Secret Scion

When Layla heard that, she hesitated and then muttered, "Mom, I suspect that Asher has been framed. The person that spiked the drink should be Huxley. Don't be surprised, and don't stop me. I have proof. Grandpa told me that the drug has no cure, which means that only the glass of wine that I drank was drugged, and I helped Asher drink that glass of wine. So, the person that was supposed to be drugged was Asher. Asher would not drug himself... Only a fool would do that. Which leaves Huxley. He's not completely without motive either. When Grandpa named Asher his successor, Huxley was already quite unhappy about it. While Huxley has proven himself for the past two years, that didn't make Grandpa change his decision at all. That's why I suspect that Huxley wanted to drug Asher to ruin his reputation."

When Sophia heard everything Layla had said, she was shocked beyond belief. She did not think that the truth would be something like that.

"Layla, you can't simply say things like this. Asher is your cousin, but Huxley is your cousin too. It won't do anyone any good if anyone gets wrongly implicated," Sophia said sternly.

"Mom, I'm no child. I won't make a conclusion until I'm completely sure."

Sophia frowned. After a long moment of silence, she then asked with a complicated look on her face, "Does your grandfather know about the truth?"

"I told Grandpa about it, but it seems like he doesn't want to talk about it. I was so confused too. Normally, Grandpa favors Asher so much. Why is he able to be so calm this time? It's as if he doesn't care about it at all. Not to mention that can someone as cunning as Grandpa really miss such obvious clues?" Layla asked in confusion with a frown.

Sophia nodded, as if something had just crossed her mind. "If Asher really had a problem with his character, your grandfather would never allow him to become the Crawfords' successor. Layla... Is it possible that he knows that Asher has been framed all along? However, because of something he can't say, he has no choice but to punish him?"

When Sophia said that, Layla believed that it was possible. However, just what kind of problem was he facing?

Layla could not solve the riddle before her, and in the end, she said, "It's fine. I'll head to the Crawfords again and ask him about it."

The next day, Layla headed to the Crawfords' again. Solomon was exercising in his courtyard. Layla did not wait until he was finished with it. When there was no one around, she immediately asked, "Grandpa, you know that Asher has been framed. That has to be the case, if not you

would never kick out your precious grandson. Just what are you planning?"

There was nothing that Solomon could do with Layla. He wondered if something was wrong with her since she refused to let the matter pass.

He heaved a long sigh and then sat down on the chair while taking a sip from his teacup. He then asked, "If I don't tell you the truth, you'll never give up, will you?"

Layla nodded earnestly. "Yes, because I don't want to wrongly pin the blame on anyone."

"You..." Solomon then sighed. "Fine, I'll tell you the truth. However, you have to swear that you won't tell anyone. Not even Asher."

"Yes, Grandpa. Tell me now."

"The one that drugged the wine is no doubt Huxley, but his target should have been Asher and not you. The reason that Huxley did that is because he wants to be the next in line as the patriarch of the Crawfords."

Since Solomon was clearly spelling it out, there was no mistaking it. Layla then asked, "Grandpa, since you know Asher has been framed, why did you exile him? Don't you feel that it's not fair for him? The criminal is enjoying the best that life has to offer, but the innocent is suffering out there, even humiliated... Asher must be disappointed in all of us."

Solomon rolled his eyes at Layla. "And you blame me for that? If it wasn't because you said that Asher drugged you with so much certainty, I would never have exiled him. Now that you know the truth, I'm the one solely responsible for this?"

"I..."

." Layla pouted and sat down. "I was angry at the time. I had never encountered something like that in my whole life... It's normal for me to lose sight at the time. However, you're different, Grandpa. You have so much experience facing these kinds of plots and tactics, why did you fall for it as well?"

Solomon was almost choked by what Layla had said to the point where his face turned red, and he started wheezing.

Layla suddenly smiled and said, "Are you angry, Grandpa? That wasn't intentional... I've said the wrong thing. Please, forgive me."

After what Layla said, Solomon could not say anything despite his anger. After he spent a few seconds to calm himself down, he then said, "I was trying to protect Asher by exiling him from the household."

Protect Asher?

It was obvious that Layla could not understand what Solomon meant.

"Asher has been showing off too much lately, and his actions have begun to make others feel threatened. These people will do everything in their power to eliminate him. I had no choice but to do what I did," Solomon said with a frown.

At this time, Layla suddenly felt like she had caught on to something. "Grandpa, do you mean Sebastian? I hear that many people from Alexandrius went to welcome him home on the day he came back."

Solomon nodded and said, "Asher has grown a lot in the past two years, but there's still a huge distance between him and the boy from the Macquoids in both martial arts and strategy. That boy far surpasses all from the same generation. However, I have faith in Asher. He has reached this far in just two years, while Sebastian has spent more than twenty years. Given time, Asher can no doubt surpass him."

Layla did not argue against that. There were few among this generation in Alexandrius who could stand toe-to-toe against Sebastian. While Asher was excellent, there was still a difference between him and Sebastian.

"Grandpa, does Asher know what you're thinking? When I saw him last time, he was extremely unstable. Also, he seems to have grown hostile toward me too."

When Layla recalled what happened, she felt that a needle was pricking her heart. It was... painful.

Layla did not know why, but she could not help wanting to know more about Asher lately. What was even stranger was, when Sophia asked her what kind of man she wanted to be with, she first thought of Asher.

Layla was getting nervous. She was not sure if her feelings for Asher had grown beyond that of cousins.

Solomon shook his head and said, "I didn't tell him, nor can I tell him. I wouldn't be able to deceive Sebastian otherwise. While Asher will suffer, I hope that he can survive this. Only when

he can rise from the ashes will he be reborn and step into greatness."

Layla then carefully asked, "What if he chooses to give up?"

"Impossible! For the past hundred years, there have been no cowards among the Crawfords! I won't allow him to be a coward too!" Solomon said firmly.

Layla quickly nodded and dared not say anything. She suddenly felt that Asher did not achieve everything he had by accident. Despite being the same age, the pain that Asher had suffered far surpassed what any of them had.

The news of Seth and Phoebe's engagement had spread. The date of the engagement was set in three days' time. At the same time, the news of Sebastian and Rose's engagement had also shocked the city. Unfortunately, it was also set in three days' time.

In one day, four households had declared their union through marriage. That made the other households sense that something was very wrong. Why were there so many pieces of news of engagements lately? Was Alexandrius going to go through a political upheaval?

What made Asher feel ridiculous was that both Sebastian and Seth had sent him an invitation. "Are all of you so sure that I'll never have a chance to get back up on my own two feet?" Asher smiled bitterly as he tossed the invitations onto the table. He then turned and left the room. Asher knew very well why they had sent him those invitations. They wanted to humiliate him, laugh at him, and sneer at him in front of everyone.

Oh, the once famous scion of the Crawfords. How the mighty had fallen! What a joke. After he left the hotel, Asher simply wandered around without a set destination. The sun was setting with a few clouds blocking the setting sun. The scenery perfectly illustrated how he was feeling.

Just as he was walking, his mobile rang.

It was Noelle.

Asher picked it up and said with a smile, "Don't tell me you sneaked back to Alexandrius again?"

"I did think about it, but I haven't executed the plan yet." Noelle knew that Asher was simply

joking.

"How many times do I have to tell you that earning money is more important?" Asher said.

"I already have enough to be your sugar mommy," Noelle said with a smile.

Asher then said, "You're quite generous. If the people back at home knew that you transferred so

much money to me, they would be so upset that they'd explode, haha."