<b>Chapter 482 </b>
Frederic had been raised amidst wealth and privilege, never once having endured such a beating, such indignity! And to make matters worse, it had happened in front of his own son! His pride was wounded beyond belief; the humiliation was off the charts!
<b>“</b>I’ll beat some sense into you, you ungrateful wretch!”
Hamilton was about to hurl the fine mug once again, but Mr. Murray intervened just in time, “Mr. Hamilton Abernathy! Calm down!”
Frederic, clutching the injury on his forehead, seethed through gritted teeth, “You favor Emeric’s daughter over your own flesh and blood, turning your back on your own family! You’ve lost it! Emeric and his daughter have been a thorn in the side of the Abernathy Group, even snatching the hundred–billion–dor Equestrian Hotel project right from under us at the banquet! If it weren’t for their meddling<b>, </b>that project would have been ours!” As if his furious tirade to the patriarch wasn’t enough, he turned and pointed an using finger at Thaddeus, “And you! Not only do you not support your own family’s business, you even facilitate a deal between the Ashbourne family and William and his son! Your brother, ailing and abroad, still does what he can for the family! And you, for the sake of a woman, you’re ready to hand over our interests on a silver tter! As CEO of thepany, this is a gross negligence of duty! You must take full responsibility for the failure of this project partnership!”
Thaddeus, his eyes dark and deep like fallen stars, carried a gravelly tone, “Is that the only thing I’m responsible for<b>?</b>”
Frederic was taken aback, “What?”
“I publicly opposed your ns to make an alliance through marriage with the Fairhaven Group. Or have you forgotten already, in the course of a single night?<b>” </b>
The man’s cold gaze was daunting, “Didn’t you also say that if I didn’t get engaged to Edith, I should pack up and leave the Abernathy Group? Now, seeing the Fairhaven Group in turmoil and the blunders of Edith’s, who exposed to everyone the fact that Evadne had lost my child, showing her true vile colors, stirring up trouble, you’re scared of getting caught <b>in </b>the bacsh, so now you’re silent about the alliance?”
Mr. Murray was shaken to the core, his back soaked with cold sweat.
How could this be possible?! The miscarriage of Mrs. Abernathy was almost a secret; how did Edithe to know of it?!
“Thaddeus!” Frederic was so furious with his son’s airing of d*rtyundry; he was on the verge of a stroke!
“An alliance?! With that wretched girl from the Fairhaven family?!”
Upon Hamilton heard this, his grip on the mug tightened; his whole b*dy trembled with rage, “Frederic! Have you lost your mind?! You cast aside the loyal and dutiful na for Thaddeus to marry that scheming brat?! <b>It </b>was she who revealed the miscarriage to drive a wedge between Thaddeus and na! Such malevolence and you want Thaddeus to marry her?! Why don’t you marry her yourself!”
<b>“</b>Dad!”
“Your judgment may be clouded, and that’s your own disgrace, but don’t you dare drag my grandson down the same path!”
The old man’s eyes–zed with fury, his gaze as sharp as ever despite his age, “And another thing, don’t you dare me the loss of that project on my grandson or tarnish na’s reputation! I may not have attended this year’s horse racing event, but I know exactly what went down! The Ashbourne family’s horse was sabotaged by someone from the Fairhaven family, but even so, na clinched first ce with flying colors! She earned her opportunity through her own hard work, not something you can smear with a few choice words!”
“Grandpa.” Thaddeus’s voice choked with emotion<b>, </b>his eyes brimming with tears.
Grandpa was still as caring, trusting, and supportive of Evadne as he had always been. It was the same three years ago, and nothing had changed.
But what about him? Grandpa had always urged him to treat Evadne well, told him more than once that she was a rare find, and not to let her sl*p away. And what had he done?
He had ruined everything, all of it,pletely botched.
“In any case, the only woman I will ept as Thaddeus’s wife is na! No one else but na will do!” Hamilton reaffirmed his stance with unwavering decisiveness, brooking no argument, “Thaddeus owes na; the Abernathy family owes Ina. When I’m gone, I won’t be able to do anything about it, but as long as I’m alive, Frederic, you better not dream of pairing Thaddeus with any of those unsuitable women<b>!</b>”
Enraged and humiliated, Frederic roared, his forehead swollen in aical lump, “Chad’s health is precarious, on medication year–round, and the doctors say his chances of fathering children are practically zero! And now <b>you </b>let Evadne into the family, <b>do </b>you want the Abernathy line <b>to </b>end, for thepany to have no heir?!”
