She lifted her head to stare at Brettley with tear–stained eyes. “After I leave Thomas, my mother and I will have no choice but to return to our former lifestyle, and we can never afford to provide Riley the same kind of lifestyle Thomas can, so…”
Brettley paused for a moment.
He had never considered this before.
“Bethan and I will help you. The first few years you decide to live on your own, we’ll continue providing you financial support so that Riley gets the health treatment she needs, but after a few years, we hope to see you becoming more and more independent to a point where you can raise Riley on your own. I’m sure it won’t be difficult for you.”
When Bethan left him…she had raised three children on her own against all odds.
Brettley could not help feeling sad at the thought of this.
He turned his head away and continued, “Of course, you and Thomas need to discuss this at great lengths as to who should gain custody of Riley.
“The only reason I decided to talk to you about this is just to give you my opinion. I hope you don’t feel too burdened by the prospect of having to raise Riley on your own.
“Finally, I hope that you and Thomas will part ways after talking things through instead of leaving him without any closure. Otherwise, he won’t cease to flip the entire world upside down in search of you.”
Yannie bit her lip and was silent for a long time before finally nodding. “I will.”
Inside the room, Thomas could not help frowning as the stench of antiseptic struck him.
He strode over to Senior Howard’s bed, sat down in the chair, and swept his cold glance across his father’s pale face. “I can’t believe you’re still alive.”
Senior Howard never thought this would be the first thing his son said to him after accidentally shooting him. He immediately flew into a rage. “You good–for nothing son! You wanted to kill me after all, didn’t you?!”
Thomas scoffed. “I never wanted to kill you, but your wife and son wanted me dead.”
Thankfully, Tina’s plan had not worked, and he did not end up sleeping with Denise at all. Otherwise, Yannie would surely be upset and refuse to be with him any longer.
If that happened, not only would Riley lose a mother, but he would lose the only woman he ever loved…
To him, this was even worse than death.
Senior Howard was so furious to hear this that he broke into fits of cough. “You bastard!”
Thomas rolled his eyes as he watched his father’s face turn red from his coughing fit. Finally, he reached out to pat Senior Howard’s back reluctantly. “Why are you so upset when it’s not even the first time we disagreed on something?”
Senior Howard shot him a cold look out of the corner of his life but did not reply.
Finally, after he stopped coughing, Thomas drew his hand back and said, “When Brettley called me, he told me that you’re fine and didn’t suffer much injuries, so why are you coughing so hard now? Did the doctors make a mistake?”
Senior Howard rolled his eyes at him. “I wouldn’t be coughing like this if you hadn’t come to annoy me!”
With that, he closed his eyes and let out a sigh. “Your cousin and I had a long talk just now.
“He told me that the reason you had given all the evidence of your aunt’s death and your uncle’s involvement in this to him was that…you wanted him to help you take back your inheritance.”
He opened his eyes to stare at Thomas. “If that was truly what you wanted, you don’t have to do anything more.
“I’ll hand Howard Group over to you right this instant.”
Thomas’ entire body froze when he heard this. He met his father’s gaze with disbelief. “You…”
How could this be?
Senior Howard and Tina were the ones who had killed his mother, and everything Senior Howard had done was to take what rightfully belonged to Eanne as his. How could such a selfish and greedy man voluntarily hand over his inheritance?
Even if it were because Senior Howard was too old to continue running the business, he would still rather hand it over to Dan instead of Thomas.
This was why Thomas had sought out Brettley’s help to take back his inheritance and avenge his mother’s death.
All of a sudden, Senior Howard claimed that he would hand over the company willingly.
“Are you surprised?”
Senior Howard let out a bitter chuckle and lifted his head to stare wistfully at the wall as though his thoughts had drifted somewhere far, far away. “If this had happened a few days ago, I would’ve been just as surprised as you are, but now…I truly want to hand over Howard Group to you.”
Senior Howard closed his eyes and said, “I know that I owe your mother too much and if I had known earlier…”
He let out a sigh and opened his eyes to stare at Thomas. “If you had told me earlier that all you wanted was the family inheritance, I would’ve obliged.”
Thomas furrowed his brow and suddenly felt as though there was a lump in his throat.
