<b>Chapter </b><b>267 </b>
<b>The </b>woman approached with graceful, confident strides, her smile warm and inviting.
“Uh, let me introduce you,” Tuff said, clearing his throat. “This is my mom’s goddaughter, Joyce. Joyce, this is Mrs.
Kingsley.”
“Mrs. Kingsley, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” Joyce said, extending her hand politely.
Amelia, having seen her fair share of drama, could tell right away that Joyce wasn’t there with good intentions.
She ignored Joyce’s outstretched hand and looked coldly at Tuff. “Tuff, did you really not invite Joyce to your wedding<b>?</b><b>” </b>
“Uh, I did,” Tuff said awkwardly. “Maybe Joyce just missed the invite.”
There was definitely a hint of him trying to cover for Joyce.
Amelia snorted. “She’s just your mother’s goddaughter–doesn’t seem like there’s much real bond there.”
“Mrs. Kingsley, you misunderstood,” Joyce said, sizing Amelia up. “I’ve been abroad for the past six months, so I had no idea Tuff got married.”
Joyce could tell this youngdy wasn’t someone to mess with.
“So you show up the day after the wedding? Wow, you really know how to pick your moment,” Amelia said, her tone dripping with sarcasm as she shot Joyce a look of her own.
Amelia mirrored Joyce’s gaze, sizing her up from head to toe with equal scrutiny.
For the first time in his life, Tuff felt like the poor filling in a very awkward sandwich.
He meekly tried to break the tension, forcing a smile as he asked, “So, uh, what brings you here, Joyce?”
“I’m here on a work assignment,” Joyce replied, her tone calm and collected. “Didn’t expect to run into you at the hospital.”
That was when Amelia noticed the bag in Joyce’s hand–it looked like it was meant for surgical tools.
Wait, is she a doctor too?‘ Amelia wondered.
“My mother–inw’s sick,” Tuff exined quickly. “Don’t let us keep you if you’re busy with work.”
“No problem,” Joyce replied. “I’ll get you a wedding giftter.”
As soon as Joyce left, Tuff let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Amelia, having lived through enough drama in her life, had developed a sharp, discerning eye. She shot <b>Tuff </b><b>a </b><b>look </b><b>full </b><b>of </b>pure disdain<i>. </i>
Tuff squirmed under her gaze, feeling his scalp prickle. “Amelia, could you please stop looking at <b>me </b><b>like </b><b>that</b><b>?</b><b>” </b>
<b>“</b><b>She’s </b>totally into you,” Amelia snorted..
Tuff hurriedly protested, “No, no, no! I only see her as a friend…“.
“But she clearly doesn’t see you that way,” Amelia shot back coldly. “Tuff, you better not let Ka down<b>. </b><b>Or </b>else…
“How could I ever do Ka wrong?” Tuff straightened up, full of confidence. “Rx, that’s never gonna <b>happen</b><b>.</b><b>” </b>
Only then did Amelia let it go.
Still, Amelia figured it was better to let Ka know about Joyce sooner rather thanter, just to avoid any misunderstandings down the line.
Landon and Ka arrived at a casino near the Ger vi, looking for Shelby’s husband–Tristan.
“Oh, Landon? What brings you here?” Tristan, who was balding and had a round build, was puffing on a cigarette as he yed with his tiles.
Judging by how down he looked, luck clearly wasn’t on his side today.
“Tristan,” Landon said with a nod. “I need to talk to you about something important.”
“Let me finish this hand first,” Tristan grumbled, barely ncing up as he tossed out a tile.
The casino was thick with smoke, and Tristan looked totally lost in the game. He didn’t look anything like some retired government employee.
“Tristan,” Landon pressed, his voice a notch more serious.
Tristan snapped, shoving his tiles forward. “What’s with all the shouting? You think a youngster like you can just talk back
to me?”
The other yers justughed it off and all got up to leave together when they saw Tristan lose his temper.
They were surprisingly tolerant about it.
It seemed like everyone was already used to Tristan’s foul moods.
“What rotten luck! Running into your whole family–must’ve been cursed,” Tristan grumbled as he finally stormed out of
the casino.
Landon asked, “Aunt Shelby and Marvin still haven’te home. Aren’t you even going to do something about i
“Do something?” Tristan sneered. “What could I possibly do?”
“So you really don’t care at all?” Landon pressed.
Tristan just gave a coldugh.
The look of disgust on his face said it all.
The love between husband and wife had long since faded away, and even the <b>bond </b><b>between </b><b>father </b>and <b>son </b><b>was </b><b>barely </b>
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<b>hanging </b>on.
