2025-09-05 13:42:45Pervis's eyes widened in disbelief, his mouth opening and closing like a fish gasping for air. The word echoed in his mind, foreign and impossible.
"Sister?" he whispered, staring at Aria's familiar yet strange face. "But that can't be right. I'm an orphan. My grandmother found me at the orphanage when I was six years old."
Aria leaned forward in her chair, her expression gentle but serious. "Pervis, there's so much you don't know about your past. I've been searching for you for fifteen years, and—"
The shrill ring of Pervis's phone cut through her explanation like a blade. The device vibrated violently on the hospital bedside table, Anna's name flashing insistently on the screen.
Pervis hesitated, his hand hovering over the phone. "I should answer it."
"Are you sure?" Aria asked, concerned flickering in her eyes.
Pervis nodded grimly and accepted the call. "Hello, Anna."
Anna's voice came through the speaker like ice water, sharp and merciless. "Well, well. I didn't expect you to grow so bold, Pervis."
"What do you mean?" Pervis asked, though he could already sense the venom in her tone.
"Don't play innocent with me," Anna sneered. "Breaking into my villa, hooking up with some random woman. Did you think I wouldn't find out?"
Pervis's grip tightened on the phone. "I didn't break into anywhere. Your bodyguards locked me in the basement, remember?"
"And yet somehow you escaped," Anna continued coldly. "With your new girlfriend, no doubt. How romantic."
Aria watched Pervis's face grow paler with each word, her own expression hardening.
"Anna, listen to me—"
"No, you listen," Anna's voice cut him off. "Since you want to play games, I'll show you what happens to disobedient husbands. Consider your grandmother's medical expenses officially terminated. I'm having her thrown out of the hospital as we speak."
The blood drained from Pervis's face completely. "What did you say?"
"You heard me perfectly," Anna replied with satisfaction. "The old woman will be on the street within the hour. After all, why should I continue supporting the family of a man who deliberately attacks innocent people?"
"Anna, you can't do this!" Pervis shouted, his voice cracking with desperation. "My grandmother has nothing to do with what happened! Do you have any humanity left?"
Anna's laugh was like broken glass. "Humanity? Why should I show humanity to a useless man who deliberately hurts others?"
"I didn't hurt anyone!" Pervis protested.
"There is one way you can fix this," Anna continued as if he hadn't spoken. "Kneel before Noah and apologize for what you did. Beg his forgiveness like the pathetic man you are, and maybe I'll reconsider."
Rage boiled up in Pervis's chest, his entire body trembling with fury. "I will never—"
Before he could finish, Aria smoothly took the phone from his shaking hands.
"Who is this?" Anna's voice demanded through the speaker.
"This is someone you should be very careful about crossing," Aria replied, her voice even colder than Anna's had been. "Pervis belongs to me now. If you dare to threaten him or his family again, you should be prepared for the consequences."
Silence stretched across the line for several heartbeats.
"And who exactly do you think you are?" Anna finally asked, though her voice had lost some of its earlier confidence.
"Someone with far more power than you can imagine," Aria replied calmly. "Consider this your only warning."
Without another word, Aria ended the call and immediately blocked Anna's number, her fingers moving across the screen with practiced efficiency.
When she looked back at Pervis, her expression had softened considerably, though traces of pity lingered in her eyes.
"I've investigated everything about your marriage, Pervis," she said gently. "Anna Morrison isn't worthy of your love. She never was."
Pervis stared down at his hands, his voice barely audible. "I know. I've known for a long time, actually."
"Then why did you stay?"
"My grandmother," Pervis replied simply. "Anna controls her medical care, her housing, everything. I was preparing to leave quietly, to take Grandmother somewhere safe, but now..." He trailed off, despair evident in his voice.
"Now Anna's forcing your hand before you're ready," Aria finished for him.
"My grandmother is sick, Aria. Without proper medical care, she could die. I can't let that happen because of my mistakes."
Before Aria could respond, the sound of raised voices echoed from the hospital corridor outside their room. Pervis's head snapped up, his eyes widening with recognition.
"That's Grandmother's voice," he whispered.
The voices grew louder, accompanied by the sound of wheels squeaking and items being roughly handled.
Pervis jumped up from the hospital bed, ignoring the IV line still attached to his arm, and rushed to the door. When he pulled it open, his worst fears were confirmed.
Three nurses were wheeling his grandmother's bed down the corridor, their expressions hard and unsympathetic. The elderly woman looked frail and confused, her gray hair disheveled and her hospital gown askew.
"Where are you taking me?" his grandmother called out weakly. "I don't understand what's happening."
"Stop!" Pervis shouted, stepping into the hallway. "Stop right there!"
The lead nurse, a heavyset woman with bleached blonde hair and a perpetual scowl, barely glanced at him.
"Stay out of this," she snapped. "We're following direct orders from the bill payer. This patient's coverage has been terminated."
"You can't just throw a sick woman out on the street!" Pervis protested, starting toward them.
"Watch us," the nurse replied with a cruel smile. "The old lady should have raised a son who could actually afford her medical bills instead of relying on charity from others."
"How dare you speak about my grandmother that way!" Pervis's voice shook with rage as he took another step forward.
"Pervis, dear, is that you?" His grandmother's voice was weak but filled with relief. "What's happening? These people are being very rough with me."
"Don't worry, Grandmother," Pervis called to her. "I'll fix this."
The lead nurse laughed harshly. "Fix it? With what money? Face the reality, boy. Your sugar mama cut you off, and now grandma pays the price."