Hamilton trembled violently, “What do you
mean?”
“Evadne can’t have children anymore after that miscarriage! Do you really want such a woman for Thaddeus? Thaddeus is our only hope for t the Abernathy legacy, and <b>you </b>want him to marry Evadne? Who will inherit our billion–dor fortune then?! Glynnis and Mari? Are they even cut out for it?!”
Thaddeus felt as though his heart was being massacred all over again.
“How could this be?” Hamilton waspletely dumbfounded, his heart bleeding.
“Her own issue, why should our entire Abernathy family suffer for it<b>?! </b>It’s her bad luck; it’s her fate!”
<b>“</b>It’s not like that!”
Suddenly, Mr. Murray, drenched in sweat, burst forward, shouting at the top of his lungs, “That’s not how it is!”
The three men of the Abernathy Group stood frozen in shock.
Mr. Murray had been with the Abernathy family for over thirty years, known for his gentle and steady demeanor, thorough and meticulous in his work. To see him acting so impulsively was unheard <b>of</b><b>! </b>
“Murray<b>, </b>do you know something?”
Thaddeus, with his sharp intuition, sensed his hesitation and asked urgently, his eyes reddening, “You know something, don’t you?!”
Mr. Murray shut his eyes tightly, guilty tears streaming down his face. Then, to everyone’s astonishment, he suddenly dropped to his knees before them!
“Murray!”
“Mr. Murray!”
Hamilton, both shocked and anxious, pped his thigh, “Get up! If you’ve got something to say, just say it. What in the world are you doing?!<b>” </b>
Thaddeus tookrge strides to help Mr. Murray up, but he stubbornly refused to stand.
its all my fault. I should have told everything sooner. If I had spoken up, Ms. Ashbourne and Mr. Thaddeus Abernathy wouldn’t havee to this.”
Mr. Murray’s voice broke as he spoke, “That year, when Ms. Ashbourne lost the child, I was there.”
Thaddeus’s pupils shook violently, “What are you saying? You were there<b>?!</b><b>” </b>
“Mr. Murray! What exactly happened? How could you have been there?!”
Hamilton’s urgency was palpable, his voice burning with concern, “You’re normally so articte; what’s with the stuttering now? Out with it!”
“The ident. It was because of that ident!”
“Mrs. Abernathy, I’m sorry, I can no longer keep this secret for you.”
“The ident?”
Thaddeus’s mind raced, suddenly remembering. Two years ago, no, it must be almost three years now.
When he returned from abroad, his grandfather had been hospitalized due to an ident, and Evadne was not by his side tending to him but had said she had family matters to attend to and disappeared for a while.
“Christmas. Was it that Christmas?!” Hamilton also realized the connection instantly.
Mr. Murray nodded heavily, his voice choked with emotion, “Three years ago on Christmas, Mr. Frederic Abernathy and Mr. Thaddeus Abernathy, along with the youngdies, were all away from Elmsworth. Only Ms. Ashbourne braved the snowstorm to keep youpany for the holidays.”
Thaddeus felt a sudden tightness in his chest, the air around him thinning, breathing bing difficult.
“You said you wanted to visit Mrs. Fiona Abernathy, so Ms. Ashbourne drove with you. Later, you went to the beach where you used to date Mrs. Fiona Abernathy when you were young. It was supposed to be a beautiful day, but on the way back, you were in an ident.”
Mr. Murray lowered his head, tears falling, “Ms. Ashbourne was also injured. After struggling to get you to the hospital, she started having severe abdominal pain. And then, I witnessed blood flowing from under her skirt.”
“My poor na! Why did you have to be so silly?!” Hamiltonmented, shaking his <b>head </b>repeatedly with tears in his eyes.
Thaddeus gripped his shirt tightly, feeling as if a dull, thorny knife was grinding his heart to a pulp.
