2024-09-10 08:19:08After walking aimlessly for what felt like hours, Tedmond finally stopped to rest on a park bench. He clutched his bag on his lap while scrolling through his phone.
Though he had boldly told them they’d regret their actions, he had no idea how that would happen.
The first thing he did was check his account balance, hoping he had enough money for some food. The remaining $1 glared back at him.
“Damn it,” he muttered, digging into his wallet, only to find it empty as well. “I’m really broke.”
The more he stared at his account, the more it mocked him. He was about to shut off his phone when a message notification chimed. Expecting it to be from Lisa, he frowned but checked it anyway.
As he opened the message, his jaw dropped. It was a bank alert, notifying him of a credit to his account.
"Your account has been credited with $10,000,000,000," the message read.
He rubbed his eyes and counted the digits one by one.
“Ten billion dollars!” he screamed, shocked. But noticing people on the street staring at him, he quickly composed himself. “Oh, ten billion dollars... in the game. Such a fun game,” he added hastily.
The people who had turned to him quickly looked away, unimpressed.
Tedmond checked his account balance again, and indeed, the numbers stared back at him: $10,000,000,001.
As he was trying to wrap his head around it, his phone rang, startling him. Seeing an unknown number, he answered it in a hurry.
“Hello,” Tedmond said.
“Hello, Mr. Tedmond Griffin. It’s a pleasure to speak with you. You’ve been selected as the heir to the fortune of the Washington family.”
Tedmond’s jaw nearly hit the ground.
“Since you’ve passed the test, you can come over now. Meet us at Finsall’s Hospital. You don’t have much time.”
“Wait!” Tedmond half-yelled. “What are you talking about? How am I the heir to the Washington family fortune? Who are they?”
“You’ll find out soon enough, young master,” the man on the phone replied. “Finsall’s Hospital, room 509. You have twenty minutes. We’ll be waiting.”
“I don’t—” Beep! Beep!
The call ended before Tedmond could say anything more. Confused and curious, he bolted toward the street, hailed a taxi, and got in as quickly as he could.
“Finsall’s Hospital!”
Soon after, he was dashing out of the taxi, glancing at his account balance, now reduced to $9,999,999,981 after paying the fare. They wouldn’t mind, right?
Entering the hospital, he rushed past the front desk, already knowing the room number. Several women nearby turned to look at him immediately.
“Hey!” one of the women called, eyeing his appearance. “Why are you here?” she asked. “This hospital doesn’t treat people like you. Only the wealthy can afford it.”
Tedmond paused and glanced back at her. The women scowled, making him glance at his worn-out shoes.
“I’m here to see someone,” he replied. “I don’t see why I shouldn’t be.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Don’t you know you have to check in before going upstairs?”
“Why? I already know the room number. Why bother with trivial formalities?”
“How dare you!” she yelled, her brows twitching in anger. “With your appearance, there’s no way anyone from your family is here! You’re lying! If you're telling the truth, what’s the room number?”
The other women nodded in agreement.
“That’s right,” one of them said. “You must be here to steal from the sick.”
“Room 509,” Tedmond replied without hesitation.
“Hah!” the first woman sneered, a smirk playing on her lips. “The hospital rooms stop at 508! I knew you were lying! You son of a bitch!”
Before Tedmond could respond, the second woman shouted, “Security! Security!”
Tedmond blinked in confusion. Had he heard the room number wrong? He was sure the man on the phone had said room 509.
Security guards arrived, and the first woman pointed at Tedmond.
“Get him out of here! He’s here to cause trouble. A poor brat like him thinks he can sneak in and steal from the patients. Throw him out!”
The guards grabbed Tedmond, ready to drag him away.
“I’m not a thief!” Tedmond protested. “I’m here to meet someone in ward 509.”
“What’s going on here?” a loud voice demanded, stopping everyone in their tracks.
The guards froze and turned around. Tedmond saw a thin man with a long nose and blond hair that looked like a wig approaching. The women’s faces lit up.
“Oh, Mr. Gregory!” one of the women said, fluttering her eyelashes. “This boy is trying to sneak into the hospital under false pretenses! He claims he’s visiting someone in a non-existent room!”
Mr. Gregory was the hospital’s Chief Operating Officer, in charge of overseeing operations and managing departments.
“A non-existent room?” Mr. Gregory repeated. “What room?”
Tedmond freed himself from the guards' grip. “Room 509,” he said, glancing at the clock and seeing he only had five minutes left.
At the mention of room 509, Mr. Gregory’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“Room 509?” Gregory asked. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Isn’t that Mr. Washington’s room?” Gregory muttered, then glared at Tedmond. “How dare someone like you claim to be connected to the Washington family?!”
Everyone chuckled upon hearing "Washington."
Realizing he was running out of time, Tedmond quickly dialed the number that had called him earlier. The person picked up immediately.
“Yes, young master. Are you here?”
“I’m at the front desk, but a man named Gregory won’t let me in,” Tedmond said, staring directly at Gregory.
“How dare he?!” the man on the phone growled. “Don’t worry, I’ll handle everything.”
The call ended, and the people around Tedmond looked at him with disdain.
“Do you think your fake call will scare me?” Gregory sneered. “What makes you think you could get in here?”
Just then, Gregory’s phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID, hesitating. It was his boss.
‘Why is the boss calling me?’ Gregory wondered, eyeing Tedmond warily. ‘Could he really be involved?’
