Chapter 19
Chapter 19
Chapter 19 Chapter 19 “Evadne… this name, I’ve heard it before.” Thaddeus pinched the bridge of his nose, mumbling to himself. “I’ve done some more digging on this Ms. Evadne.” Thaddeus felt a sense of relief, thinking that his unreliable secretary had finally learned how to do his job. His eyes lit up immediately. “Tell me what you found.” “The result is that we’ve got nothing.” Gordon threw his hands up in frustration. “Gordon, I think you’re ready for payroll tomorrow.” Thaddeus’ face darkened instantly. “Mr. Thaddeus, don’t get mad! It’s not that I didn’t try, but Ms. Evadne’s info is like a cla**ified document, I swear I did my best!” Gordon’s face changed and he was shaking with his sweat. “Isn’t it strange? Ms. Evadne is the only daughter of Chairman Emeric’s lawful wife, bona fide filthy rich, but her info is nowhere to be found. I’ve scoured all social media platforms, nothing. Is the lady a hermit or what?” “Do we have a picture of her? Show me.” “Oh, yes! Took a lot of effort to find it too.” Gordon pulled out his phone and showed the photo to Thaddeus. The man took one look and his face turned a bright red, “Gordon! Are you asking for a death wish?!” On the screen was a blurry old photo of a little girl, about four or five years old, in Emeric’s arms. How could he tell anything from this?! “Mr. Thaddeus, don’t get mad! This is the only photo of Ms. Evadne I could find on the entire internet. It’s from twenty years ago, at Mrs. Ashbourne’s funeral…” Gordon felt as if he was walking on thin ice, he should probably start carrying some emergency meds.
Twenty years ago, Evadne would have been quite young, about twenty-four or five. Around the same age as Ilana. Thaddeus stared at the photo without blinking, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper. Why did he think the little girl in the photo looked a bit like Ilana? What a joke! He was divorced, but he kept
thinking about his ex-wife. What the hell was going on? Right then, a ser vant’s voice came from outside the door. “Mr. Thaddeus, the chairman wishes to see you. He has something to discuss.” In the living room, Elspeth was snuggled up in Frederic’s arms, weeping melodramatically. A woman over forty and she was still throwing fits in her husband’s arms, sobbing like she was in some TV drama. “Frederic… my poor sister, after marrying into the Stirling family, she’s always been a good wife, a good mother, lived a few good years, but now this has happened… When she called me, she was crying so hard, she said she couldn’t face me anymore, didn’t want to shame our Abernathy family…” “How could this be a disgrace? We’re about to become family, there’s no need to separate us and them.” Frederic’s large hand was on Elspeth’s shoulder, his voice was as soft as can be, “Wait for Thaddeus to come over, we’ll figure something out together.” Over the years, Elspeth had successfully seized control of the Abernathy family with her innocent and pure persona, replacing Thaddeus’ mother. Yet, Frederic was infatuated with her. “Father, you wanted to see me?” Thaddeus walked over, his eyes icy and ruthless. “Thaddeus, you must help Acacia’s family this time!” Elspeth elegantly wiped her tears, her voice choked with so bs, “Mr. Stirling and Acacia are both not well, and after this incident, Acacia has fallen ill from not eating or drinking. If you care about her, love her, you should find a solution ASAP!” “Thaddeus, have you figured out what’s actually going on?” Frederic asked, comforting his wife while furrowing his brows. “I did. The leak came from the K Group’s newly appointed general manager, a woman named Evadne.” Thaddeus lowered his eyelids, avoiding the affectionate scene before him. In his memory, Frederic had never shown such warmth towards him or his mother. He doubted this man even remembered his mother’s face anymore. “The Ashbourne family from Skyrim?!” Elspeth gasped in surprise, covering her mouth, “They’re the richest family in Skyrim, how could my sister’s family have offended them?!”
“The Ashbourne family and our Abernathy family have always been at odds, our ancestors had deep- seated grudges. The Ashbourne family’s great-grandmother even swore that no descendants of the Ashbourne family would ever marry into the Abernathy family. Anyone who violated this would be cast out of the Ashbourne family, their lineage no longer recognized.” Thaddeus didn’t care initially because he was marrying Acacia, not a daughter of the Ashbourne family. But after hearing this, there seemed to be a cr ack in his heart, a cold feeling gradually filling him. “Oh my! It must be the Ashbourne family trying to attack the Stirling group behind the scenes, indirectly suppressing our Abernathy family, because they heard that the Stirlings are marrying into our family! Their scheming is too deep!” Elspeth angrily twisted the handkerchief in her hands. “Thaddeus, you gotta meet with Ms. Evadne tomorrow and somehow convince her to stop attacking the Stirling group. This isn’t just about them, it’s gonna tarnish our family, the Abernathy family’s reputation!” Frederic sounded dead serious. “Frederic, you don’t have to be so serious, Thaddeus has always been a good kid. He’ll get it.” Elspeth softly squeezed her husband’s shoulder. “I’m helping the Stirling group solely because of Acacia, it’s got nothing to do with anyone else, Elspeth Frost Abernathy.” With a deep and chilly gaze, Thaddeus walked out right after he said that. Elspeth’s face turned white in anger. She was the Abernathy family’s chairwoman’s wife, but this kid still called her by her full name, how ironic! “Hold up! Why are you still calling Elspeth like this? She’s my wife, your mother, have you forgotten your manners?” Frederic stood up abruptly, fuming. Thaddeus stopped, but didn’t turn around, “A man can have many wives, but only one mother. You know that, why force it on others?” Tonight, Cas sius came to Elmsworth to find Evadne, and inevitably brought up Keith and the Stirling group during dinner. “Dad knows about your decision. He didn’t say much, just that if the evidence is solid, and if it’s true, it should be thoroughly investigated, no letting off easy.” Cas sius was helping his sister cut her steak. “Emeric, he’s a mess when it comes to women, but he’s pretty clear-headed in other matters.” Evadne
said as she ate a medium-rare steak. “That’s why his three wives are still loyal to him. Other than his roving eye, he’s a decent guy. He hasn’t mistreated any of them.” “Yes, the new lovers always gets the best treatment, basking in the spring sunshine. But everyone totally ignored the old ones.” Evadne said, her gaze dropping, jabbing her fork into the steak. Cas sius looked at his sister’s reddening eyes, gently pat her head, “I know, you don’t hate his three lovers anymore, you just can’t accept the unfairness to our mother. But have you considered, maybe she’s already forgiven Dad?” “How could she forgive him, she’s just putting up with it. Which woman in this world could accept that her man has other women, and feel…” Evadne’s words abruptly halted. Wasn’t she the same? Knowing that Thaddeus had someone else in his heart, she still fell deeply in love with him, gave everything for him, but in the end was cruelly cast aside. Emeric might be a fickle in love, but he knows how to hurt people. But Thaddeus, he never really saw her in these three years, even hurt her time after time, judging her with a petty mindset. She was blind, loving this heartless man for thirteen years! “Thaddeus has been quiet these past few days, hasn’t called me.” Cas sius sipped his red wine casually. “Hmph, because he’s busy helping his sweetheart and her family with their problems. How could he have time to care about me?” Evadne swirled her wine gla**, her bright eyes cold. “Ilana is too weak, this time, it’s Evadne’s turn!”NôvelDrama.Org owns this.