2026-04-30 11:58:03“What was that, Logan?” Ava demanded the moment Francis was gone. “Are you insane? Why would you speak to him like that? He was willing to help us. Where are we supposed to get $600,000?!”
Logan opened his mouth to reassure her, to tell her he would find a way, when the nurse approached them again. Her posture was stiff, her voice louder than necessary, getting the attention of the people around. “Mr. Mitchell.” She called almost rudely, “You’ve been instructed to remove your daughter from this hospital by the end of today if payment cannot be made.” Her voice was so loud that surrounding patients and staff whispered amongst themselves about it. Some had mocking looks while others had looks of pity.
Shame plastered all over Logan's face. Why is this happening to me?
Ava broke down on hearing what the nurse said. “This is your fault!” She cried, striking Logan’s chest. “You chased away the only person who could have saved us.” Her tears dried as quickly as they came, her expression turning sharp. “If anything happens to my daughter, I will not forgive you!” Without waiting for a response, she turned and walked toward Mia’s room.
Logan remained where he was, stunned. He had never seen Ava react like that before.
Meanwhile, at a corner, the nurse who embarrassed Logan earlier stood in front of Francis, “How'd I do, Sir? I was pretty loud.” She asked with a smile. Francis passed her an envelope that contained money, “You did well. Make sure to keep me posted.”
The nurse’s eyes shimmered at the sight of the envelope,“Will do, Sir.”
–
Slowly, Logan sank into a nearby chair. After a long moment, he pulled out his phone and scrolled through his contacts, his chest tightening with every useless name. Just as despair crept in, one number made him pause. He stared at it, then exhaled and dialed.
“Is that really you, Young Master Mitchell?” An elderly male voice asked in disbelief the moment the line connected. “Are you truly calling?”
“Hello, Butler Alfred.” Logan said quietly. “I need a favor. And I’d appreciate it if my father or anyone from my family doesn’t find out.”
"Young Master Mitchell, what is going on? Is everything alright?" The man’s voice echoed over the phone as he asked with his voice laced with curiosity. "You left the family years ago, and cut off all contact with everyone, you even effortlessly avoided being found by our search team.”
Logan said nothing.
The elderly man continued, “And now you're calling for a favour and also asking not to let The Master know? Have you forgotten where my loyalty lies?”
When Logan sighed, Alfred paused, “I'm guessing you're calling for something really important, judging by the sound of your voice.”
"I understand that I'm putting you in a tight spot.” Logan said in a low and strained voice, “But I would really appreciate it if you kept this from my father and helped me.”
Alfred sighed, "Very well then. Your wish is my command.” He said after a few minutes of consideration. "So, if I may ask, what is it that you want to ask me for?"
Logan sucked in a breath, then spoke, "I need $600,000…And I need it now. If it was possible for me to get it somewhere else, I wouldn't be bothering you, Alfred. But I'm just… So lost right now. And this is a matter of life and death."
"Apologies, Young Master.” Alfred whispered, “But permit me to say… $600,000 is nothing compared to what your family owns. You come from a family that owns the most powerful and wealthiest conglomerates. With properties worth trillions of dollars all over the world… So $600,000 is nothing for you to be this desperate about.”
“I told you it's a matter of life and death.” Logan said heavily.
“I see. Then I shall discreetly prepare the amount right now…But you'll have to do something in return." Alfred stated.
Logan's brows knotted, he didn't like the sound of that, "What is it?"
"Nothing much sir." The old man simply said, "The condition is something I know you can do, so there's no need to panic. All you need to do is come to Astral Corp tomorrow, we'll just sit and talk and then you get your $600,000."
“Tomorrow? Alfred, look-” Before Logan could protest, the old man disconnected the call, leaving Logan grumbling. "What a sly old fox."
