Russell slowly sucked in a deep breath and then knocked on the door.“Come in,” Charlotte’s voice reached him. He pushed the door open and entered.Charlotte was behind her working desk, typing something in her laptop using only one hand. “You said you can’t climb the stairs, and yet you’re here. What for?”“My job that Kyra called me here for is over, ma’am,” Russell nervously said. “I want to go back to the farmhouse until I fully recover. Kyra and I had already talked about this.”“Sure, you can go to your mom,” Charlotte replied in an icy tone, “but then you’ll need to forget about ever coming to this estate or talking with my daughter.”“W-What?” Russell’s face turned pale.“The reason you became Russell ‘Lynn’ is so that you’ll put Lynns above everyone else,” Charlotte bluntly said while keeping him standing. “As a husband, you should act like you have no one else but Kyra in your heart. As a son-in-law, you should act like Liam and I are above everyone else in the world. Your m
The next morning.Russell’s timetable here changed completely, though Sansa wasn’t yet told about it.William began to teach more about business. “What Young Lady does mostly is invest in things that earn her higher returns. Two to five times on average.”“Yeah. I already figured that out. When we were traveling, she bought a house near the beach for a few hours and then sold it for a higher price while leaving,” Russell replied, “though I don’t think she sold it for twice the price.”“Well, that’s a short term deal, but if you take Tuna Waves as an example,” William explained, “it could have sold for at least fifty million dollars.”“She bought it for 31 million, so she’d have earned at least 19 million dollars. That’s not much profit as per your standards,” Russell opined.“Yes, but it’s close. That’s the profit margin you’ll get with the real estate business. One to three times profit is what you get most of the time, so if you want higher margins, you should go for companies, espe
“Tuna Waves is hiring today for the manager post, and it’s Russell who’s going to personally conduct the interview,” Jessica was giving a heads-up to Irene.“Yeah, but I’m not at all close with him like you are,” Irene almost bickered. “And I remember scolding him once for stepping on my shoes once back in school. He wouldn’t remember that and get back at me during the interview, would he?”“C’mon, he’s not that cheap,” Jessica said while getting a facial. Even though she said she didn’t need one, Irene told her she should also get the make-up done along with her. “If you think things are getting a bit out of hand, tell the words ‘running home with rocks in pockets.’”“Huh? What does that mean?”Jessica chuckled. “Just say that, and the chances of you cracking the interview will soar.”“H-How can I say that without knowing what it means?” Irene demanded an answer. “Please tell me!”Jessica then whispered in her ears, making her burst into laughter.“Such a thing happened?” She laughed
Back in school days, Russell was coming home, riding Jessica’s bicycle, and his stomach started stirring madly all of a sudden. He couldn’t ride the vehicle anymore, and he couldn’t tell Jessica his situation, either. It was too embarrassing for him, but Jessica saw that he was clutching his stomach, and said, “I heard that if you carry weights in your pockets, you would be able to bear it better.”Russell was in quite a desperate situation, so he had to try it out. After all, he was not even in a position to sit on the back of the bicycle. So he loaded his pockets with rocks picked up from the side of the street and then started walking home, with Jessica accompanying him and smiling when he wasn’t looking at her.Russell was able to bear it until his home was within 200 meters but no more. That was when he reached his limit and ran for it.Jessica never laughed so hard as she had that evening. Although she didn’t tell others about it, she still teased Russell for weeks, using the ph
The doctor came to inject Jessica with something poisonous, thinking she was asleep. However, Jessica was awake.As he was about to stick the needle, Jessica asked, “I wish your daughter good luck, doctor. You said she was giving her first ballet performance in theater. I hope she’ll do well.”After hearing those words, the doctor found it difficult to inject her. He changed his mind and sprayed the serum contents in a flower pot.“Weren’t you going to inject me?” Jessica asked.“Yes, but I think I got it a bit too diluted,” the doctor replied with a smile. “I’ll get another one for you.”“Oh, okay.” Jessica nodded without any suspicion.The doctor was leaving, but he walked back to the patient’s bed and told her in a low voice, “I think the issue was with not you but your makeup, so if I were you I’d question the beautician who probably used an expired product on you.”Jessica was visibly shocked to hear that. “B-But my friend also got her facial done together with me, and she didn’t
In room number 64.A tall golden blonde was sitting on the patient’s bed, with bruising and swelling on her bandaged face. A corner of her mouth was red from blood drying up.This woman was Natasha.Her brown eyes burned with rage right now.“Your broken teeth can be fixed,” Aran, the doctor said, while scribbling something on his pad. “However, it will take at least a month for your jaw to feel normal again.”Natasha was glaring at him. “You…” she wanted to scream at him and tell him to leave, but she couldn’t even open her mouth easily now. Her jaw hurt very painfully. She couldn’t even utter a simple sentence. Moreover, her face was bandaged up to support her jaw, so she was not in a position to freely talk, either.“Oh, and one more thing,” Aran added. “Ms. Jessica has already paid your bill in advance.”“No!” Natasha howled, and the strain on her muscles made her greatly cringe in pain. Clutching the bedsheet, she silently suffered.“We set your dislocated jaw back in place, but
