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The Secret Successor CHAPTER 66
The taxi dropped Jessica and Russell at her home. She paid for the ride this time. The driver asked for a little extra, and Russell was going to give him a dollar, but Jessica slapped his hand and didn’t let him give it.After the driver left, Russell asked her, “It’s only a dollar, so why did you stop me?”“Did he give us any discount when we asked him?” she quickly spoke back. “He asked for a lot more than what it would cost us on a bus ride. There’s a difference of 50 dollars. He’s already earned more than what he deserves. And I’m not going to take a taxi again to go to the office. Bus ride is better, though it’ll take longer to get home.”Just as they were entering the home, Jessica’s phone rang. It was Irene. She quickly stopped and answered, “Hey, how did your interview go?”“I didn’t even go,” Irene’s voice was loud, so even Russell could hear it. “We’ll talk about that later, but right now, can you come to my home?”“Your home? Now?” It was already getting dark by then.“Yeah
The Secret Successor CHAPTER 67
The next morning.The mobile alarm rang sharply at 6 AM, but Jessica was in too deep of a sleep; she didn’t even respond to the extremely loud noise her low-budget mobile made.Russell, who was sitting on the opposite couch, was not at all feeling sleepy, even though he hadn’t slept all night.He stopped the alarm and kept staring at Jessica.He had been thinking for four hours straight on how to handle his relationship with her. If anything, these four hours made him realize just how precious Jessica’s existence was in his life. Even though he hadn’t met her often after he joined college, she always made time to come and meet him at his house, even though Jennifer and Arnold didn’t treat her well. Jennifer wouldn’t even treat Jessica as a guest, and she never once fed her sweets or even fruits. Still, Jennifer didn’t speak ill of them, even when Russell himself cursed his stepmother a few times.“My life is a mess, Jessica. I don’t want to drag you into the mud with me. You deserve s
The Secret Successor CHAPTER 68
If Natasha had really loved Russell, this would have been a priceless moment for him, given that she and her entire family was now in his house, which was also their former house.However, Russell couldn’t feel anything but anger right now. A sort of boiling anger that prompted him to break all of Natasha’s remaining teeth.He really wanted to make her realize that it wasn’t just his love that was great but also his wrath.Then again, they were staying in his house now, so they were the same as guests in his eyes, as long as they behaved like guests. If they acted like Denver, then he would happily take them on, even though Arnold naturally had been subservient to the Pennell family over the years.Before Russell entered the building, he saw Skarlett brushing on the lawn. When she saw him, she spat on the grass. Ignoring her, he entered the house.Straight away, something he never thought he would witness was happening now.Jennifer was scolding Natasha in raw language while defending
The Secret Successor CHAPTER 69
“I’m not going to like it?” Russell wasn’t surprised. “Of course. She probably returned one of the items I gave her when we were dating, didn’t she? Was it the baby lion doll I gave her?”Viola slowly shook her head. “It’s a dog.”“Dog?” Russell didn’t remember giving Natasha a dog doll. “Where is it? Let me see it.”“Um, it didn’t look good, and so I threw it away,” Viola quickly made up something. If Russell were to find out that her mom threw Perro’s head away, he would come to hate Jennifer some more, which Viola didn’t want.“You threw it away?” Russell raised his voice, skipping Viola’s heart. Was she going to hit her? She felt anxious as he put his hands on her shoulders. “Viola… you really are my sister. I’m proud of you.” He gave her a hug. “You’re my true pillar and support in the family. What would I do without you?”Viola felt relieved but at the same time pitied her poor brother. (I think it’s better that you don’t know about that incident, Brother. I’ll make Natasha pay
The Secret Successor CHAPTER 70
William didn’t knock softly on the door. It was a series of quick and loud knocks that thundered in Russell’s heart.“Check who it is, Russell,” Natasha spoke neither softly nor loudly.(What is she…) Russell stepped back once more, realizing that Natasha was up to something really bad. (No… She’s trying to frame me. This mad woman!)The door was knocked again.“Russell? Are you awake?” William called for him.Russell probably wouldn’t have recognized William’s voice if not for hearing his voice very clearly when he was on the rooftop during the party night. The way William threatened Russell to give his phone to him ingrained his voice, and so Russell was able to tell it was William. (If he’s here, does that mean Liam is also here? What the hell should I do?)The door was knocked again. “Russell?”(Dammit. The longer I take, the more guilty I’ll look!) Russell didn’t think too much and hurriedly opened the door. “Mr. William, I…”“What’s that voice we heard?” William pushed the door
The Secret Successor CHAPTER 71
William continued to play the footage, and everything happened exactly as Russell had said. He looked at Liam. “Do you want me to play the other cameras’ footage, too, sir?”“No need. We’ve found enough evidence, haven’t we?” Liam looked at the Pennell family whose faces were full of shame. “Fredrick Pennell… your daughter has tried to trick everyone of us, so it’s only natural that all of us abandon her, don’t you think?”“What are you…” Diana’s eyes widened. She didn’t like where this was going.“I’ll give you two options,” Liam calmly stated. “If you still wish to be with your daughter after all this, then sure, I won’t stop you, but I will bring your entire family to the streets.”Fredrick’s eyes widened. “W-what’s the other choice?”“Make Natasha Pennell just Natasha,” Liam said, “and I’ll not bother the Pennell family anymore.”“This is ridiculous!” Skarlett raised her voice. “You want us to cut all ties with her? What sort of joke is this?”“You don’t have to, but in return, yo
The Secret Successor CHAPTER 72
In Kyra’s home.Kyra was staring at her pics taken with her boyfriend before he died. “Why did you have to leave me? If possible, I don’t want to marry anyone. I don’t think anyone can take good care of our child as their own. I can convince Mom, but Dad is the real issue.”A maid knocked on the door and said, “Ma’am, your father is calling for you.”“Tell him I’m busy.”“He said it’s important.”“Tch.” Kyra made her way to the balcony and looked at her Dad who was seated on the couch on the ground floor. “What is it, Dad? Did you already find another groom, perhaps?”“Since you can be sarcastic, you’re in a better mood than I’d expected,” Liam wasn’t even looking at her. “Why don’t you come and sit next to me? I have something to show you.”“If it’s the face of some man I don’t know, then, no thanks.”“It’s the face of someone you do know,” Liam answered.“Someone I know?” Kyra wondered who that could be. She came downstairs and sat next to Laim. He showed her the picture of Russell
The Secret Successor CHAPTER 73
On the same night, in Jessica’s home.Jessica was so tired after work, she didn’t even have the strength to cook.“Why is he not here yet?” She would have called Derek, but he didn’t have a mobile on him. The last time she brought him a second-hand mobile, he sold it away and used the money to buy lottery tickets, an effort that miserably failed.Jessica then called Irene and asked her about her parents’ reaction regarding the new painting she had done. Irene didn’t even talk about it as one of the neighbors’ sons had told her father everything that had happened. It was obvious that they had a grudge on Irene because she refused to date him.“Forget about me, but tell me how your day at work was,” Irene asked out of intrigue. She really wished she would one day get to work in a high-paying company as well, so she wanted to know everything there was to know about it. “How did your boss treat you? Is being a PA more grueling than you thought?”“This job is indeed demanding,” Jessica kep