“My second uncle was only 18 when he died. It was a sudden death. The car brakes failed, and he fell off the cliff,” Alexander calmly spoke as if relating the news. “Later on, when my third uncle was around 25, he drowned while diving because the oxygen tank malfunctioned. Then my youngest uncle…” He turned to look at Lily and paused. He cocked his head, thought for a moment, and continued, “I meant my real youngest uncle. He fell sick and died due to congenital disabilities shortly after birth. I heard he died in Grandpa’s arms.”Hearing this, Lily suddenly caught on. “So your grandpa switched him with Ralph?” Alexander nodded. “Grandma was devastated by the deaths of my second and third uncles. She didn’t like my mom but didn’t get involved too much because even though my dad survived, he was not in good health.“She would be unable to cope with her youngest son’s death. He was born three years before me, and as you can imagine, grandma wasn’t young anymore and risked her lif
Alexander had not maintained his position in the Russell family for so many years solely to Hugo’s help.Having heard what he said, Lily thought about something. “There was something fishy about your second and third uncles' deaths.”Both were young when one fell off the cliff and the other drowned. The youngest uncle died after birth, while Alex’s father had always been sickly. If it was a single case, it might simply be bad luck, but everything seemed too coincidental that a family would suffer so much.“It’s fishy, all right.” Alexander nodded as traces of ruthlessness showed in his eyes. “How could so many bad things happen to us? Having a long history, the Russells have a huge influence and might have been targeted by those who envy us or by our enemies.”Probably thinking of something, he did not finish what he was going to say and simply grew solemn.Lily pitied her husband and palmed his cheeks. “It hasn’t been easy for you, has it?”Besides getting through various intern
As for Ralph, Alexander would put the matter aside for two days and see what Margaret wished to do later.…Ralph drove around aimlessly and pulled over by the curb when his car almost ran out of gas. It was midnight, and the starless sky was dark. Several food trucks by the roadside were serving midnight snacks, and Ralph’s stomach growled as he took in the appetizing smells.He got out of his car and took a seat at a table. “I’d like three sets of bacon cheeseburgers and a dozen beers.”The owner took the order and returned shortly with the food and beer. He had a respite from all his trouble and humiliation as he gobbled down his burgers and drank his beer alone. No one knew or noticed him in the boisterous crowd.He got slightly drunk when he finished more than half of his beer. As he drank, he suddenly became overwhelmed with sadness, thinking nobody truly cared about him.‘No one has bothered to call me even though I’ve been away for so long. All the talk about how much Mom
Initially, neither Ralph nor Sean got the upper hand as both took some beatings. However, Sean’s companion came to look for him and brought a group of men. Together, they beat Ralph up and closed in on him.As the Russell family’s young master and Margaret’s favorite child, nobody dared to offend him while he could push people around in Kingsland.However, the situation had changed. No matter how the Russells tried to suppress the news, they could not stop their relatives from talking about it, even if the housekeepers kept quiet.Besides, as everyone thought Ralph would indeed get kicked out of the family, they did not bother about him much and turned him into a laughingstock.Ralph was losing the fight and could only wrap his arms around his head on the ground and try his best to protect his vital parts. Even so, they continued beating him, and he felt like his bones were about to break.Ultimately, Sean got tired and stopped. Catching his breath, he stared at the unmoving man o
After some time, the cab driver woke Ralph up. They had traveled far and reached the suburbs. Not knowing the exact location of the apartment, Ralph noticed he was not in a bustling area.“Where are we?” He looked left and right, surprised.“Lucens Apartments, like you told me. Well, it’s too dark now, and there aren’t many streetlights because the infrastructure here isn’t that good. I bet you can recognize the place during the day.” The driver said as he stopped the cab meter, “The fare is 30 bucks, thank you.”Ralph searched his pockets and found only a few bucks on him. The driver showed him a QR code. “You can scan to pay if you want to.”Ralph tried in vain to look for more money. “How about credit cards?”He had always used cash or credit cards and hardly ever made any payments using his phone as he did not need to worry about money. However, since he left the Russell Estate quickly, he realized he was short on cash.The driver gave him an "are you kidding me?" look. Ral
Ralph pondered whether or not to use the key to open the door as he drew closer to it. ‘Will I trigger a bomb? Who knows, Heather might be planning to blow me up. Maybe there’s a ferocious dog inside, waiting to bite me to death. Or she has hidden a dead body inside so she could frame me as a murderer?’Imagining all these horrible scenarios, he had a sudden urge to leave. However, knowing he had nowhere else to go, he reasoned that he would be better off dead than struggling to stay alive. He gritted his teeth and opened the door.To his surprise, it was quiet inside, and nothing happened. Groping in the dark, he turned on the light switch on the wall and saw that it was just an ordinary apartment. The apartment was minimally furnished, without a TV, and only had some sofas, tables, and chairs. He went into the bedroom and saw only a simple bed.He had never seen an apartment as empty as this. Besides sleeping, it served no other purpose as there was no kitchenware, refrigerat
No longer in high spirits as before, he was crestfallen and looked helpless, as if the world had abandoned him. She used to regard him as someone who had brought joy to her, but Hannah saw herself in him instead now. Like her, he was deserted by the world and had nowhere to go, even if he came from a wealthy family.Feeling sorry for him and herself, she put her hand on his. “Don’t be afraid. What’s past is past, and you still got me!”Ralph was confused. He noticed that the hand she placed on his had thin, closely spaced fingers and skin so fair that it was barely possible to make out the veins' green color. Feeling something was not right, he suddenly seized her hand. It was so sudden that Hannah was startled, but she did not withdraw her hand and let him hold it instead. Scrutinizing the hand, he thought for a moment and grabbed the other one. He rubbed the pads of her fingers and then her palm and hand in confusion. Suddenly, he realized what was wrong. He sometimes tho
Overjoyed, Hannah became worked up. “You could tell it’s me? You recognize me?” Ralph was puzzled as she sounded and looked happy. ‘How come she seems pleased that I told her she is not Heather?’ He thought about it for a moment and grew less scared. He cocked his head as he looked at her. “So it’s true that you’re not Heather? Who are you then?”Hannah did not answer straight away and laughed instead. “I told you before. Take a guess!”“You told me before?” Ralph was further bewildered. ‘When did she tell me who she is?’However, Hannah only looked at him smilingly. Unable to remember when she told him that, he saw the necklace on her neck and suddenly recalled that she said her name was Annie when she was leaving the Russell Estate. His eyes twinkled with realization. “You’re Annie?”Hannah almost burst out crying and nodded vigorously. “Yes, it’s me! It’s me!”Ralph was glad he was right and laughed but soon felt something was amiss. He only knew her name was Annie, but he