The kitchen knife clattered to the floor as Pervis stared in shock at Noah's bleeding hand. The young man's face was contorted in mock pain, tears streaming down his cheeks as he cradled his injured palm against his chest.
"I'm sorry!" Noah sobbed, his voice carrying through the house like a wounded animal's cry. "I was wrong! I won't try to destroy your relationship anymore!"
Pervis stood frozen, his mind struggling to process what had just happened. The shamelessness of it, the calculated cruelty—he hadn't expected Noah to go this far.
"What happened? What's wrong?" Anna's voice echoed from the hallway, panic evident in her tone.
Her heels clicked rapidly against the hardwood floor as she rushed toward the kitchen. She burst through the doorway, her eyes immediately finding Noah hunched over his bleeding hand.
"Noah! Your arm is bleeding!" Anna rushed to his side, her face pale with concern. "What happened here?"
Noah looked up at her with watery eyes, his lower lip trembling. "I... I just wanted to help in the kitchen," he stammered, his voice barely above a whisper. "I thought if I showed some goodwill, maybe Pervis wouldn't hate me so much."
"Help? What do you mean help?" Anna demanded, gently taking his injured hand to examine the cut.
"I saw him preparing dinner and thought I could assist with something simple," Noah continued, wincing as Anna touched his palm. "But when I approached, Pervis became angry. He said I had no right to be in his kitchen."
Anna's eyes snapped to Pervis, who remained standing by the counter, his face a mask of disbelief.
"You got angry at him for trying to help?" Anna's voice was low and dangerous.
"Anna, that's not—" Pervis began.
"I think it was an accident," Noah interrupted quickly, his voice taking on a considerate tone despite his obvious pain. "Pervis was cutting vegetables when I startled him. He probably didn't mean to... Please don't blame him for this. It's my fault for getting too close."
Anna's expression grew even darker as she processed Noah's words. Her eyes fixed on Pervis with an icy stare that could have frozen fire.
"An accident?" she repeated, her voice suppressed with barely controlled anger. "You're telling me this was an accident?"
"Anna, listen to me—" Pervis started, his own anger beginning to rise.
"You jealous, pathetic man," Anna cut him off, her voice trembling with fury. "You wanted to hurt Noah over something so trivial? Over him trying to help in the kitchen?"
Pervis's hands clenched into fists at his sides. "I didn't do anything! This is all Noah's self-directed performance!"
"A performance?" Anna's laugh was cold and bitter. "Are you saying Noah cut himself deliberately?"
"That's exactly what I'm saying," Pervis replied, his voice rising. "He grabbed my hand and—"
"No, no," Noah whispered quickly, shaking his head. "Pervis is right. It was my own carelessness. I shouldn't have gotten so close while he was working with a knife. This is all my fault."
The apparent humility in Noah's voice only served to fuel Anna's rage further. Her face flushed red as she turned back to Pervis.
"Even when you've hurt him, he's still defending you! How can you stand there and lie to my face?"
"I'm not lying!" Pervis shouted, his composure finally cracking. "There's surveillance in this kitchen, Anna. Check the cameras if you don't believe me. You'll see exactly what happened!"
Noah's face went pale, and for just a moment, genuine fear flickered in his eyes. He hadn't known about any security cameras.
"Surveillance?" he stammered, glancing nervously around the kitchen.
But Anna's cold voice cut through the air before Noah could process his mistake fully.
"Check what surveillance?" she said icily, not taking her eyes off Pervis. "I don't need to check anything. I saw everything with my own eyes when I walked in here."
"You saw nothing!" Pervis protested. "You arrived after he had already cut himself!"
"I saw you standing over him with a knife while he was bleeding and crying," Anna replied, her voice deadly calm. "I saw enough."
Pervis felt his heart sink as he realized the futility of his position. "Anna, please. You know me. You know I wouldn't—"
"I thought I knew you," Anna interrupted, her voice filled with disgust. "But I was wrong. I never imagined you were capable of being so vile, so cruel to someone who's already suffered so much."
She turned her attention back to Noah, her voice immediately softening. "Come on, let me get you to the hospital. That cut needs proper attention."
"I'm fine, really," Noah said weakly, though he made no move to resist as Anna helped him to his feet. "I don't want to cause any more trouble."
"You're not causing trouble," Anna assured him, shooting another venomous look at Pervis. "The only trouble here is standing right there, denying what he's done."
Anna guided Noah toward the kitchen door, then paused and called out loudly.
"Marcus! David! Come here immediately!"
Heavy footsteps echoed through the house as two large men appeared in the doorway—Anna's personal security team.
"Yes, Mrs. Morrison?" the taller one asked, his eyes taking in the scene.
"Lock him in the basement," Anna ordered, pointing at Pervis. "Make sure he can't leave."
"Anna, you can't be serious," Pervis said, his voice filled with disbelief.
"I'm taking Noah to the hospital now," she continued, ignoring her husband completely. "When I return, I'll decide how to deal with this... situation."
Marcus stepped forward, his expression apologetic but determined. "I'm sorry, Mr. Tyler. We have to follow Mrs. Morrison’s orders."
"This is insane," Pervis muttered, backing away from the approaching men. "Anna, at least let me explain—"
"Explain what?" Anna snapped. "How do you deliberately hurt an innocent man out of petty jealousy? How did you lie to my face about it afterward?"
"I didn't hurt anyone!" Pervis shouted one final time.
But Anna was already leading Noah out of the kitchen, her arm protectively around his shoulders. Noah glanced back once, and for just a split second, Pervis caught a glimpse of the satisfied smirk that flickered across his face before it was replaced by his mask of pain and innocence.
"Come on, sir," Marcus said, reaching for Pervis's arm. "Don't make this harder than it needs to be."
Latest Chapter
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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