After a few strained bites, Geore cleared his throat. “Adam, what’s this about ending things with the Wright girl?” 

Adam knew this was coming. His grandfather wasn’t one to miss business circuit gossip. 

“Samantha checks all the boxes,” George said flatly. “School, connections, family–everything a Haven wife should be.” 

Adam set down his fork with a soft clink. “My treatments and work already take up most of my time. I’m not wasting what’s left playing dress–up at parties.” 

He paused, then added, “If Haven needs someone to run things, Mason can step up.” 

Irene would vanish the second she thought she was tausing family drama. The thought tightened his chest. He couldn’t risk it. 

“Let’s drop this, he finished with unmistakable finality. 

George studied his grandson, noting the unfamiliar resolve in his eyes. This wasn’t his pragmatic heir talking this was something else entirely. 

“I’ll back off for now,” George said, his rough voice softening a bit. “But Haven needs someone steady at the wheel. Family business isn’t just about who’s related to who–it’s about stepping up. Mason’s got skills, sure, but you’re the one the board believes in.” 

Adam stared at his plate silently. This was one battle he wouldn’t concede, not even to the grandfather he respected above all others. 

Around the table, reactions varied. Elena studied her nephew with newfound curiosity, Marcus watched his son thoughtfully, and Victor’s eyes flashed with calculation as he plotted his next move. 

Hours later, Thomas drove through darkness toward Emerald Garden, streetlights flashing across Adam’s profile in rhythmic 

intervals. 

“Calling out Victor’s money problems tonight,” Thomas said carefully “might make him do something crazy.” 

Adam’s fingers drummed on his wheelchair armrest, shadows moving across his face. “Making him show his cards is exactly what I want. Keep an eye on those parts. If he tries using them to fix his money problems…” 

Thomas caught Adam’s ice–cold gaze in the rearview mirror and didn’t need to hear the rest. 

After a moment of heavy silence, Thomas asked what had been eating at him since dinner. “The way he talked about trene and the kids… do you think he might-” 

Adam’s hand suddenly clamped down on the armrest, knuckles going white. Something shifted in his expression—that perfect business mask cracking just enough to show the man beneath. 

“If he even thinks about going near them,” he said, his usual measured tone giving way to something raw and personal, “there won’t be enough money in the world to save him. Especially…“. 

He didn’t finish, but Thomas noticed his boss’s gaze drift toward Emerald Garden in the distance. Thomas saw something in that look he’d never seen before–something soft beneath all that toughness, a need to protect that had nothing to do with business. 

“I need you guys to behave tonight, okay? Uncle Adam has a family dinner.” Adam recalled Irene’s words from earlier, the way she’d leaned over Lucas’s math homework, hair falling forward as she patiently explained fractions. 

1/2 

Chapter 238. 

The memory of Océan World surfaced–the shoelace moment, that 

“Everything changes from today,” Adam said as they pulled into th 

Noticing the light still on in Irene’s window, Adam pulled out his | 

on?” 

Her reply came instantly: “Ready when you are. Bring that bottle f 

Something clicked into place in Adam’s chest at her words. Whate nonsense, focused, and somehow becoming the center of his world 

Chapter Comments 

13 

LIKE 

POST COM 

Chapter 238 

The memory of Ocean World surfaced–the shoelace moment, that flash of warmth in her eyes when she watched him with her son. 

“Everything changes from today,” Adam said as they pulled into the driveway. 

Noticing the light still on in Irene’s window, Adam pulled out his phone, hesitated briefly, then typed: “Home in 30. Treatment still 

on?” 

Her reply came instantly: “Ready when you are. Bring that bottle from your bathroom. Trying something new tonight.” 

Something clicked into place in Adam’s chest at her words. Whatever mess was brewing at Haven, here was his solid ground–no- nonsense, focused, and somehow becoming the center of his world without even trying. 

Chapter Comments 

LIKE 

POST COMMENT NOW