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Chapter 152: The Perfect Son-in-Law
Kyle's throat moved.He pulled in a slow breath, and then he stepped forward and put both arms around Logan.It was a firm hug, the kind that said more than most sentences could, and he held it for a moment before releasing.Logan returned it, one hand on Kyle's back, steady and unhurried, letting the older man have the moment completely.When Kyle pulled back, his eyes were bright in a way he was clearly working to manage, the press of emotion held back through sheer effort of will, the way men of his generation often managed things that moved them too much to show fully in public.He shook his head once, looking at Logan."I always knew," Kyle said, his voice slightly rougher than usual. "From the beginning, even when everyone else was saying otherwise, I always knew you were a good man." He paused. "An excellent son-in-law."Logan held his gaze and said nothing, letting the words land.Then Kyle shook his head again, more firmly this time, and something in his expression shifted, b
Chapter 151: The Gift of Integrity
Kyle crossed the short distance between them with a chuckle that came from somewhere deep and genuine, the kind of laugh that carried relief and pride and something warmer underneath both of those things.He put his hand on Logan's shoulder, gripping it firmly, and looked at his son in law with the full, unguarded expression of a man who had stopped managing how much he showed.“Fifty million,” Kyle said, shaking his head slowly. “Logan. You just walked into this room and pulled fifty million dollars out of a painting nobody else in here could see properly.” He shook Logan’s shoulder once, still holding it. “Congratulations. That’s yours, you earned every cent of it.”Logan looked at him with a warm, steady expression.Then he shook his head.Kyle’s hand slowed on his shoulder. “What?”“It’s not mine,” Logan said.Kyle frowned. “What do you mean it’s not yours? You’re the one who found it. You’re the one who…”“You made the payment.” Logan kept his voice calm and unhurried. “Two hundr
Chapter 150: The Price of Decision
Logan was already looking back at him.They stood facing each other across the small distance, the noise of the room continuing around them, the murmuring crowd, the excited voices of the appraisers, Stacy quietly rearranging herself behind Kyle's shoulder, none of it touching the space between father and son in law directly.Kyle looked at Logan's face with the focused, searching attention of someone reading a document they needed to understand completely before moving on.“Logan,” Kyle said quietly. “You knew. From the very beginning. You knew what was inside that painting.”Logan met his eyes steadily. “Yes.”Kyle exhaled slowly. “The tapping. The agreement with Charles. The offer. All of it. You knew exactly what you were doing.”Logan nodded once. “I did.”Kyle glanced toward the painting, then back at Logan. “Why didn’t you say anything? Why not tell me what you suspected? Why let me risk almost everything I had left without giving me the full picture?”Logan’s voice stayed calm
Chapter 149: The Valuation of Trust
Alex looked at Logan with the quiet, brooding attention of someone revising a theory they had been certain about and finding the revision uncomfortable.At the front of the room, the experts had drawn together again, a brief, murmured exchange between Roman, Holt, and Charles Green, their voices too low to carry. Roman held the painting throughout, his grip steady and careful, and the three of them spoke with the focused efficiency of people who had done this before and knew what they were deciding.After a short while, Mr. Holt took a step forward and faced the room.“Based on our collective assessment,” he said, his voice carrying its usual weight, “and pending full authentication through appropriate channels, the current estimated value of this work is fifty million dollars.”For a fraction of a second the room held perfectly still.Then from somewhere to Kyle's left came a sound, sharp and involuntary, the exclamation of someone whose self control had simply not been fast enough t
Chapter 148: The Anatomy of a Discovery
Stacy stared at the emerging painting, her mind working backward through everything she had watched over the past twenty minutes.The tapping. The ear pressed against the canvas, listening to something nobody else in the room had thought to listen for. The careful, methodical way Logan had examined the piece before agreeing with Charles's appraisal, the agreement everyone had taken as proof he didn't know what he was doing.He had known."That's why he was tapping," she said, almost to herself, her voice quiet but carrying in the way quiet voices sometimes did when everything around them had gone tense and listening. "He was checking if there was something hollow behind it. He could hear it."Carlos turned his head toward her. “What did you just say?”Stacy repeated, louder this time, “He was listening for a hollow space. That’s why he tapped it like that. He knew there was something underneath the whole time.”Alex looked at her sharply. “You’re defending him now? After everything?”
Chapter 147: The Expert Consensus
Roman took the painting with both hands and stood with it for a moment, simply looking.He didn't reach for tools or lean in immediately. He just looked, the way someone looked at something when their instincts had already formed an opinion and they were giving their eyes a moment to confirm it before they said anything out loud.The two men who had accompanied him moved closer, flanking him, their attention dropping to the canvas as well. The three of them formed a quiet cluster around it while the rest of the room stayed where it was, nobody moving, nobody wanting to break whatever was happening.After a long moment, Roman spoke to the man on his left in a low voice. The man nodded and produced a small case from his jacket, similar to the kind Charles Green had used, and passed it to Roman. Roman accepted it without looking away from the painting.He examined the canvas closely now, moving through a brief but thorough inspection that covered the edges, the surface texture, the back
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