The Hidden Heir’s Revenge

Chapter 3: Ashford Manor

The convoy moved silently through the rain-soaked streets of Nova City.

Inside the lead Rolls-Royce, only the soft hum of the engine broke the silence.

Ethan sat by the window, watching the familiar city slowly disappear behind sheets of rain.

His reflection stared back at him.

The same face.

The same man.

Yet everything about his life had changed in less than an hour.

Across from him, Samuel Grant sat with perfect posture, his hands resting on a polished wooden cane.

Neither man spoke.

The silence wasn’t uncomfortable.

It was heavy.

Finally, Ethan broke it.

“If everything you said is true…”

Samuel looked up.

“…then why was I allowed to live an ordinary life?”

Samuel sighed quietly.

“Because an ordinary life was the only way to keep you alive.”

He looked out the window.

“The people who destroyed your family searched for you for years.”

“They bribed officials.”

“They hired investigators.”

“They even monitored orphanages and adoption records.”

“If they had discovered your identity…”

He didn’t finish the sentence.

He didn’t have to.

Ethan understood.

He would have been killed.

The Rolls-Royce left the city center and climbed a quiet road lined with towering oak trees.

The lights of Nova City faded into the distance.

Ahead, massive wrought-iron gates emerged from the darkness.

Each gate bore a silver crest.

A soaring hawk with its wings spread wide above a shield.

As the convoy approached, the gates opened automatically.

The cars entered without slowing.

Ethan looked outside.

His eyes widened.

A long tree-lined avenue stretched ahead, illuminated by elegant lanterns.

Perfectly trimmed gardens bordered both sides of the road.

Fountains danced beneath soft golden lights.

Ancient statues stood proudly among flowering trees.

It looked less like a private home…

and more like the estate of a royal family.

At the end of the avenue stood an enormous mansion of white stone.

Its tall columns, sweeping staircases, and glowing windows dominated the landscape.

The convoy came to a gentle stop.

A butler hurried forward with a large umbrella before Ethan could open the door.

“Welcome home, Young Master.”

The words caught Ethan off guard.

Home.

The butler smiled warmly, as though he had been waiting years to say them.

Ethan stepped out.

Rain had almost stopped.

He stood at the foot of the grand staircase, looking up at the mansion.

“This…”

He struggled to find the words.

“…belongs to my family?”

Samuel nodded.

“It always has.”

For twenty-five years…

we simply kept it waiting for you.

Together they climbed the marble steps.

The massive oak doors opened before they reached them.

Inside…

Ethan stopped again.

The entrance hall was breathtaking.

A crystal chandelier stretched across three floors.

A sweeping staircase curved gracefully toward an upper gallery.

The polished marble floor reflected the warm glow of antique wall lamps.

Everything was elegant.

Everything felt timeless.

But one thing drew Ethan’s attention above everything else.

Portraits.

Dozens of them.

Men and women from different generations.

Each carried the same calm confidence.

Each wore the Ashford crest.

Samuel noticed where Ethan was looking.

“Every Chairman of Ashford Global is remembered here.”

They walked slowly down the corridor.

Then Samuel stopped before the largest portrait in the gallery.

A man in his early forties stood proudly beside a beautiful woman.

Between them…

they held a laughing baby.

Samuel’s voice softened.

“Richard Ashford.”

He pointed to the man.

“Your father.”

Then to the woman.

“Isabella Ashford.”

“Your mother.”

Ethan couldn’t move.

He stepped closer.

The resemblance was unmistakable.

His father’s eyes.

His mother’s smile.

Even the shape of his face.

For the first time in his life…

he wasn’t looking at strangers.

He was looking at his family.

A lump formed in his throat.

“I look…”

Samuel smiled gently.

“…just like him.”

Ethan whispered.

Samuel nodded.

“So much so that the day I saw you again…”

“I recognized you immediately.”

Neither man spoke for several moments.

Finally, Samuel led Ethan to a pair of carved wooden doors.

He paused before opening them.