2024-03-29 07:01:28"What if it's Arthur, Aland?"
Aland, who was busy monitoring his work from the hospital room where Pete was being treated, let out a long sigh. He knew that Arthur's statement was something to be wary of. But even Pete himself admitted that he collapsed on the road because he was no longer as active as before. Even the doctor had asked him to encourage Pete to be more active."No, Shannon. He can't possibly be thinking about Pete when he's busy with the grand opening of the first US Foods building. He'll be more preoccupied with image than thinking of ways to get revenge."Shannon had returned to her room at Reynolds Industries two hours earlier, escorted by Aland, after confirming that Pete was fine. Nevertheless, she felt anxious about Pete's safety, which might be in grave danger."I heard it myself, Aland. He whispered to Lia that he would make you go back alone for daring to interrupt his special inauguration. Mum agreed to it, too, as if she
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RISE OF THE HEIRS: Getting Rid of The Traitor 130
"Are you sure?" asked Jill once again. She was still in a wheelchair, as suggested by Aland when she dislocated her leg, but she was still doing well. Even goofing off with her best theatrics.Arthur, who was sitting across the table, just nodded in affirmation. He chuckled in annoyance before finally chuckling softly. He sipped the coffee that was made using the most expensive coffee machine imported directly from where it came from."I had asked him to stab Pete with a hidden penknife, right into the kidney. Or at least, somewhere else vital. But Pete still survived only because he fainted first. Goddess of luck still wanted that old man to live, apparently."Jill snorted, then grinned. She thought of another way to get back at Aland, who had brazenly toyed with her. Jill's gaze lowered, then turned to her ankle, which was still sore. "Forget about Pete. I think they'll tighten the guard for the old man. But can you drive me to the hospital?"Ar
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"W-what am I looking at?"Jill approached the main door upon seeing Aland and Shannon, along with one other person, Pete. She, who was still using a wheelchair as an aid as her ankle was still painful, trudged over while making a dirty cotton swab from her grasp."Why is he here? Should I also accommodate one more person who will trouble me half to death? Do you think this is a shelter for the homeless?"Aland approached and knelt down to align himself so he could have a heart-to-heart talk with his mother-in-law. Unfortunately, Jill was reluctant to be approached by him.Yes, in just an instant, Jill backed her wheelchair away from Aland's reach. Her eyes stared intently as if she was ready to challenge anyone without fear of an opponent.Aland looked down slowly before finally glancing at Pete, who was trying to stand up straight, even though he had to be helped by Shannon, who held Pete's old arm to keep him from falling unconscious. O
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"JF Travel is ready for operations again, Aland. Are you going running the proposal?" asked Pete, who had just come out of the guest room where he was staying. He gave a report on the JF Travel project, which only involved changing the façade. It would only take five days to complete everything according to the requested design.Aland, who was busy with his laptop watching JF Moulding's new designer and production manager work on the first day, just threw his hands up, trying to accept the report revealed by Pete, who had just arrived and was standing right beside him. "I'll start today. So is JF Load. I also have to meet with Mr White after this to talk about the project that started today. Also about our enormous project with Meggie."Jill, who had been busy walk slowly in front of the treadmill on the side terrace connected to the living room, tried to continue listening even though her ears were covered with earphones as a disguise. In fact, she heard everything Aland an
RISE OF THE HEIRS: Getting Rid of The Traitor 133
Arthur was getting anxious. He kept looking at the documents Eddie had sent him last night, one by one. Unfortunately, he couldn't find anything meaningful in the hundreds of documents that Eddie had directly scanned to send to him."If it's just an old agreement, why was she so scared when I approached? Why did she try to hold me back while trying to confirm something that night?"Arthur shook his head slowly. He was still curious. He opened one by one the documents he had retrieved from the top drawer of the nightstand in Jill's locked study that he had never seen Jill open. Unfortunately, despite dozens of attempts, he couldn't find anything in the files."Shit! How can this be called confidential and must remain locked if it's just Reynolds' employee agreement documents? What the heck! Okay, let's make sure."Arthur reached for his phone quickly. Even his breakfast didn't taste special, despite being in the middle of a five-star restaurant. He shook his head slow
RISE OF THE HEIRS: Getting Rid of The Traitor 134
"Who do you think rifled through mum's desk drawer, Aland?"The question from Shannon, who was sitting in the rear cabin, made Aland glance up from the mirror above the cabin. Shannon's gaze made him even more certain that it was not his wife who rummaged through his mother-in-law's desk drawer."Your mum suspects us, Shannon. Firstly, because you have proof of the sale of the company's overseas subsidiaries that happened years ago. Secondly, because we got in first at the party the other day. I'm also not sure which one of us has other interests in her room."Pete, who was sitting in the front accompanying Aland, could only look out the window. "According to Jill, she installed the CCTV camera before nightfall. It only happened between midnight and before dusk yesterday. Meanwhile, you guys brought me home when it was already late. If it wasn't you, it was most likely the other residents of the house. There are only two questions. Who and why?"Shannon chuckled. For
