The Audacious Life of Arthur Grey

Chapter 2

Albert Downey played with the two pieces of jade in his hands. “Arthur, are you saying that this piece of jade is fake and that yours is the real one?”

Arthur nodded. “Yes, Grandpa. Even though Quentin made a jade piece that looks identical to ours, his isn’t made of mutton fat jade, much less it being ‘Abundant Life.’ Quentin was meticulous and even prepared a sandalwood box for it to make it appear more expensive than it truly is.”

“However, a fake is a fake. Any expert will be able to determine its authenticity. I’m sure Grandpa will be able to tell as well since you’ve been interested in jade for so many decades.”

Quentin had the urge to rush forward to pumme Arthur to death at that moment.?‘Can’t he just shut up and not reveal all of my secrets? It’s only because I didn’t manage to purchase ‘Abundant Life’ that I had to create a replica instead. Although it isn’t made of mutton fat jade, it’s still a good variety of white jade. I even paired it with a sandalwood box.’

He had thought that nobody would be able to pick out any mistakes. Who would’ve known that Naomi owned the real ‘Abundant Life?’

Quentin felt embarrassed.

Albert Downey flipped both pieces of jade around, analyzing them meticulously. Then, he eyed Arthur Grey.

After that, he smashed Naomi Downey’s piece of jade on the floor, causing it to shatter. “Arthur, what are you trying to do by smearing my eldest grandson’s good name with a piece of fake jade? You’re obviously trying to tear our Downey family apart!”

“Are you hoping that I misunderstand Quentin so that I’ll give your family all of my assets?” Albert Downey was evidently fuming, and Arthur was in disbelief.

Albert Downey had clearly flipped the truth upside-down.

“Grandpa, this piece of jade…”

Slap!

Before Arthur could finish his sentence, Naomi landed a slap on his face.

“Shut up! Grandpa has been interested in jade his whole life. Do you think he’d make a mistake? Grandpa, it looks like we’ve been cheated; it’s good that you smashed it.”

“Naomi’s here. I’ll just pay you for it.”

Naomi Downey’s heart was bleeding too. Her grandpa’s actions meant that he was also trying to sever their ties, just like how he had smashed that piece of jade.

Her piece of jade was obviously the real one, while Quentin’s was a fake. However, her grandpa had chosen to spout nonsense and flip things around to stand on Quentin’s side.

‘Has my family truly been abandoned?’

Quentin Downey’s gaze was filled with gratitude. He had almost been at his wit’s end, but his grandpa has chosen to stand on his side.

“Naomi, can you take your jinx of a husband away. Just the sight of him alone is revolting.” The victorious Quentin was naturally trying to show off and did as he liked.

Although Naomi Downey felt discontented, she had no other choice but to bear with it

Not wanting to drag Naomi down, Arthur chose to take his leave.

…

Before he could walk away, Arthur spotted someone acting furtively and looking in his direction.

Without making much fuss, he rushed over.

His chase lasted five minutes.

When they reached a secluded area, four people bowed before Arthur. “Greetings, Master Atlas.”

“Old Master is gravely ill, and Second Young Master is nowhere to be found. Madam has requested for Young Master to return to Atlas Hall to take the helm.”

The four men bowed before Arthur Grey were dressed in Pukwudgie, Wampus, Thunderbird, and Horned Serpent robes.

They were the four guardians of Atlas Hall.

Peregrine Hall was an alliance of five families within the country. The alliance head was the head of the Grey family, known as ‘Master Atlas.’

The other four families were the Grover family from Chicago, Hemsworth family from New York, Corbin family from Seattle, and the Rhodes family from Washington.

The families’ heads—Andrew Grover, Robin Hemsworth, William Corbin, and Joseph Rhodes—were known as the four guardians of Atlas Hall.

“Since you guys couldn’t wait to send me away three years ago, why are you looking for me now? Now that I’ve been part of the Downey family for three years, I’ve already forgotten all about Atlas Hall. I can’t possibly accept the bows from the four of you.” With that, Arthur turned to leave.

The Downey family wasn’t particularly powerful in the country. Even within San Francisco, the family was just a reputable family at the very best.

Over the past three years, Arthur Grey had suffered utter humiliation at the hands of the Downey family and had experienced the bitterness of the world. Nonetheless, he felt indifferent to all that. What was all that compared to how he had been chased out of Atlas Hall?

The culprits were his father, his mother, and his biological younger brother. They were his closest kin.

Compared to how he had been betrayed by his closest kin and chased out of Atlas Hall, being looked down on as a good-for-nothing son-in-law didn’t mean much.

Now that his father was gravely ill and his younger brother was missing, his mother was finally willing to invite him back to be her puppet as the so-called Master Atlas. That way, she would have full control over Atlas Hall. Did she think it would happen so easily?

By the time Arthur returned to the Downey family, they seemed to be gathered around in discussion.

When Arthurwalked over, everyone avoided him as though he was the devil.

In the end, he finally understood the situation from Naomi Downey. It turned out that this scenic spot was celebrating its tenth anniversary.

Every guest who visited them today received a lottery card with a serial number. There would be a lucky draw based on the serial numbers on the cards later on.

Apparently, the grand prize was an amazing one.

Naomi held two cards in her hands. One had the serial number ‘520,’ while the other had the number ‘1314.’

She had been rather speechless when she first got the cards. The numbers seemed to be foreshadowing something.

“Here, this is yours.” Naomi threw the card with the number ‘520’ over to her husband.

Very quickly, the lucky draw began.

They announced the numbers for the ten consolation prizes first.

“Me, I’m 23! I won!” Someone from the Downey family elatedly rushed up to collect a doll.

Others who hadn’t won anything felt a little disappointed.

Next were the runner-up prizes, of which there were five.

Nobody in the Downey family won anything.

Finally, it was the moment everyone had been waiting for—the one and only grand prize.

“Now, may I invite Mr. Andrew Grover to draw the winning ticket for the grand prize? Mr. Andrew Grover is a well-known entrepreneur in our country, the head of Chicago’s Grover family, and a reputable figure featured on the Forbes list.”

Arthur narrowed his eyes as he watched Andrew Grover go on stage.?‘What was Atlas Hall trying to do?’

Andrew reached out and picked a card out from the pool. “Number 520!”

Woosh!

As Andrew’s voice sounded, everyone whipped their heads to look at the cards in their hands. Although they all knew that they hadn’t won the grand prize, they couldn’t help but look at the numbers over and over again.

Naomi didn’t look at the card in her hand. Instead, she turned her gaze to Arthur. She clearly remembered that the card in his hand had the number ‘520’ on it.

Arthur gently placed the card in Naomi’s hand. “Go get your prize.”

Naomi was stunned.

Then, a voice boomed out.

“A golden hairpin.”

“A pair of golden bowls.”

“A pair of golden chopsticks.”

“A golden comb.”

“A golden locket.”

“A pair of golden earrings.”

“A golden necklace.”

“And last but not least, 11.11 million dollars in cash.”

“Now, let’s give our warmest applause to welcome our lucky number ‘520’ on stage to receive their prize!”

In an instant, everyone’s jaw dropped, and there was pin-drop silence.