07. The Disappearance of Edward

Lady Vesper lay in the hospital bed for 3 days, her blood pressure rising, and her heart disease relapsing. Despite being taken to the hospital on time, the chaos she had to deal with prolonged her stay.

That afternoon, Secretary Mia came to report to her as usual. Lady Vesper leaned weakly, wrinkles on her forehead looking terrifying on her pale, old face.

“Lady, the company is fine. The First Young Master has handled the issues with...”

“Tell the truth, don’t say something good just to calm me,” Lady Vesper cut off Secretary Mia’s fake report. She knew her children and grandchildren’s capabilities, if any of them were capable, why give a high position to someone like Edward?

Furthermore, shareholders and company executives had lodged various complaints about the chaos in the past three days. Some scheduled programs even faced difficulties due to various reasons.

Secretary Mia lowered her head and reported each problem one by one. “The company executives want the CEO position filled soon, but they want someone as capable as Edward.”

At the mention of that name, Lady Vesper looked even more weary. She had already asked someone to find Edward or his family, but they found nothing.

Lady Vesper suddenly realized she knew nothing about Edward, only bits of information from her husband, who said Edward was his savior. During Edward and Yris’s marriage, none of Edward’s family attended, leading the Vesper family to view him as lowly, without a family background or wealth.

No one expected Edward to suddenly disappear, and none of them could find him. There was no way to threaten him.

“No need to search for Edward anymore,” Lady Vesper said. After a moment of thought, she added, “Tell them all that I will give a chance for all my grandchildren to showcase their abilities and compete for the CEO position.”

Secretary Mia nodded in agreement. They discussed a few more things before leaving.

On the other hand, Edward, returning to his hometown, Brokeward, lowered his head, staring at the stack of documents on the table. Although he didn't directly involve himself in business affairs, he was, in fact, the person behind the 3D Motion company.

For five years, he managed company affairs from a distance, while Edmund became the face of 3D Motion, where everyone knew him as the founder and manager of the company. Edward's return this time was not to take over the company but to help Edmund share the burden.

"Jennifer," Edward called, but he didn't hear a response. Lifting his face to reprimand the assistant, he noticed the empty room. It was then that he remembered Jennifer didn't accompany him to this city. Edward leaned back in his chair and massaged his forehead. It was quite challenging to get used to.

He resumed his work and returned home in the evening. The office building appeared deserted and dark, with only a few security guards and cleaners on duty. Initially, Edward didn't plan to return so soon and wanted to take a stroll first, but he received a call from Edmund's number. He answered it without much thought.

Instead of Edmund's voice, he heard the voice of a stranger saying, "Sir, I'm a bartender at Paradise Bar. The owner of this phone got into a fight with some people and has been taken to the hospital. I'm contacting you because your number is the only one in his phone."

Edward didn't doubt the bartender's explanation because Edmund did have a separate phone for business and personal matters.

"Alright, in which hospital is he now? I'll send someone to pick up his belongings from the bar right away."

The call ended after Edward got the answer he wanted, and he hurried to the parking lot. He asked the driver to take him to the hospital first before letting the driver go to the bar.

Once Edward arrived at the hospital, he saw Edmund lying in the hospital bed with a swollen face. However, the nurse said it was just superficial injuries, and there were no other serious wounds. He had passed out due to excessive drinking and had already been given medication.

Edward sat by the bedside, looking at Edmund with a blank expression. In reality, he felt a sense of confusion in his mind because five years had passed so quickly, and his once-young brother was now fully grown. However, his behavior remained the same, still causing Edward worry.

In the middle of the night, Edmund woke up, feeling a headache, but his consciousness was gradually returning. Edward’s deep voice sounded from beside him. “Awake?”

Edmund blinked to adjust to the light. He turned his head reluctantly before calling, “Brother.”

“Yeah, it’s me.”

After hearing that, Edmund turned his face away and stared at the ceiling with a melancholic gaze. “What’s wrong with you? Why were you drunk at 10 and getting into a fight?”

No answer came, Edmund tightly sealed his lips and dared not look at Edward. As a brother who had taken care of and lived with Edmund for 20 years, Edward knew his brother’s character well. If he behaved like this and tried to avoid him, he was hiding something unpleasant.

Edward massaged his forehead before asking again, “Think about how long you can hide it from me?”

It was just like before, Edmund could never hide anything from Edward. No matter how tightly he concealed it, Edward would find a way to know.

It didn’t mean that Edward interfered too much in Edmund’s life, he was just sensitive enough to know what his brother needed to keep to himself or what he needed to know.

After a moment of silence, Edmund began to speak. “Brother, I found... our family.”

“What do you mean?” Edward asked, confused. Since childhood, they were cared for by their grandmother until she passed away when they were 9, and an uncle adopted them both, whom they considered their father. However, the uncle had passed away 5 or 6 years ago.

So far, Edward had only considered Edmund as his family in this world. He was a bit puzzled when he heard that Edmund had found their family.

At that moment, Edmund turned to Edward, gazing at him with teary eyes. He spoke with a choked voice, “Yes, I found our family... I found the truth about them.”