Upon hearing this, even Frederic, cold as he often was, furrowed his brow slightly.
“Ms. Ashbourne was afraid of worrying you and Mr. Thaddeus Abernathy, so she begged me to keep her secret. I thought of your serious injuries and didn’t want to shock you. And I worried about how the news of Ms. Ashbourne’s infertility would affect her standing within the Abernathy Group; it would ruin her life.”
“For that reason, you chose to listen to her? You were not thinking it straight! How old was she back then? A young girl, what did she know?!” Hamilton reproached<b>, </b>heartbroken.
“It’s all my fault<b>, </b>Mr. Hamilton Abernathy, Mr. Thaddeus Abernathy. Please punish me, any punishment – I’ll ept it,
Evadne. Why was she <b>so </b>silly?!
Before Mr. Murray could finish, Thaddeus, enveloped in a cold fury, left them standing there and dashed out of the mansion.
“Mr. Thaddeus Abernathy<b>?!</b><b>” </b>
Mr. Murray attempted to follow, but Hamilton stopped him, “Let him be! It’s a debt of karma that Thaddeus owes, and it’s my failure to na. My old bones may never pay it off, so let Thaddeus spend the rest of his life making amends.”
Torrential rain poured down as shbulbs popped furiously in <b>front </b>of Edith’s pale, horrified face, more blinding than lightning!
“Ms. Fairhaven! Exposing Ms. Ashbourne’s infertility in public is an outrageous vition of privacy; don’t you think you’ve gone <b>too </b>far?!<b>” </b>
“Did you bribe a doctor to get this medical report yourself, or did someone give it to you in secret?!”
“By exposing Ms. Ashbourne’s personal issues, are you trying to sabotage her rtionship with Mr. Thaddeus Abernathy to secure a marriage into wealth for yourself?
A swarm of reporters blocked the entrance to the police station, converging on Edith, who was being escorted by the police as if they smelled blood in the water.
With cameras pointed at her, soaked to the bone and pushed around in an embarrassing state, she couldn’t have looked more pitiful.
Cuffed at the wrists, Edith still received some consideration due to her affluent background; the police had wrapped her handcuffs <b>in </b>white cloth. Nevertheless, she felt utterly humiliated! Just hours ago, she was a proud heiress. Now, she had been reduced to a prisoner!
It was all over, her dreams of being a CEO’s wife shattered!
Jareth had given strict orders not to provide her with public rtions help or legal counsel, leaving her to fend for herselfpletely.
Her grandfather might have helped her by controlling the online narrative and trying to block <b>the </b>news, but how on earth were there still so many reporters after her?! Why?!
“Hah, that foolish woman probably can’t fathom how things have gotten to this point.”
Harvey stood by Avery’s side, both of them transfixed by therge screen disying the breaking news of Edith’s arrest. With a mocking sneer, Harvey quipped, “From the moment you first rang her up, inviting her into the game, it was a checkmate waiting to happen. But, man, that woman is useless. Couldn’t handle Thaddeus during thest hotel event<b>, </b>and now she’s gone and tangled herself up in her own mess. Jareth’s cut her loosepletely, leaving only Barry to cover for her. But even that old man can’t outsmart you. Sending those reporters to corner her was like kicking her over the edge into an abyss.”
Avery’s cool, sculpted features adorned with an enigmatic smile, he elegantly swirled his ss of red wine. Despite the beauty of his smile, a pair of predatory eyes, poised behind gold–rimmed sses, hinted at a sated,nguid cruelty.
“Useless pawns should be disposed of like trash. And the fate of trash is to be crushed into dust<b>.” </b>
Avery sipped his wine, a more pronounced smile creeping across his face as he watched Edith being carted off like a stray dog, “But Ms. Fairhaven wasn’tpletely worthless. Without her, how could this affair have blown up so spectacrly, achieving even better results than I anticipated<b>?</b><b>” </b>“You were wise to skip out tonight; with all that chaos, it was definitely time for you toy low.”
“But now, it’s time to step out.”
Avery rose leisurely from his seat with Harvey immediately stepping forward to straighten his jacket and tie, “Now that the eyesore is out of the picture, it’s time for me, the real leading man to make my entrance.”