Sean stood outside the hospital room, listening quietly for a while in the end, he didn’t go in. The sky was heavy with clouds. A light rain had begun to fall–soft, steady, and unrelenting.
He walked to the hospital entrance and looked up at the dull, oppressive sky, his thoughts drifting.
Maybe there really was no future left for him and Charlotte.
His father, James, was only fifty–two and already at death’s door.
Sean had been five when the scandal about James’s illegitimate child broke. His mother had tried to divorce James, but under pressure from both families, the marriage was never dissolved.
By then, Sean was old enough to remember everything.
Those painful memories had taken root deep inside him.
He could still recall the way his mother wept alone behind closed doors, every bitter fight between his parents, and the cold disdain in James’s eyes.
He had always known James didn’t love his mother. He didn’t love him either.
Sean had grown up without knowing what a father’s love felt like.
Their relationship had always been distant.
He used to think that when James died, he wouldn’t feel a thing.
But now that the moment had come, he realized he couldn’t feel nothing.
Not far away, a middle–aged man hurried toward the hospital entrance, holding a small boy in one arm and a black umbrella in
the other.
He passed right by Sean.
As they reached the door, the man closed the umbrella and gently murmured to the boy in his arms, “Don’t cry, baby. Daddy’s taking you to the doctor. It’ll stop hurting soon.”
Sean’s chest tightened.
His eyes stayed glued to the scene.
The little boy looked no more than one or two years old.
The man wore a navy–blue work uniform from a local factory. Its name was stitched above his chest.
Sean noticed the man’s hands–rough and calloused, dark from years of labor.
Yet when he held the boy, his movements were careful, his embrace tender. The quiet, raw affection in his eyes was unmistakable.
Worry lined the man’s weathered face.
Sean had almost never seen that kind of expression on James’s face.
No, he had seen it once.
It was the day James brought Joseph back to the Atlantisnd begged their grandparents to let Joseph take the family name.
Their grandparents refused. They wouldn’t even let them in the door.
James had knelt outside the gates with Joseph in his arms and refused to leave.
Chapter 369
The weather had been exactly like today..
Overcast. Suffocating.
And then it started to rain.
James had taken off his coat and placed it over Joseph’s head, trying to shield him from the wind and rain.
But Joseph still caught a chill and came down with a fever.
The frantic look on James’s face that day was exactly the same as the one Sean had just seen in that father’s eyes.
Sean watched silently, a dull ache spreading through his chest.
The man disappeared into the building, still holding his child.
Sean turned back to the rain, his gaze landing on the hazy curtain falling before him.
A group of young women stood nearby, sneaking glances his way, cheeks flushed, whispering to one another.
Sean ignored them all.
He stepped forward and walked straight into the downpour.
+25 BONUS
Late at night, Sean arrived at his private compound.
“Sir, we’ve found Joseph’s mother’s gravesite,” Luke said quietly as he stood before Sean. “It’s in a remote village near Leo City, in Atlantis. Joseph had a private memorial garden built there just for her.”
He handed over a thick folder. “That village was where Joseph and his mother first settled when they arrived in Atlantis. They lived there for five years, and she passed away during that time.”
Sean opened the folder.
Inside were several photos of a small wooden cabin they had lived in, along with old pictures of Joseph and his mother together.
“That cabin was their home,” Luke went on. “Joseph has been paying someone to maintain it ever since. According to the caretaker, the local custom there is cremation rather than burial. After she died, the villagers cremated her body. Joseph collected some of her ashes and created a small shrine in her memory. At the time, he couldn’t afford a proper burial site, so he set up a symbolic grave later on. It holds only her clothing and a few personal items.”
Luke paused, then added, “He’s been to many places over the years, but he always kept her ashes in that cabin. He even assigned someone to guard the place. Every year, on her birthday and the anniversary of her death, he returns to pay his respects.”
“Did you dig up the grave?” Sean asked, his tone as casual as if he were asking what someone had for lunch. But a closer look revealed the cold, steely glint in his eyes.
Luke replied, “Yes. It’s definitely just a symbolic grave. There were no remains buried there.”
“What about the ashes?” Sean asked, his expression unreadable.
“We’ve already retrieved them.”
He gave a signal. One of his men left the room and came back moments later, carrying a black ceramic urn in both hands.
Luke took the urn from him carefully and placed it on the table in front of Sean. “Sir, these are her ashes.”
Sean stared at the urn, his gaze deep and bottomless.
Twenty years ago, this woman had arrived at the Jasper estate carrying an illegitimate child, trying to force his mother out of the house. Even though his mother had just given birth and was still recovering.
Chapter 369
+25 BONUS
The emotional strain had driven his mother to the bunk, nearly causing her to jump from the balcony in a bout of postpartum depression.
The entire household had been thrown into chaos because of her.
Now, two decades later, her son had turned the Jasper family upside down all over again.
Everything Joseph had done to the Rileys and the Jaspers was driven by revenge–a twisted attempt to get justice for his mother.
But if he was so devoted to her memory, what would happen if someone desecrated her grave? What would he do if he had to watch her ashes scattered right in front of him?
He had nearly killed Charlotte, and orchestrated the poisoning that left James on his deathbed.
So what would be so wrong about returning the favor?
A cold, sharp smile tugged at Sean’s lips.
“I want to see Joseph Ford.”
After checking in and getting the necessary clearances, Sean was led to the detention facility.
Joseph was currently in custody, awaiting trial. His case was complicated. Besides attempted murder, it involved several major criminal charges.
The Jaspers had applied heavy pressure, demanding a full investigation and harsh sentencing.
Inside a dimly lit interrogation room, a single bulb flickered overhead.
Joseph sat across from Sean, shackled at the wrists and ankles.
