fed up and wanted to leave the family. However, he needed to plan first. Two years had passed, and Adam had to make sure who was still on his side.

Adam entered his room after waking up at dawn to wash the car. Despite having a driver, Margaret insisted her son-in-law do it. Margaret felt something was amiss if Adam wasn't tormented for even a day.

"Don't forget to come to Grandpa's birthday," Laura had just come out of the bathroom. She reminded Adam of the event they had to attend that night. Since the Smith family was one of the respected families in the city, the event that night was bound to be grand to also network with others.

"Yes. I have to leave this morning; I'll come back tonight."

Laura narrowed her eyes. "Where are you going?"

"I have some business," he replied curtly without looking at Laura. Laura, feeling that Adam had changed in the past few days, was increasingly certain her suspicions were correct.

Had Adam remembered who he was? But why wasn't he saying anything?

"I'm leaving," Adam bid farewell, surprising Laura. She was grappling with her thoughts and didn't realize Adam was walking further away.

"Wait!"

Adam, who had reached the doorway, suddenly turned. He furrowed his brows, waiting for Laura, who was walking towards him.

Laura took her black card and handed it to Adam. "Buy a gift for Grandpa. I don't want us to be looked down upon! I don't have time as I have to work."

Adam hesitated, not wanting to accept the magical card. His hand was about to reach for it, but his conscience held him back. His superior spirit prevented him from accepting any form of gift.

Laura was slightly annoyed that Adam was wasting time. She then reached for Adam's arm and placed the card in his palm.

"Buy an expensive and classy item so we can save face when we come."

After saying that, Laura walked past Adam. His jaw tightened as Laura had just belittled him. However, once again, he had to be patient. When he returned to his position, he would look at the members of the Smith family with the same looks they had often given him.

Adam hurried as he was going somewhere, and the journey there would take about two hours. As he passed through the living room, he met Margaret.

"Where are you going?" she asked in a scolding tone. Her eyes continued to look down at Adam.

"I have somewhere to go," Adam replied coldly.

"Go?" Margaret's tone sounded mocking. She gazed at Adam from head to toe with a condescending look. "You're just an unemployed person, where are you going?"

"I have business!"

"What business? You're probably going to cause trouble again like yesterday. Just a nuisance!" Margaret sneered.

Adam took a deep breath, then exhaled softly. "I'm leaving."

Adam ignored Margaret's curiosity and continued on his way. "Hey! Where are you going? Such a rude son-in-law! Your mother-in-law is speaking, but you're leaving!"

Margaret looked very angry as Adam disregarded her. Even her poor son-in-law didn't answer her question.

"ADAM...!"