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"How is that possible?" asked Jill with wide eyes. She shook her head in disbelief and followed Arthur behind the desk. "I'm sure I heard right. Her name is Meggie Osborne. She's even come back with a proposal for two buildings at once, Arthur."Arthur showed his search results while shaking his head slowly. Nothing came up on the search page. "Something must be wrong. Or she could be suddenly wealthy after meeting someone. Just like what happened to me."Jill paused. She tried to think of another way to find the woman mentioned by Pete and Aland."They'll meet her, Arthur. I know it very well. They're trying to offer a piece of land at a fantastic price in order to realise the shopping malls and apartments she wants to build. We must find out soon before we lose the opportunity, Arthur."Unfortunately, Arthur did not agree with Jill's haste. His hand restrained Jill's hand from going anywhere."No, Mrs Reynolds. Stay here. Lemme do the work this time. You just h
RISE OF THE HEIRS: Getting Rid of The Traitor 136
"I have an offer from Ted Bowen once again, Mr Law. Should I think about this again? I feel like your statement was right the other day. But I also feel that what I said wasn't wrong either. How do you think I should act?"Shannon's question to Alex certainly made the home care director immediately get up from his chair. He suddenly approached Shannon, who was sitting on the sofa in his large room. "Isn't that right? I think Ted Bowen really likes you, Mrs Fischer. Twice he's offered the same investment without even having to hear the presentation once. Isn't this a personal gain for us because we don't have to spend too much on operating expenses? With no expenses, we can earn more. And the profits can make us even more successful in this business, right?"Shannon nodded, then looked away. For some reason, looking at Alex made her uncomfortable. In the next second, she got up from the sofa with her arms crossed. Like it or not, she had to find the traitor. "I'll come back t
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"I don't need your answers, Cobb. I know perfectly well what you're going to tell me. So I don't need to hear it from you."Hearing Meggie's overconfident and self-centred statement, Aland finally got up with a nod. His hands were busy wiping his eyes, that were wet with disappointment. Both of his shoulders were gently squared as he passed Meggie, who looked away."Then you'll have to excuse me, Mrs Osborne. May you have all the dreams you want. Give my regards to Anne. Goodbye."Without turning round, Meggie massaged her head lightly. She reached for her phone to confirm the whereabouts of Aland, who had not arrived. She dialled the number Pete had given her, hopefully.But Meggie paused when she heard the sound of a phone not far from her. She turned her head slowly, checking to see who was around her, who was alone, and wearing fancy clothes. Unfortunately, she couldn't find anyone. Except for Tom, who is retreating.Meggie squinted and trailed off, following
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"I do," Arthur said as he took out a red velvet box from beneath his luxurious clothes. He placed a simple ring with a single jewel on Dwyane's finger, which looked beautiful in his eyes.After that, the priest began to lead the prayers. It didn't take long for the two to sign the marriage contract.Although Arthur's second wedding ceremony was only held at the nearest church in the neighbourhood of the hospital, the happiness was evident on his pale face. He had been a wheelchair user for more than two hours, enduring the pain in his solar plexus after his surgery five days ago.There were only seven people in the church to witness Arthur's far from simple wedding. No party, no food. Only Shannon, Aland, Pete, Will Smith, John Benedict, Phil Allen, and Edward Frey, the officer who uncovered Arthur's many hidden cases.The first-born was given to Arthur, even though he was in a wheelchair. Seeing Arthur's weakening condition, the priest rushed the blessing and lighti
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"I'm going to file for a marriage annulment. So, will you be my lover, Dwyane?"Arthur's request just after Camellia disconnected the call made Dwyane melt. She burst into tears as he approached Arthur, who was still lying in the cage."Why just lovers? You can get married after cancelling your previous marriage," Aland said from the sofa.Aland immediately got up and approached with both hands in each of his trouser pockets. He grabbed his laptop before moving on, as he did not even get a response from his brother.Arthur was silent. Not only him, even Dwyane didn't know what to say when he was in the middle of such an awkward situation.As he put his work laptop in his bag, Aland spoke up again to help."I'll talk to Mr Smith right away. He will help you to file for a marriage cancellation as soon as possible. Only then, you guys can get married before you actually return to prison in six days. If you have anything to say, just call Pete--"Aland hadn't
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"Are you sure you're okay?"Camellia asked from a distance. The look of concern was visible, but it was not savoured by Arthur as he had savoured the anxiety on Dwyane's face earlier.The two were now connected through a call Aland had made to Mr Cavill, who was visiting his daughter. Using a phone and a laptop, the two were now face to face, even though it was only through a call connection.Arthur nodded in response to his wife's question at the end of the call. Unfortunately, he could not take his attention away from Dwyane, who was busy writing in the corner of the room."I'm fine, Lia. What about you? Did mum cause trouble again? Did she hurt you?"Although she sounded more concerned than before, Lia knew very well that it was just a pep talk from her husband. She shook her head slowly as she wiped away tears with her sleeve."Listen to me, Arthur. I asked dad to contact Aland so I could connect with you like this for some reason. Although I just found o