Finally, he let out an exhale and asked in a hoarse voice, “Did…something happen to you? What did Brettley say to you?”
Senior Howard turned to the side to look at Thomas. He paused, but it was evident he had something to say.
After a while, he sighed heavily. “You’ll…find out what Brettley has said to me sooner or later. Actually, if you want to inherit the family’s property, you don’t have to find Brettley since it’s our family business… But, it’s good that you get him here. At least, you let me understand something…”
He extended his hand and gently placed it on his injured abdomen.
“I’m still physically frail now. Once I feel better, we can proceed with the transfer procedure. You’re right. Half of the Howard Group’s wealth was earned by your mother with her sweat and blood. It shouldn’t be given to outsiders.”
Thomas furrowed his brow. “What’s gotten into you?”
This was unlike his father’s typical behavior. Every time his father saw him, his father would be infuriated and scold him for not being accomplished, wanting him to leave his sight as soon as possible. It was unlike him to admit that he was wrong and was sorry to his mother. What kind of curse had Brettley cast upon his father?
“Brettley Morrison…”
Senior Howard sighed. “He can see further and more than me. Maybe I’m really getting old.”
After complimenting Brettley, he looked at Thomas. “You’ll need to learn more from Brettley, but you have to keep your promise.
“After I pass everything to you, you need to give him the evidence of how your aunt passed away. He’s here because of his family too. He’s a pitiful man… If I’m not around in the future, I’ll be less worried knowing he’s around to take care of you.”
Thomas furrowed his brow vehemently as he impatiently listened to what his father said. He was so clueless. “Since you refused to tell me what Brettley said to you, I’ll ask him later.”
He then glanced at his father coldly. “Are you lying to me when you say you are giving me Howard Group?”
“Of course not.”
Senior Howard smiled. “You are my son; why can’t I give it to you? Of course…”
He paused. “You must remember to be filial to me and not dump me after I give it to you. Also, you’ll have to bring Riley to see me.”
Thomas cocked up his head and wanted to reject this, but he saw his father’s gray hair at the sideburns.
He could not bring himself to say those gruesome words. It had been years since he talked to his father so privately like this.
If he did not accidentally shoot his father, it was impossible for him to come to see his father and be so close to him. Now that he looked at his father, he noticed that the old geezer…was really getting old.
He paused and stared at Senior Howard. “You want me to take Riley to come to see you? Why don’t you wait for Dan to get married and have kids to see your grandchild?”
All these years, Senior Howard had been preferring Tina and Dan. He had never put in thoughts on Thomas. Why was Senior Howard trying to be a good father to him and requesting him to bring Riley to see him all of a sudden? Was he worthy of being Riley’s grandfather?
As Thomas brought up Dan’s name, Senior Howard’s face changed instantly.
After much consideration, he sighed. “Once I pass everything to you…I’ll let Tina and Dan leave the house.”
Thomas furrowed his brow vehemently.
‘Has this old geezer really changed? What magic did Brettley use?’ he thought.
When Thomas left the ward, Brettley was nowhere to be seen. Yannie was the only one sitting quietly on the chair playing with her phone. He furrowed his brow. “Where’s Brettley?”
Yannie pursed her lips and said, “He said he has something to do, so he left.”
She then put away her phone and stood up, staring at Thomas.
“How did the talk with your father go?” “It was alright.”
Thomas sighed. “I’ll send you back first.”
At this time, he could not tell what Senior Howard was up to with the abrupt change in his mood and thoughts. Had the old geezer truly decided to pass the family to him and kick Tina and her son out of their residence…or was the old geezer just trying to comfort him while planning something else? He could not tell.
He could only take one step at a time.
Yannie did not say anything else, looking at Thomas zoning out in his thoughts. She turned around and walked with him toward the elevator “Stop right there!” came the shrill, demanding voice of a woman. Yannie and Thomas stopped walking and looked in the direction of the voice. At the far–away end of the hallway, Tina was walking toward them fiercely.
“Thomas Howard! Go and apologize to Dan!”
Thomas twisted and dislocated Dan’s hands, though it was not serious as the doctor had made necessary treatments to undo the damage. Still, Thomas could not just be forgiven easily for that!
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.