Kate, still working up her tearworks, gasped and quickly stopped talking, wiping the tears clinging to her lashes.
Henry was too angry to deal with Zoey, so he sent her upstairs before going out to welcome his guest.
As the car drove into the compound, Alden looked out the window and saw four people standing outside. His gaze lingered on the girls, wondering which one of them was his future wife.
After a moment, he reached to his side for an exquisitely wrapped gift and tossed it onto Sebastian's thighs.
"Tell them I'm tired. That's a welcome gift for… my future wife."
Sebastian nodded and got out of the car.
The car's tinted windows kept the man inside hidden from the people outside.
Inside the car, Alden struggled to play the mobile game he had just downloaded.
After being killed six times in two minutes, he paused and looked out the window.
He could see the disappointment on Henry's face, masked poorly behind a bitter smile.
That dubious bastard.
The moment he got into the accident, Henry immediately tried to call off the engagement between their families.
When that failed, he suddenly 'discovered' he had a long-lost biological daughter.
He argued for an entire day about how she was the eldest daughter, hence, needed to take on the responsibility no matter what.
The poor girl probably came from the countryside thinking they'd found her for a good reason.
When in reality, the only reason they even bothered looking was so they could marry her off for the sake of the company and get their real daughter back.
When Sebastian turned and began walking toward the car, Alden returned his focus to his phone, exiting the game to message Zoey.
"Were you scolded?"
He waited, impatiently tapping his finger against his thigh.
"Henry Smith wishes you could stay for dinner." Sebastian said once he was back inside, glancing at him through the rearview mirror.
Alden didn't look up from his phone as he let out a cold laugh.
"Why? So he can be sure he made the right choice by not letting his precious daughter marry a cripple?"
Sebastian's eyes fell sadly.
Though Alden rarely showed it, he couldn't imagine how difficult it must be for a young man in his prime to lose his legs.
Just a year ago, he could walk into any place with his head high and instantly become the envy of the room.
But in less than a day, he lost everything.
The admiring stares which used to be green with envy instantly turns to pity and mockery the moment he was rolled into a room.
The star who once lit up everywhere he went had nothing but gloom following him around.
In public, people sympathized with him, but behind closed doors, they used him to teach a lesson to their kids about what could happen to a man who thinks he'll always have it all.
And it saddened him greatly knowing Alden only only got like this because he shielded him from the impact of the accident that day.
If he hadn't stepped in when he did, he who was driving, would've definitely died that night.
Knowing he was greatly responsible, Sebastian took it upon himself to find the best doctors available to treat Alden's legs.
Pushing the thought to the back of his mind, he started the car.
"There's a conference meeting on the executive floor at noon tomorrow, but I called ahead to let them know you'd be joining online since your elevator haven't been work…" He was informing when Alden calmly interrupted.
"My elevators are the only ones not working, aren't they?"
Sebastian nodded, internally dreading what would come next.
"I'm disabled, not diseased. I can use the other elevators like everyone else."
"Of course. I should've thought of that sooner and had security designate one for…"
"If I wanted you to do that, I would've made it clear, Sebastian. I'll use the elevator like everyone else. If it's full, I'll wait for it to be empty."
Alden neither raised his voice nor used an aggressive tone, but the note of finality behind his words was something Sebastian couldn't dispute.
So at the end of the day, he drove away in silence and Alden's eyes drifted back to the unread message on his phone.
At least she hadn't read it and left him on read.
With a sigh, he turned off the screen and tossed the phone beside him.
Upstairs, Zoey searched something on the web with her computer, her phone pressed tightly against her left ear.
"So, brother, you're calling me from a tower on top of a very tall mountain right now?"
It was a while before a heavy exhale filled her ear, "Baby, don't you hear the howling wind? But what can I do? It's the only place I can get a signal."
"I'm still confused. What exactly are you doing there? Aren't you a Quantitative Analyst?" She bit down on her thumb, scrolling down the article she searched up.
"I told you—I lost a bet with that witch of a sister we have, and now I have to spend seven weeks here. Anyway, I didn't call to talk about me. How are you? Are the new family giving you enough money?"
Zoey winced and moved the phone away from her ear when he suddenly screamed into his.
Realizing he was done speaking, she returned it and sighed warily, "They're broke. I have more money in my blocked account than they do combined. But Mom had it frozen, so now I'm poor."
Anyone overhearing this call would've thought she was genuinely poor until they found out the money in her unblocked account was still in the nine figures.
All of a sudden, she got an idea and sat up, her normal voice turning coquettish as she questioned, "By the way, brother, don't you have some friends with private jets who can come get me?"
"I can't reach Mommy, but once she hears what kind of hellhole this is, I'm sure she'll let me come home."
Then she waited with bated breaths, but the only thing she got in return was radio silent.
After a while, she glanced at her screen, making sure they were still connected before she called out to him again.
"Brother? Are you still there?"
It was still radio silent before it suddenly cracked and his screaming voice filled her room again.
"Baby, did you say something? I swear I can't hear a sword and this tower looks like it'll cave in any second."
"I'll call you next week, okay? Have a nice day, and don't let anyone bully you. If you have to break a bone, do it—I've got enough money to hire the best lawyer to defend. Always take your inhaler wherever you…"
The call cut off just then.
Zoey grimaced asn dropped the phone.
Her goal wasn't achieved, but the call significantly lightened her mood.
Oh, how fast she forgot her heritage.
Lowering herself to the level of someone like Kate Smith, who on a normal day, wouldn't even be allowed to touch her shoe lace.
What a stressful two days.
Yawning, she turned off the computer and got ready for bed.
After taking her bath, she searched her school bag for a moment and took out the L shaped, hand-held device.
Well, she hadn't moved around with it ever since she came since her attacks didn't come very often.
But her brother was right. She had to carry it around at all times so she wouldn't have a random attack and drop dead at such a young age.
Tossing it into her school bag, she then went to sleep.
When she woke the next morning, she found the entire family gathered in the living room, gushing over something.
Her plan was to greet them quickly and sneak outside to wait for Kate.
However, like nothing had happened yesterday, Kate saw her and hurried toward her, sliding close to her and entwining their arms.
Then she excitedly showed her a very pretty necklace in a box.
Recognizing it, Zoey blinked.
Expensive.
They couldn't give her a few million in pocket money, yet they bought a necklace worth hundreds?
Talk about misplaced priorities.
"Isn't it pretty? Last night, after Daddy sent Sister to her room, your fiancé came and gifted this to you. It's so pretty—I wish I could take it. But I…"
Entangling their hands, Zoey pushed the necklace toward her and started walking away.
"Take it. I don't want our family's little crybaby bawling her eyes after school just because she recalled I didn't give her the necklace she wanted."