2025-10-27 12:43:59Ethan POV
The next morning, I woke up to my phone buzzing with notifications. Someone had posted videos of last night's incident at Hayes Bistro. The Pierce family being thrown out. The manager being fired. Me, sitting calmly while it all happened. "Young Master Blackwell ends Pierce family's dining privileges" read one headline. "Mystery heir humiliates former family" read another. My phone rang. Henry. "Good morning, young master," he said. "I hope you're prepared for some attention today. The videos from last night have gone quite viral." I groaned. "How bad?" "Three million views and counting. The media is very interested in the mysterious Blackwell heir who's been hidden from the public." Great. So much for keeping a low profile. "Should I not go to class today?" I asked. "That's up to you, young master. But hiding won't make the attention go away. You might as well face it head-on." He was right. I couldn't hide forever. I got dressed, said goodbye to Lily, and headed to campus. This time, I let the driver take me all the way to the main entrance. No point in hiding anymore. The moment I stepped out of the luxury car, every head turned. Whispers erupted immediately. "That's him." "The Blackwell heir." "I can't believe he's been going to school here this whole time." I walked through the main building with my head high. People stared, but I kept moving. When I entered my classroom, the whispers got louder. My usual seat in the back was empty, as always. But now, several people tried to sit near me. "Is anyone sitting here?" a girl asked, gesturing to the seat next to mine. "No, but I'd prefer to sit alone," I said politely. She nodded and backed away quickly. Throughout the class, I could feel eyes on me. Some curious. Some envious. Some calculating. This was going to take some getting used to. At lunch, I headed to the cafeteria. My four friends waved me over to their usual table. "The man of the hour!" David said with a grin. "How does it feel to be famous?" "Annoying," I admitted, sitting down. "You'll get used to it," Alex said. "Or not. Either way, we've got your back." "Thanks," I said, meaning it. As we ate, I noticed Emma watching me from across the cafeteria. She looked like she wanted to approach but didn't dare. Good. She'd made her choice. After lunch, I was walking to my next class when someone called my name. "Ethan! Wait!" I turned to see Sophia running toward me. Her eyes were red, like she'd been crying. "What do you want?" I asked coldly. "Please," she said, her voice breaking. "Please help us. Dad's business is failing. We're going to lose everything." I raised an eyebrow. "And why would I care?" "Because we're family!" she pleaded. "I know we treated you badly, but—" "But nothing," I interrupted. "You treated me like garbage my entire life. You made videos mocking me for your followers. Why would I help you now?" Tears streamed down her face. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Please, just... please help us." I looked at her. Part of me felt a tiny bit of sympathy. But a bigger part remembered every cruel word, every mocking laugh, every time she'd made my life hell. "No," I said simply. "What?" She looked shocked, like she couldn't believe I'd refuse. "I said no. You made your choices, Sophia. Now live with them." I turned and walked away, leaving her crying in the hallway. Was I being cruel? Maybe. But I wasn't the same person I was a week ago. I wasn't going to let them use me anymore. That evening, I returned home to find Henry waiting for me with a serious expression. "Young master, we need to discuss something important." "What is it?" "The board of directors has requested a meeting with you. They want to officially introduce you as the new head of the Blackwell Corporation." My stomach dropped. "When?" "Tomorrow morning. 10 AM." I took a deep breath. This was it. My first real step into my grandfather's world. "Okay," I said. "I'll be there." Henry smiled. "I'll prepare everything. Don't worry, young master. You'll do fine." I wished I had his confidence. That night, I couldn't sleep. I kept thinking about the meeting. What if I messed up? What if they didn't respect me? What if I wasn't good enough? Around midnight, I heard a soft knock on my door. I opened it to find Lily standing there, clutching her rabbit doll. "Can't sleep?" I asked. She shook her head. I picked her up and carried her to my bed. She curled up next to me, and within minutes, she was asleep. I looked down at her peaceful face. This little girl depended on me now. I couldn't let her down. I couldn't let my mom's memory down. And I couldn't let myself down. Tomorrow, I would step into my grandfather's shoes. I would become the head of the Blackwell family. And I would prove to everyone—including myself—that I deserved to be there.
