CHAPTER 72: AN OLD GRUDGE

Dora carefully helped Agnes rise from the wheelchair and settle onto the sofa so she could sit more comfortably.

"Thank you, Dora."

The maid gave a small nod and quietly stepped aside.

"Have you seen that woman?" Agnes asked Albert, who was sitting on the sofa at her left side.

"Yes, she looks just like the one before, but this one is in terrible shape."

Agnes exhaled slowly. "I almost got dragged into their game. My heart shook every time I saw that face, even though I knew she was not my daughter."

Rowan, who had been silently observing, was stunned by Agnes’s revelation. He could no longer hold back and asked, "What do you mean by that? The woman Lyra found isn’t her mother?"

Agnes shook her head in denial. "She’s not my daughter."

"Are you certain?" Rowan asked as he gazed at Agnes.

She nodded silently.

Albert added, "Of course we were certain. The fake Avelina had appeared before. We even caught the doctor who assisted in the deception, but the mastermind... no."

Albert sighed before continuing, "And now a second one has appeared out of nowhere."

"You knew all along, and you didn’t say anything yesterday?" Rowan looked away toward his father in displeasure.

"This wasn’t something I could simply blurt out. Besides, no one in the Ashford family knew about it. Did you see how Lyra and Alex were yesterday?"

Albert then recalled that Rowan had been in his office when everything had happened.

"Oh, forget it," he said quietly. "You weren’t there."

"What exactly happened?" Agnes asked.

"Lyra was furious because Alex couldn’t accept that woman and had just left them behind."

"Oh..." Agnes sank into the sofa, her heart heavy with what she had just heard. That fake Avelina had caused nothing but chaos for their family.

"How dare they turn someone’s death into a joke?" Rowan snapped. His fist tightened until his knuckles turned bone-white.

Albert dragged a hand across his forehead—he knew this temper all too well.

"Calm down. You won’t find answers through anger," he said quietly.

Albert reached for a teacup and took a sip to ease the tension in his chest.

"Rowan," Agnes called, her voice low. "Can you look into this woman? Kiera Dray—Harold’s first wife. I believe she still holds an old grudge against him."

She placed an old, faded photograph into his hand.

Rowan was speechless to hear Lyra’s grandfather had two wives.

His hand reached for the photo as he studied it then nodded. "I’ll look into it."

"Oh, thank you, Rowan. I feel as if I’ve burdened the your family for my own family’s sake."

Albert straightened when he heard Agnes say that. He was a bit angry at her statement.

"I don’t want to hear you say that the Hales are a burden to our family anymore. We are family. Besides, Harold helped me a lot when I was struggling. I owe him deeply."

Agnes nodded several times.

"You knew it as well. Harold dismissed all his men before he took his final breath. We lost all our influence. Now the Hales depended solely on the Pierces."

Albert shook her head. "It was his decision. Let it be."

Agnes still remembered how Harold had been broken after losing their children.

He lost all hope and saw no point in holding onto power anymore. Guilt and exhaustion consumed him.

In the end, he dismantled everything before he died.

Dora rushed forward the moment she noticed Agnes’s breath catching as her hand pressed tightly to her chest.

"Madam, I think that’s enough for now," she urged gently.

Agnes waved her off. "I’m fine. It’s just this old heart acting up, nothing to worry about."

Albert rose from his seat and stepped closer, quiet concern in his eyes.

"Agnes, you shouldn’t push yourself. We’ll handle the rest."

"Madam, please," Dora added. "Listen to Mr. Pierce. It’s for your own good."

Seeing their worry, Agnes finally nodded and began to retreat to her room. She called the butler and handed something to him.

Mr. Cray guided the guests to the door and bowed as he apologized to them for what had happened. He then handed a photo album to Rowan.

"Madam asked me to give this to you as a keepsake. It’s Miss Lyra’s album."

Rowan thanked him and took it with both hands.

Albert patted Mr. Cray’s shoulder reassuringly. "Make sure Agnes rests. We’ll handle all of this. Don’t let her stress herself."

Both father and son got into the car and drove off.

On their way to the Pierce office tower, Rowan couldn’t sit still. He asked how all this trouble had started.

Albert sighed before he even began the story, regret etched across his face.

"Kiera was my friend back then. I introduced her to Harold, and they eventually got married.

But after years with no children, she became unstable. She started doubting Harold’s loyalty, convinced he might have another woman, maybe even a child somewhere.

In her delusion, she took lovers, thinking it would make Harold jealous. Their marriage fell apart, as they divorced."

"And that’s why she wants revenge?"

Rowan asked as he turned the steering wheel to make a left turn.

Albert shook his head.

"After Harold, she married another man but he was abusive. That marriage only dragged her life further downhill. By the time she finally realized she wanted Harold back, it was already too late. The Hales had rejected her and arranged for Harold to marry Agnes instead. They even had two children, which only made her jealousy worse."

Albert tapped his finger against his crossed arm, gazing at the raindrops hitting the car window.

Rowan didn’t say anything as he glanced slightly at his father, guilt written all over his face.

He gave his father a moment to steady himself before asking again.

"Was she behind that accident?"

Albert shook his head. "There’s no clear evidence that she was involved in those accidents."

"Why did Agnes hide the fake Avelina from Alex before?"

"The target had been the Hales, not the Ashfords. If he had known, the pain would have torn open his wounds all over again. At that time, silence was the kinder choice."

Their car glided along the rain-slicked road and entered the basement parking of the luxury office building.

Rowan stepped out, carrying the album Agnes had given him earlier in one hand.

He stopped in front of Damian’s office and tapped lightly on the glass door in silent signal. Damian rose at once and followed him.

He handed the photo of Kiera. "Please look into this woman."

He gave him her name. Damian stepped out of the office immediately to carry out the task.