Secret Scion

In the afternoon on the next day, Castor Yaeger gathered some friends he made in Alexandrius for lunch with Asher. They were mostly rich kids on the lower end of the hierarchy, which meant that they were in an awkward position, since they were neither the common man nor qualified to mingle with the who's who in the city.

That was why all of them valued the opportunity to mingle with Asher, since getting in his good graces meant they were on the cusp of reaching upper-class society.

It was a good thing for Asher as well, since building his own social circle was much better than being a lone wolf.

***

Recently, Phoebe Webb received a call from Seth Harrison out of the blue, who told her he wanted to meet her and discuss something at the Viva.

Phoebe thought about it long and hard, and decided that it was better to cut ties with him, or there would be trouble if Asher found out about them.

Seth was already waiting at a corner in the Viva once evening arrived. He resembled Joel Harrison in appearance, and despite being thirty-two years of age, he appeared refined even though he was wearing shades-something which obviously set him apart from Joel.

The young but scrawny David Wakeford was sitting opposite him. He was Joel's underling despite owning the bar, which was why Seth designated the place as the meeting spot.

"Mr. Harrison, the first floor can get a little rowdy... Why don't you head upstairs? I'll arrange the best room for you."

Seth waved him off. "It's fine. Go about your business I'll call you if anything comes up.'

Since he was quite clear about that, David could only nod and leave.

That was when a young woman with a dainty figure appeared, wearing a pair of large shades that covered most of her cheeks.

Seth recognized that it was Phoebe immediately, but she did not take off her shades even after she sat down with him, as if afraid that someone would recognize her.

"There are so many people here. Why can't we meet elsewhere?"

Her guilty reaction left Seth very frustrated, and he wondered to himself how he fell short in comparison to Asher, and why Phoebe would choose that man and not himself.

Feeling grumpier the more he thought about it, he picked up his glass and chugged, before growling, "Are you really that afraid that someone would notice you with me? How is Asher Crawford better than me?! I can give you anything he can give you!"

His words actually left Phoebe a little guilty. However, she had to do this even if she was being unfair to Seth, and so she simply said, "I'm sorry. I'm Asher's fiancee."

Seth laughed icily. "Fiancee? Hah! If you cared, why would you date me back then? Or is this a game to you?"

Seth was clearly agitated and loud, but it was fortunate that the bar was noisy enough to hide his outburst.

At the same time, Phoebe quickly said, "Calm down, please? I wanted to talk to you, but I'm leaving if you want a fight instead."

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Seth said, "You know that I love you and I won't let go, Phoebe. I can give you anything you want if you just ask, as long as you don't leave me... Please?"

As he spoke, Seth moved to take Phoebe's hands in his, something which did not escape Maggie Lane's eyes. She had been sitting on a couch nearby and chatting with her friends, and what she saw left her staring in confusion-after all, was Phoebe not engaged to Asher Crawford? Why was she acting all flirty with Seth?

Nonetheless, Phoebe quickly pulled her hands out of Seth's grasp like a startled rabbit, and she looked around in panic. "Are you crazy?! If Ash knows about us, he's going to come after you!" Seth thought nothing of it, however. "Come after me? Asher Crawford?! Phoebe, do you really believe that my family doesn't hold a candle to the Crawfords? Others might fear Asher, but not me. I just happened to test myself against him!"

"I guess you're not in the mood to talk, then. I'll see you again in a few days," she said. However, just as she rose to her feet, she spotted two figures she recognized at the doorway- Rose Schmidt and Radley Leonard.

Seeing that they were entering, Phoebe quickly said, "Don't let anyone know I'm here, Seth." With that, she turned and headed toward the washroom, while Seth glanced toward the door, where he spotted Rose as well.

Why was she here?

"This is the place, Miss Schmidt. The owner swindled me," Radley muttered with a dark look. "David Wakeford, was it?" Rose asked coolly.

"You know him, Miss Schmidt?"

"He's one of Joel Harrison's goons," she replied, making a troubled face her family had always been at odds with the Harrisons, and since David was one of Joel's people, demanding money from David was equal to stepping on Joel's toes... Which might prove costlier than what they could get in return.

"Let's just get this over with... but I'm telling you, Radley, I'll have Mikaela's location after this. Swindle me again, and you won't leave Alexandrius in one piece."

Radley quickly nodded. "Don't worry, Miss Schmidt-I'm a man of my word."

With that, they found an empty seat to sit on. Rose was oblivious to the presence of Maggie and Seth. Then, once a waitress approached them, Radley said right away, "Is David Wakeford around? Tell him to come over at once. Say it's Radley."

Seeing that both Rose and Radley were not dressed like average joes, the waitress promptly left to ask for David without delay.

However, when David heard that Radley was here, he took a deep puff of his cigarette and

clapped his hand on the woman sitting on his lap, gesturing for her to stand.

"Radley still has the balls to show up?" he growled. "Guess he didn't have enough last time. Come, let's go check on him."

"Sir, he has a young woman with him, and she doesn't look like a pushover..."

"What do I have to fear? This is Alexandrius, and here, I fear no one!"

With those words, he strode downstairs, and though he spotted Radley immediately he flinched

when he noticed that Rose was sitting with him.

"Fuck!" He couldn't help cursing out loud. "Why does it have to be Rose Schmidt?"

Even an idiot would have been able to tell that Radley was not here to make friends.

Also, what was wrong with Alexandrius lately? It was as if everyone who held any sort of importance in the city was backing the out-of-towners!

Naturally, David did not head over immediately, and instead sent the waitress to summon Seth. Already annoyed by Phoebe, Seth snapped in irritation, "What's your problem?!"

"I'm sorry, Seth, but I'm in trouble," David explained with a deep frown. "See the kid there sitting with Rose Schmidt? I swindled him a few days ago, and he's clearly here to get his money back! I'm not afraid of him, but with Rose there... Come on, Seth, you have to help me."

Seth merely threw him a sideways glance and replied nonchalantly, "That's beyond my pay grade. Go ask your boss for help."

With that, he got up and headed to the washroom as well.

David was naturally left gritting his teeth and glaring at Seth as he walked away. "Fuck! Treating

me like I'm dirt? Did you think you would have a better life than mine if you weren't a Harrison?! Hah!"

"Sir, should I just tell them that you're not around to make them leave?" The waitress asked tentatively then.

David ignored her completely, however, and simply whipped out her phone to dial Joel's number, and told him the long and short of it.

After a brief silence, Joel simply said, "Why are you afraid of her? Just do what you have to- you'll be fine as long as you don't lay a finger on her."

Those words left David with confidence, and he picked up an expensive bottle of wine as he walked up to Radley's table.

"Ah, Miss Schmidt! Hahaha... What brings you here?" he said, greeting her first.

Rose studied him and said, "David, I won't impose since you're under Joel's protection, so just return Radley's money, and this whole matter will be settled."

Radley kept quiet because she had no idea who Joel was, but it was obvious from Rose's reaction that he was no pushover.

Be that as it may, David chuckled, "Oh, Miss Schmidt, you've lost me... What money are we talking about here?"