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chapter 45
It was already such a hectic day and all I wanted to do was take a shower and have some rest, only if Lily wouldn't mind, only shed let me rest today. “What do you think about today?” “Well? It was well productive. I didn't expect Winters to be straightforward.” I didn't expect him too. I thought and looked out of the window with a smile on my lips. Things were slow but they were working. It was working out more than I expected. Now, all I need to do is concentrate on Lily's birthday party and make sure that everyone is fine. “But you know that men like Winters could be trouble.” Of course, I expected this from Henry. He was too careful, the kind of careful where everyone is a suspect until proven otherwise by strong evidence. “What do you mean?” I indulged him. “He found those emails and didn't say anything. He claims to have deleted it but I thought so.” “Well, whether he deleted it or not, we are going to recover the emails then we can see for ourselves what's really happe
chapter 44
I called Gerald on a Monday morning.It was early but Gerald was already at his desk which did not surprise me. Gerald Thompson was the kind of man who arrived at his desk before the city fully woke up."The counter case," I said when he picked up. "Where does it stand?""We filed it four days ago," Gerald said. "The court has acknowledged receipt. We are waiting for a hearing date." He paused. "The other side will have the opportunity to respond to our filing before the hearing. That will take approximately two to three weeks.""And when they respond what happens?" I asked."They will try to find holes in our counter case," Gerald said. "They will look at everything we submitted and try to argue against it. The hospital competency assessment will be their biggest problem because it is an official document signed by an independent psychiatrist. That is very difficult to argue against." He paused. "However they will try.""How?" I asked."They may argue that the assessment was done six
chapter 43
When I went back to the kitchen, Yemi was still sitting at the table looking over every conversation we'd gone over. She looked up when I came in."She is asleep?" she asked."Within thirty seconds," I said.Yemi smiled. She was still sitting at the table and there was no professional reason for her to still be at the table. I guess she stayed because she didn't want to come off as rude. I understood that so I sat down. Not at the other as I usually do but closer. Just close enough for a human interaction between two people who had a go. I was overthinking this already. "She is going to remember this party for a long time," Yemi said quietly."I hope so," I said."Yemi," I called and she looked up at me. “Thank you.” I said it the same way I usually do when I was truly grateful and meant it. “For agreeing to plan this birthday, for the ideas and for always being with her everyday.” I wasn't sure if I dhouod be thanking her for that since it was her job. “She trusts you and that
Chapter 42
With Lily's birthday part coming up and the counter case filed, I knew I had to be extremely careful. We had to be mindful of the people that were to be invited. It was a kids party so the children were going to come in with their parents and it would be strictly an invitation. I was still going to talk to Henry about the security and how tight I want it to be. This birthday party was planned to be small but I knew that reporters would always be reporters. They didn't care about anyone but just themselves. The planning started this evening after I spoke to Lily. Sue must have ran to Yemi to tell her what we concluded. She had called this meeting at the kitchen table. Lily sat between me and Yemi with a notepad she had brought from her room.The notepad had a butterfly on the cover and was purple in colour. She pointed at it and told us specifically that she wanted the theme of her party to be like.My laptop was open and Yemi was looking up some things on the Internet. She said sh
Chapter 41
Lily was in her room doing her colouring when I entered the room. She didn't look that excited to see me like she usually did. Her room felt dark even though the curtains were and the afternoon sun was shining through the window. “My princess.” I called her. She tried to smile but it was a forced smile so it didn't reach her eyes. “Baby, why do you look so upset?” At the Pierce family house, I made that smile so many times. Now, seeing that same face on Lily made me feel something heavy in my chest.“Baby, why do you look so upset?” I asked her but she looked down at her colouring book. "I'm not upset," she said."Lily."She was quiet.I walked into the room, moved her stuffed animals to the side and sat very close to her. I waited.I've learned that the only thing to do when she has a sour mood is to be present and patient. Pushing or forcing her to talk would simply make her go silent. She then looked up. “Grandpa used to make a big party for me every year,” She started, her
chapter 40
The day after the counter case was filed, Henry came into my office looking a bit concerned. I looked up from my work expecting him to speak up since he was already in the office but he said nothing, instead he glared at me. “Young master, there is something you must know.” He started. Something I must know?Whenever Henry sounded like this, it was important. He always came into my office with a straight face ready to work but I could see that he was trying to be careful as he spoke to me. “What is it, Henry?” “Lily's birthday is coming up in two weeks.” “I know that.” I said dropping my pen wondering if there was something new about Lily's birthday coming up. “I'm well aware that you know. I'm only here to inform you that I wouldn't be available to assist in the planning of the party.” I closed my document and stared at him. In the few months that I have known Henry Abott, he had never been unavailable for anything. He planned meetings, he managed board meetings and literally
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