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Arthur blinked softly. His eyes squinted as the glare of the lights greeted him as he woke up after being in a state of emergency because of heavy blood loss.Instead of finding Dwyane or Lia, he saw Aland sitting with his head bowed on the edge of the bed. Her eyes closed again to make sure before finally looking back at who was beside him.It was the same man he hated to death before. Aland.Arthur's hand moved towards Aland's closed head, hiding his face, when he suddenly saw movement from the sofa. Quickly, Arthur pretended to close his eyes again, as if he hadn't woken up from a long sleep.Dwyane was shocked to death when he looked at the clock. It was almost night and Arthur had not woken up. This was contrary to the information received from the doctor earlier.Slowly, Dwyane woke up Aland, who had fallen asleep by accident. "Mr Fischer. It's already dark. Shouldn't you be going home?"The surprised Aland got up hurriedly. He looked over to where Arth
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"What else this time, Dwyane?"Arthur's question made Dwyane shake her head slowly. She plugged the flash disc into the laptop she had brought with her. She positioned it so that the screen was facing the direction where Arthur was."I haven't seen it myself, Arthur. You can see for yourself. This was given to me by Aland. He said it was a precious gift for you."Hearing Aland's name, Arthur rose lazily. He shook his head, refusing to see what he really wanted to show."No, Dwyane. That's enough. The other day you brought me the news you secretly heard from him. And it really kept me up all night long. Now what? Are they planning to frustrate me here?"Dwyane shook her head slowly. She was just trying to keep Arthur's attention back on what Aland was about to show him."No, Arthur. The other day, the possibility that I was wrong was quite high. Aland said that sometimes there is some information that is missed and contributes greatly to misunderstandings. Tha
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"Go away, Cobb! Get out of here or I'll kill you right now!"Aland sniggered and moved off, leaving Jill filled with intense guilt."You're just bragging! Arthur is my nephew! He is everything to me! And you can't touch him! He's mine! Don't ever come back or I'll kill you right here!"The clock had already struck three in the afternoon when Aland and Shannon sat across from Dwyane Hills. He knew very well that Dwyane continued to visit Arthur, no matter what. Every day. For more than nine days."I'm sorry if I've upset you, Mr Fischer," Dwyane greeted, having just spoken after ten minutes of apparent silence.Aland cleared his throat, then took a sip of his coffee while shaking his head slowly."What do you have to apologise for? There's nothing wrong with you going there, Ms Hills. I just don't like that you went there with information you shouldn't have given."Suddenly, Dwyane's eyes widened. Her hands immediately folded on the table, and tried to rea
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"Since when did you become so talkative, Cobb?"Jill's counterattack made Aland pause. He looked at Jill, who grabbed a plastic chair to sit across from him."How can I help you with coming all the way out here?"Aland glanced at Shannon for a moment, trying to make sure that his wife was fully prepared. He looked again at his mother-in-law, whose new identity had been stripped away, leaving nothing of her once admired name."There's something I want to do about the key you gave me. Liliana's death."Jill did not seem surprised at how quickly Aland had learnt the truth with just one keyword."You found it?"Aland showed her an old photo of Sophie and Liliana that he had copied from an old file at the orphanage. Even though it wasn't clear, Jill could still recognise who was in the picture."This is you and Liliana. You two are sisters, aren't you?"Seeing that Aland was not surprised by what she had found, Jill got up and approached. Her eyes squi
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"What did you say? Sorry, but can you say it again?"Shannon's request was not without reason. For the first time, she sat in Will Smith's room with Pete and her husband to explain everything.Aland closed his eyes and smiled faintly. His hands were intertwined with each other in a position in the middle of her legs."I'm not misspeaking, Shannon. This is the truth. Until a few moments ago, only Pete and I knew about this."Will Smith didn't understand. He, who had been staring out the window while listening to Aland's explanation, could only turn around and shake his head slowly."If Arthur is not James's son, why does James insist on claiming him?""Because he just lost his son, Mr Smith. Don't you remember that his scandal broke just as he was about to celebrate JF Groups' anniversary? James couldn't just ignore Arthur's arrival with Liliana. He didn't want to act rashly, either. He asked me to keep the fact that Arthur was abandoned by Eugene a secret bec
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"Sophie? You're trying to defame our orphanage just because of Sophie's case? Do you also want to examine all the children in this orphanage so that you can be satisfied with your judgement, Mr Fischer?"Aland turned to Shannon briefly before leaning forward, trying to calm him down. "Listen to me, Mr Flitch. This is not what you think it is. We're not here to make a statement or to judge your orphanage as bad, no. I'm just here because there's something wrong. I'm only here because there's something I wanna to know. About Sophie. That's all. We will never tell anyone that Sophie is from here. After all, the whole of the UK knows that Sophie's dangerous behaviour is not the result of someone's upbringing, but her disposition, which may never change even twenty years later. We're just looking into her bloodline. That's all."Dom Flitch squinted with an angry gaze. His previously cupped hands immediately came closer, watching Aland and Shannon's movements that seemed so d