<b>Ka </b>spoke up, “Tristan, you didn’te to my wedding yesterday.”
“Weren’t you guys supposed to be cutting ties with the Ger family?” Tristan shot back. “Only those shameless <b>two </b>would have the nerve to show up.” He was clearly throwing his own wife and son under the bus.
Landon decided to cut to the chase. “Tristan, do you know about Jeffrey?”
Tristan’s face went pale, and he started trembling. “Who are you talking about?”
“Aunt Shelby’s youngest child—a boy,” Landon said.
“That damn woman!” Tristan exploded. “She actually gave him a name? The kid’s dead, and she still wants <b>to </b><b>remember </b>
him for the rest of her life?”
Landon and Ka exchanged a nce–so Tristan really did know what happened back then, but he had no idea <b>the </b><b>boy </b>
was still alive.
“Tristan, what happened back then?” Ka asked.
Tristan looked at the scars on Ka’s face, his voice full of resentment. “Ask your father!”
“My father’s dead,” Ka said with a shrug. “You know that.”
Tristan choked for a second, then started pacing back and forth<b>, </b>clearly agitated.
Ka and Landon just stood there, waiting in silence.
After a while, Tristan finally managed to calm himself down.
He lit up another cigarette, but just held it between his fingers, not even taking a drag.
“Why are you suddenly asking about the boy?” Tristan asked.
“Aunt Shelby showed up with him at my wedding yesterday,” Ka replied.
Tristan, who had just calmed down, suddenly exploded again. “He–he’s still alive?”
“What did you expect, Tristan?” Ka replied coolly.
“He should be dead. I was the one who strangled him with my own hands…” Tristan stammered, his voice shaking <b>with </b>
disbelief.
His lips quivered and his pupils shrank<b>, </b>the shock written all over his face.
“But he’s still alive. He’s thirteen now, Ka said. “Tristan, you were caught up in this mess too. That’s <b>why </b><b>we’re </b><b>here </b><b>to </b>
talk.”
Tristan suddenly threw his head back andughed, a bitter, maniacal sound echoing through <b>the </b><b>room</b><b>. </b>
<b>“</b>Tristan, how did that kid even happen?” Landon asked.
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“Obviously, it was your dear father and your lovely aunt who made him,” Tristan said, his eyes starting to well up. Those shameless cheaters! They even used my job to threaten me!”
Landon found it hard to ept. ‘Was my father really involved with Aunt Shelby?<i>” </i>
Ever since Jeffrey showed up, Landon had run through every possible exnation in his mind–maybe it was a <b>drunken </b>mistake, maybe someone gave them some drug, maybe it was just a case of mistaken identity…
But cheating? That was the one thing he’d never even thought of
In his mind, his father had always been the perfect gentleman.
He honored his elders, looked after the younger ones, and even in business, he was always soft–hearted.
He’d always been so close to his mother–even when he was dying, his biggest worry was whether she could survive on
her own.
‘How could he have betrayed Mom and hooked up with Aunt Shelby?‘ Landon thought, disbelief churning in his gut.
“Landon, are you shocked?” Tristan sneered. “Your oh–so–respected father, the one everyone praises, turned out to be the kind of scum who’d sleep with his own sister–inw.”
The words hit Landon like a p, his brows drawing together in pain and disbelief.
“You don’t believe it, do you?” Tristan suddenly let out a coldugh.
Landon felt a cold shiver crawl down his spine, and for a moment, he seriously wondered if Tristan hadpletely lost it<b>. </b>
<i>“</i><i>And </i>you, Ka? Do you buy any of this?” Tristan turned his sharp gaze on her.
Suddenly, a thought struck Ka. ‘Wait–he was born ten years after I was kidnapped!‘
<i>‘</i>Could it be that my father was forced into this by Aunt Shelby, all because of me?‘ Ka wondered, her heart pounding.
The thought was <i>like </i>a sudden beam of light tearing through the storm clouds–finally, a sliver of hope,
“I don’t believe it. My dad would never do something like that,” Ka said, her tone unwavering. Tristan suddenly threw his head back andughed, a bitter, maniacal sound echoing through the room.
He keptughing for a long, long time before he finally stopped.
When theughter finally faded, the man, well past sixty–five, suddenly had tears streaming down his face.
“Isaac, what a blessing for you,” Tristan said bitterly. “Even after you’re gone and your name <i>is </i>still stained, your <b>kids </b><b>still </b>believe you did nothing wrong.”
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