In the evening, the police came to the farmhouse to arrest Jessica as per the complaint Skarlett had filed.Luckily, Sansa was still there. She called her mother and made her talk to the police, and then they apologized to Sansa and others for disturbing their peace before leaving just the way they came.Jessica, on the other hand, told Regan about her situation. She thought she would definitely lose her job, but Regan gave her a week off and told her to recover during that time. Jessica’s respect for Regan grew leaps and bounds after this phone call, and she ended up talking about Regan with Elora.Elora, however, had a completely different opinion about Regan’s actions. “He’s definitely keeping all the chess pieces close to himself so he can use them to his advantage whenever possible.”Still, Elora didn’t tell anything about Regan to Jessica because she didn’t want to spoil her career and confidence. Moreover, she wasn’t hundred percent sure why Regan appointed Jessica of all peopl
Regan was in the Creed Zone, busy overseeing the construction of the new headquarters of the Creed Tech company. It was being built with the ductile metals that could withstand earthquakes better. In appearance, this building was much grander than the current company building.This high-rise building also connected other tall buildings, dotting around the Creed Zone, with bridges built at different heights.For building these bridges as well as the buildings, Regan hired one of the three supreme families, the Arris family known for building structures using the ancient technology privy to their family.To build the bridges at the top of the buildings, they created a bird-bone-like material which was sturdy yet light.The construction work happened lightning fast during the day time and also night time with a different batch of workers, working on different things.Because of this the entire Creed Zone had become a place full of dirt. Sand, concrete, cement, chips, metal bits, wires, a
THANK YOU:: The Secret Successor has found his family as well as his love! There’s no one more lucky in the world than one who has a family that loves them. They don’t say blood is thicker than water for no reason. But I’d say, love is even thicker than blood. So, Russell is lucky to have a loving mom, dad, grandfather, and a childhood girlfriend. How lucky are you in your life in terms of relationships? Do you have people who support you when you are down? I hope so. I started the novel with the thought of finishing it in 500 chapters, but it took this long. To all those who read every chapter and reached this page… you have my humble and grateful thanks. A big thanks to reader Oyewale Gabriel for your immense support. And then to Mickey Ritch for your votes as well as comment support. Next is Ricky, who is one of the earliest readers of this novel. Good to still see you around. To Charlie Mcmillen, who has a silent but strong presence, you have my Mcvery thanks. And then, we hav
A few weeks later.Charlotte was at her home, eating peanuts, which didn’t taste good on her tongue right now. It wasn’t the peanuts that had the issue, but her tongue and her mind.“Even the food isn’t going inside,” Charlotte pitifully said. She called Kyra’s mobile, but Kyra didn’t answer.Seconds later, Kyra sent a text message: Don’t bother me.“Tsk, she’s completely cut herself off,” Charlotte tossed the mobile away at the wall. “But she’s sticking with Liam and Russell when they’re not even related to her by blood. It doesn’t make any sense!”“Do you want me to kidnap her and bring her here?” William asked.“Do you want Liam to kill both of us?” Charlotte asked him back.“N-No.”“Forget about Liam…” Charlotte looked at the file in her hand. “This bastard Russell came up with such a clever contract. If I sign this, I’ll basically be giving up my shares in the company, but in return, I’ll earn in the billions.”“Since he’s going to trouble you anyway, he’s giving you a profitable
Jessica was never gifted so many chocolates by anybody before. She immediately hugged Russell with excitement. “You’re the best!”“Wait, they are not just for you,” Russell said. “You’ll be sharing these with everyone at the table.”“U-Uh, of course,” Jessica couldn’t smile as freely anymore because there weren’t multiples for some types of chocolates, and she didn’t want to give those away to others. “I-I will do it after we finish dinner,” she said. “I mean, if we eat chocolates before, then we won’t be able to eat the meal properly.”“You can just distribute them now,” Russell said.“U-Um,” Jessica reluctantly got up and began to distribute the chocolates to everyone at the table. But when she came to Russell, she didn’t put any chocolate on his plate.“Wait, you forgot me,” Russell said.She leaned in and whispered in his ear, “Didn’t you say that I AM your chocolate?”Russell blushed. “Ahem,” he quickly controlled his expression. “I see.”Jessica sat down. The waiters began to se
A few nights later.At Tuna Waves restaurant.The entire top floor was booked by the Lynn family for the night.A large dining table was arranged in the center of the floor. Kyra was the first to attend, because she was the only one who arranged this dinner and invited the people she believed she should.As she waited a bit nervously, to her shock, Jessica was the first to arrive. She was dressed in her work attire and didn’t even have makeup on. Was she coming straight from work?Jessica sat down at a chair but didn’t speak to Kyra and just waited.There was an awkward atmosphere between these two.“I’m not going to eat you, so you can talk,” Kyra voiced her mind. “You came here early so that you can make sure nothing ‘strange’ happens, right?”“Well, I have to protect my guy,” Jessica replied, putting her mobile down, “so that I won’t lose him again.”“Don’t worry then. I think of Liam as my dad, so Russell becomes my brother now,” Kyra stated. “I can’t marry my brother now, can I?”