Gregory answered in his most polite tone. “Hello...”
“How dare you?!” a harsh voice bellowed, loud enough for everyone to hear. “How dare you deny entrance to the guest of the Washington family?! Are you tired of living?!”
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CHAPTER 806
The silence following Tedmond’s accusation was heavy, like the ionized air before a lightning strike.Lorenzo, Vincenzo, and Pietro didn't immediately protest. Instead, their faces shifted, the masks of nostalgic warmth crumbling to reveal the cold, calculating stone beneath. Lorenzo’s brow furrowed into a jagged line as he cast a sharp, sideways glance at Pietro. The look was brief: a flicker of recognition that they weren't dealing with an impulsive heir, but a tactician who had come armed with receipts. A grim, silent understanding passed between them: this one was going to be difficult.Tedmond watched them with predatory stillness. He caught the minute tilt of Lorenzo’s head and the twitch of Vincenzo’s hand over his knee, clear signals in the silent language of the Old Blood families. He didn't need to know the specific cipher to recognize the intent. They were shifting formation, closing ranks against a threat they could no longer patronize."Our apologies, Mr. Washington
CHAPTER 805
The smiles faltered. A heavy, awkward hesitation settled over the table. Cordelia glanced at Juliette, her fork stilled against the china."This is a private family caucus, Persis," Juliette said, her tone tightening as she reached for a justification. "The other families are... in the main hall. We felt that given your history, a more intimate setting with women of your own rank would be less overwhelming.""My rank?" Persis tilted her head, her gold earrings catching the light. "I am a Washington. My rank is the head of the table. So I ask again… why am I the only guest here? Are the other families not invited to your private talks, or are they simply afraid to be in a room where everyone shares the same blood and the same secrets?"She looked at them, her silence demanding an answer they weren't prepared to give."We... we felt it was safer this way," Cordelia stammered, her copper braids shifting as she leaned forward. "With the Architect still at large and the Washingtons acti
CHAPTER 804
"Now," Persis continued, her lips tilting into a sharp, clinical smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Since my husband and I have spent the last fifteen years concerned with matters of actual consequence, I find I haven't had the time to memorize the roster of every adjacent branch on the map.”“To be perfectly blunt: I don’t care about your family history, and I have absolutely no idea what any of your names are."A collective intake of breath hissed through the room. Cordelia’s grip on the door handle tightened, her copper hair practically vibrating with indignation. Juliette froze, her cigarette holder halfway to her lips, her burgundy eyes narrowing.Persis gestured vaguely toward the circle of women with a gold-cuffed hand. "So, if we are to have this discussion you seem so eager for, it would be beneficial for you to introduce yourselves.”“One by one, please. I’d hate to mislabel a file later when we’re deciding which parts of the Moretti infrastructure are still worth keeping.
CHAPTER 803
She signaled to a younger woman with copper hair braided with gold wire. "Cordelia, escort the lady to the Rose Gallery. The others are waiting."As Persis walked away, her gold dress trailing like a flame, Tedmond stood in the center of the room, alone amidst his enemies. He watched her disappear behind the silk curtains before turning his gaze back to Beatrix."The Library, then," Tedmond said, his voice a low rasp. "Let's see what the men of this house have to say for themselves before I stop listening entirely."Tedmond followed the silent beckoning of the Moretti elders toward the Library, a room that smelled of old leather, expensive tobacco, and the stagnant rot of ancient secrets.The double doors closed behind him with a heavy, final thud, cutting off the glittering light of the ballroom."Mr. Washington. Please," a man with silvering red hair and a face like a hawk gestured toward a heavy velvet armchair at the center of the semi-circle. "Take a seat. We have much to discus
CHAPTER 802
"Perhaps he’s finally realized he can't fight the council alone," one guest suggested, though his voice lacked conviction."Tedmond Washington doesn't realize he needs help; he realizes he needs targets," a younger heir countered, eyes fixed on the entrance. "Think about the timing. He’s been purging the secondary branches for days.”“If he shows up here, in the heart of the Moretti estate, he’s either surrendering, or he’s bringing the fire to the front door. And Tedmond doesn't know how to surrender."The murmurs grew in volume, a low, tectonic vibration that filled the crystalline space. In the rigid hierarchy of the city, the Washingtons were the sun: distant, burning, and singular. They didn't orbit other families; they didn't attend parties; they merely allowed them to happen. The fact that the black-suited Washington was breaking his years-long social exile for the family that had facilitated his mother’s kidnapping made the champagne taste like vinegar to those who understo
CHAPTER 801
She grabbed his face, forcing him to meet her stare. "Because if the Glass Pavilion ends with you still looking at them and me still hiding in a hoodie, I might just break the glass myself."The Architect reached up, his large hands covering hers and pinning them to his cheeks. He looked amused, a man watching a beautiful, dangerous storm."Millicent is a debt, Daphne. Persis is a variable," he whispered, his voice smooth and hypnotic. "But you... you are the prize. The Washingtons and the Morettis are fighting over the past. We are the only ones looking at the future."He pulled her closer until their foreheads rested together."Tomorrow night, the hiding ends. When the pavilion falls, we won't be in the wreckage. We’ll be the only ones left standing on the shore. Is that enough, or do I need to prove it again?"Searching his face, Daphne felt the jealousy remain like a bitter coal in her chest, but the promise in his eyes was a drug she couldn't refuse."Prove it," she challenged,
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