Secret Scion

Asher glanced at Rose and said nonchalantly, "You're not sure about their relationship?"

"Everything you said to Selena yesterday. I heard all of it," Rose explained.

Of course Asher knew that Rose was listening. He scratched his nose and then said, "You really shouldn't ask me about this. I'm not as clear about it as you think. Of course, it's obvious that Sebastian treats Selena differently as compared to other women."

"Which means that I'm just a pawn to him? Marrying me is just him moving a piece on the chessboard?" Rose asked.

This time, Asher was the one that remained silent. All of them who were born into the households were destined to become pawns and pieces from the moment they were born. None of them could escape that fate.

Asher glanced at Rose and saw the clear disappointment and rage on her face.

Only after a long time did Rose manage to calm down and said, "Asher, sometimes I feel like I'm in a worse position than you are. Grandfather wishes for me to marry into the Macquoids so that the Schmidts can ally with them. However, Sebastian only married me because I still have some value as a pawn to him. Since he still has to leave Alexandrius, the Gentlemen needs a leader. In other words, I'm just a puppet that he has set up in this city. I believe that once he returns, he'll break off the engagement. Both sides are simply using me. Aren't I more pitiful than you?" What Rose said pulled at Asher's heartstrings. He sighed before saying, "Unless you stand at the top of the hierarchy, everyone's just a pawn. At least, you still have value when you're a pawn. Once you don't have the value to even remain as a pawn... That is the worst kind of tragedy any of us can have."

After he said that, something flashed across Asher's mind as he stared at Rose for a few seconds. She averted her gaze as she tried to hide the nervousness in her. "What else do you want to say?"

Asher also looked away and said with a smile, "I was thinking. We were enemies in the past. Since I've joined the Gentlemen, does that make us friends? I wonder, will you protect me when I'm in danger?"

"You're dreaming! Nothing will change between us. Not to mention that it was Sebastian's idea for you to join the Gentlemen. It wasn't even mine. So, you better not make me angry, or I'll settle all the debts between us in one go!"

Even though Rose said that, that was not the opinion she had in her mind. Ever since she set Asher up, she did not hate Asher that much anymore.

"The way you said it makes it sound like you did something to me," Asher said with a smile as he opened the door and left. Before he turned away, he glimpsed at the car parked not so far away from the corner of his eyes.

Half an hour later, at the Macquoid's residence.

"Aunt Selena, are you free later? I want to ask you something over dinner. Just the two of us." Sebastian held his mobile in one hand and an old picture of Selena in the other as some

emotions sparked in his eyes.

Selena hesitated. "I probably won't have the time. What is it about?"

"Ah, it's nothing important. It's fine if you're busy."

"Okay. I'm going to a meeting now, so we'll talk later." With that, Selena hung up.

Sebastian took a deep breath and put Selena's picture back in its original place with his thumb stroking Selena's face on the photo. His mobile rang at this time.

"Master Sebastian. Ms. Schmidt met with Asher and spoke for 23 minutes," a man from the other side reported.

When Sebastian heard that, there was anger on his face as he said in a deep tone, "Alright. Continue tailing her. I want to know everything she's doing."

"Understood."

Sebastian then put away his mobile as he narrowed his eyes and muttered to himself, "Rose... You know what will happen if you betray me. Don't do anything stupid."

After Asher and Rose went their separate ways, he then walked to a nearby restaurant and had something to eat. When it was nearly noon, Barry called him.

After Asher and Noelle ended their call last time, he then asked Barry to investigate the hotel that was put on sales. He must have news.

"Master Asher, I'm ready to report on what you told me to investigate. The owner of the hotel is called Felix Willcox. He's a gambler, and he fell into a trap someone set up for him and lost around 1.4 million dollars. The people that tricked him are all part of the criminal underground. Felix is worried about getting wrecked, that's why he wants to sell the hotel to pay off his debts. Felix's asking price is 2.8 million dollars, so the price is alright. However, I heard that Savannah is also asking around about this," Barry said.

For a first-rate city like Alexandrius, hotels that were in good locations would normally ask for more than a million dollars. Some of them would even go up to tens of millions of dollars. That was why 2.8 million dollars was very reasonable.

Asher lit up a cigarette and said, "Give me Felix's contact information. I'll speak to him later."

"Of course. I'll send his mobile number to you."