Pervis clenched his fists, ready to fight all three nurses if necessary, but a gentle hand on his shoulder stopped him.
"Don't worry," Aria said calmly, stepping up beside him. Her voice carried a trace of coldness that hadn't been there moments before. "I'll take care of everything here."
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CHAPTER 141 PART 3
At approximately 11:30 PM, the night staff reported hearing sounds from Pervis's bedroom. When they checked, they assumed he'd finally fallen asleep—there was no movement, no crying, just silence.But Pervis wasn't sleeping. He was gone.Security footage later recovered showed that at 11:47 PM, young Pervis Coleman—four years old, dressed in his pajamas with only a small jacket thrown over them—climbed out his bedroom window using the trellis covered with climbing roses. He landed in the garden and made his way to the estate's perimeter wall.The footage showed him struggling to climb the wall, too small to manage it easily. But eventually, with determination beyond his years, he made it over and disappeared into the night.William felt his throat constricting as he read. Their son—their baby boy—had been so devastated by what had happened, so determined to fix his broken promise, that he'd risked everything to find that dog.The next morning, September 16th, 1999, the Coleman househo
CHAPTER 141 PART 2
September 15th, 1999The day had started normally. Pervis Coleman, then just four years old, had gone to his exclusive preschool as usual, driven by the family's trusted chauffeur, Robert Chen. He'd attended his classes, played with the other children from wealthy families, eaten his organic lunch prepared by the school's chef.But on the way home, something had changed.William and Vanessa read the investigator's reconstruction, based on interviews with witnesses who'd been tracked down after all these years:At approximately 2:30 PM, young Pervis noticed a small dog wandering near the school entrance. The dog was thin, dirty, clearly a stray that had wandered into the upscale neighborhood where the school was located.Pervis, displaying the compassion that would later define his character, insisted on bringing the dog home. Robert Chen, the chauffeur, tried to dissuade him, explaining that Mrs. Coleman likely wouldn't approve of a stray animal in the house.But Pervis was adamant. H
CHAPTER 141 PART 1
The manila folder sat on the coffee table between William and Vanessa Coleman, its contents representing twenty-five years of unanswered questions, agonizing searches, and painful uncertainty. The couple stared at it as if it were Pandora's box—knowing that once opened, the truth inside couldn't be put back, couldn't be unlearned, couldn't be avoided."What if..." Vanessa started, her voice barely above a whisper. "What if the truth is worse than we imagined? What if it's someone we know? Someone we trust? Someone we—""Then we deal with it," William interrupted gently, though his own voice was strained. "Whatever's in there, whoever's responsible, we face it together."But even as he said the words, William felt the weight of doubt pressing down on him. For twenty-five years, he'd been the patriarch of the Coleman family—strong, decisive, in control. But this folder had the power to shatter that control, to reveal vulnerabilities he'd spent decades hiding, to expose truths that might
CHAPTER 140 PART 3
Vanessa reached over and took his hand, holding it tightly. "He knows now. Aria told him the truth—that we never abandoned him, that we've been searching for him all these years. He knows we wanted him, William. He knows.""But does he believe it?" William asked, looking at his wife with anguished eyes. "After twenty-five years of thinking otherwise? After being raised by someone else, building a life without us? Can he really accept that we're his parents? That we love him?""I don't know," Vanessa admitted, her own eyes filling with tears. "I hope so. But I won't blame him if he can't. If he's too angry, too hurt, too damaged by what happened to—""Don't," William said sharply. "Don't say he's damaged. Our son is strong. Resilient. Look at what Aria's told us about him—working hard, helping others, earning respect through character rather than connections. That's not a damaged person. That's someone who survived and thrived despite everything."Vanessa nodded, wiping at her tears. "
CHAPTER 140 PART 2
As they left the emergency department and made their way back toward Mrs. Brennan's room, they fell into easier conversation—discussing work, sharing stories about difficult customers and annoying coworkers, talking about everyday life in ways that felt normal and comfortable after the trauma of the evening.When they reached Mrs. Brennan's room, Alicia paused at the door. "Pervis, I—thank you. For everything. For my mother, for tonight, for just being you.""You're welcome," Pervis said, feeling that familiar awkwardness returning.Before he could react, Alicia rose up on her tiptoes and pressed a soft, quick kiss to his cheek. Just like before, outside the hospital last night—a gentle touch of lips against skin that lasted barely a second but felt like it contained entire conversations."Goodnight, Pervis," Alicia whispered, then turned and fled into her mother's room before he could respond.Pervis stood frozen in the corridor, one hand rising automatically to touch the spot where
CHAPTER 140 PART 1
Alicia's face turned a deep shade of pink at Grace's obvious matchmaking attempt, and she quickly turned away to hide her expression. Pervis simply rolled his eyes at Grace's antics, though his own face was also noticeably flushed.Dawn, watching this entire exchange from her seat beside Mrs. Brennan, raised her eyebrows with obvious interest but wisely kept her commentary to herself. She'd tease Alicia about this later, in private, when there weren't powerful corporate executives around to witness it."Come on," Pervis said to Alicia, his voice slightly strained. "Let's get your neck looked at properly.""Right. Medical attention. Yes," Alicia agreed quickly, grateful for the excuse to escape Grace's knowing looks.They left the room together, walking close but not quite touching, very aware of the awkwardness between them but neither willing to address it directly.Once Pervis and Alicia had disappeared down the corridor, the three Coleman sisters also prepared to leave Mrs. Brennan
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