Other than Arnold, nobody was told that Liam was Russell’s biological father, as Elora and Liam just didn’t feel the need to do so.They believed that revealing that truth now would only bring unnecessary complications.Elora felt like a lot of burden had been lifted off her heart after she told Arnold the truth.Russell also felt happy that Viola was talking to him. Though James was still clouded by his anger, Russell didn’t feel bad about it as James was known for his impulsive behavior.Russell believed that James would understand with time.Liam and Elora went away in a different car, whereas Russell left in his Boyen Redemption. Driving with an injured hand wasn’t easy, but he somehow managed it and got home.Regan was talking with Gage’s dad and introduced him to Russell. “This is the man I trust the most in the world. He’s your friend Gage’s father. His name is Steven.”Russell saw that Steven’s eyes were completely white. “Nice to meet you, Steven?” he looked at Regan. “Is he b
“I don’t get it. Why do you want to marry her of all people?” Teresa asked quickly. “She’s been sick for decades, and no one knows when she might get sick again and die, not that I’m wishing for it, but I’m just stating the possibility. In addition to that, Russell is already your son-in-law, isn’t he? So, if you marry his mother now, what will the world think of it?”Liam smiled and asked her, “You think I didn’t consider all those things?”“U-Uh…” Teresa didn’t know what to say because he looked calm despite everything she had just said. She looked at Elora. “Are you not going to eat anything?”“No, I’m full,” Elora said, even though the real reason she refused was because she didn’t want to eat what was brought by Jennifer. Elora then glanced at Arnold. “Can we talk privately?”Arnold was not expecting that. Without even looking at Teresa or Jennifer, he said, “Sure. Why not?”Jennifer didn’t want them to talk, but all she could do was stand there and watch as Arnold and Elora walk
Charlotte left the hospital, but on her way home, she received pictures from one of her friends.And these were pictures of Liam and Elora eating at a restaurant.“Stop the car,” Charlotte said.William quickly pressed the brake. He looked back, and Charlotte was fuming.She felt like her body was set on fire. She wasn’t able to stand it.“How can he…”Seeing Liam hold some other woman’s hand, she wasn't able to digest it and pulled her hair with one hand. “Fuck! This isn’t happening. Fuck! Fuck!”“What’s wrong, ma’am?” William quickly asked.“He’s getting away from me,” she said angrily as well as sadly. “He’s really getting away from me.”One mistake cost her everything.Her husband, her daughter, and even her sister, all of them moved away from her.The only person that was still with her was William.“Why won’t you also leave my side?” she asked him.“Does a dog ever leave the side of its master?” he said. “They may be manipulative, abusive, but the dog still loves its master.”Ch
“Fuck off, bitch,” Natasha pressed the trigger.However, nothing happened.Jessica thought she died, but she didn’t. She quickly recovered from the mental shock and slapped Natasha’s hand, making the gun fall out of her hand. “That’s an autoloader. You should manually cock for the first shot for it to be fired.” She kicked Natasha in the gut as hard as she could.Jessica was a very powerful woman, and so her kick sent Natasha crashing back violently.Jessica then sat on Natasha and began to hit her.“W-Wait,” Natasha tried to speak. “That gun wasn’t loaded.”“You expect me to believe that?” Jessica began to punch her face repeatedly, making her lips rupture and bleed. Still, she didn’t stop and kept going.The other employees gathered around. One of them picked up the revolver and checked for the bullets. “Ma’am, this gun really is empty.”Jessica was a bit shocked to hear that. “What?”“I told you…you fucking bitch!” Natasha grabbed Jessica’s throat and squeezed it. “I’ll kill you fo
“Aww,” Elora crashed on the floor and cringed in pain. Liam rushed over to help her and tried to help her get up, but she got up on her own, saying, “I’m not that old yet.”“I never said you were,” Liam put forward the bouquet of lilies.“What the… too white and bright,” she blurted. “Your taste sucks.”Liam was shocked because it was Russell’s suggestion.Elora plucked just one lily from the bouquet and smelled it. “Anyway, what brought the great Liam Lynn here. There’s no child in this house, you know.”Liam’s expression suddenly hardened. Whether she was trying to mock him or was purposely trying to tease him, it felt like a joke that went too far. However, he saw not a ounce of negativity in Elora’s eyes. It was as if she was testing him to see how he’d react. “My child, no, our child is in this house, is he not?” Liam replied.Elora somewhat smiled. “Yeah, he is upstairs. You can go and talk to him.” She sat back on the couch. “If you move out of the way, I’ll watch the TV. The c