It was not long after they ended the conversation when Asher received the information from Barry. Asher then saved the number in his mobile.

The Crawfords.

Huxley's mother felt that something was wrong with him after he came home last night. She could not hold back her curiosity and asked, "What is it, Hux? Who irritated you?"

Huxley snatching Asher's status as the heir brought honor to their name in some sense. After that, even the way she walked in the residence became much more confident.

"It's all because of Asher." Huxley inhaled the cigarette in his hand deeply as he sat on the sofa. "Mom, despite Asher having been exiled by Grandpa, he's still as arrogant as ever. He doesn't show me any respect at all."

"Hux, my son. I'm not trying to scold you, but you're the heir of the Crawfords now. There's no need for you to be afraid of him anymore. If he irritates you, find someone else to teach him a lesson. With the position you hold right now, isn't that something relatively easy to do?" His mother said.

Liam Crawford gave her a stare and said, "You should stop giving him bad ideas. No matter what has happened, Asher is still my brother's flesh and blood. To pit brother against brother... My dad hates that the most. If dad finds out that Hux is going after Asher, it won't end well for him." He then turned to Huxley and said, "Son, Asher must be quite depressed as he has lost everything. Just let him be for now. Not to mention that those who can achieve great things mustn't be so petty."

Meanwhile, his wife simply grunted and said, "You treat them as brothers, but they've never treated you as one. When I went over to our dad's room, your older brother was discussing with him about forgiving Asher and letting him come back. However, dad disagreed. Seems like as long as Asher is still around, our son will always be in a precarious position."

"Quiet!" Liam roared out. "We're brothers no matter what has happened!"

"Stop arguing! I'll think of something." Huxley stood up unexpectedly and then headed toward Solomon's courtyard.

"Grandpa, there's something I want to say," Huxley immediately said when he reached Solomon's place.

"Oh? What is it?" Solomon turned around and asked with a smile.

"Grandpa, I heard that Asher joined the Gentlemen. Sebastian is reforming the Gentlemen. It's obvious that he wants to control all the large households in Alexandrius. Sebastian is someone very ambitious, and everyone is trying to find a way to protect themselves. However, not only is Asher not trying to help us, he's willing to become Sebastian's little minion and bring shame to our household!"

Solomon immediately frowned when he heard the word minion.

Originally, the reason he let Huxley become the heir was so that he could give up his grudge on Asher. However, from the looks of it, he was being too idealistic. Even though Asher had been exiled, Huxley would never give up on crushing Asher.

Solomon's expression became more and more indecipherable as the thoughts went through his mind. He was already getting a headache about having to deal with Sebastian. Now, even Huxley had become part of the problem. He made Solomon very disappointed.

"Asher is no longer part of the Crawfords. Nothing he does has anything to do with us anymore," Solomon said.

"Grandpa, Asher still uses the same surname as us. As long as he is a Crawford, everything he does cannot be separated from the household," Huxley said in a way that would put him on the moral high ground.

Just as Solomon was about to reply, Layla's furious voice came from outside the courtyard. "From the sound of it, are you trying to get Asher to change his last name?"

Layla had already marched into the courtyard, wanting to greet her grandfather. Only then did Huxley realize that he had acted too rashly. He quickly came up with something and said, "You've misunderstood me, cousin. All I'm saying is that Asher shouldn't have joined the Gentlemen. What he's doing is obviously putting himself directly against the household. Or perhaps, it's better to say that he wants to have his revenge against the household." Meanwhile, Layla argued, "Haven't you heard about all the humiliation Asher suffered yesterday at the Macquiod's? The situation he's in right now is much more perilous than what we imagine. The bad blood between him and Sebastian wasn't formed over a few days. If Asher didn't agree to it, Sebastian would find a way to eliminate him. Huxley, you're already the heir to the Crawfords. Can't you just let him go?"

Huxley frowned. "You're twisting my words. I've nothing else to say."

"It's not that you have nothing to say. You simply did the wrong thing," Layla said. When Solomon saw what was happening, he stepped in. "Enough. Stop arguing. From now on, don't speak about Asher in front of me. We're from two worlds now. Who he becomes and what he does have nothing to do with us. Don't interfere in his affairs as well."

"I understand, Grandpa. I'll take my leave now." Huxley then turned and left the courtyard. When he walked past Layla, he gave her an icy stare.