Chapter 287: Chapter 287 ’Second Young Master, Miss Ginger is missing!
Daisy Ginger looked at his expression, slightly stunned, about to push him aside and rush out.
Edward Stephens took a step back and locked her in the room right in front of her.
"Bang!"
The door slammed shut, and Daisy Ginger’s shouting came from inside.
"Edward Stephens, what do you think you’re doing?!"
"Open the door for me!"
"Let me out!"
...
The man took a step back, staring at the door being pounded by Daisy Ginger, and gave a cold laugh with lowered eyes.
Now, finally, she knew his name.
*
Edward Stephens lit a cigarette and walked downstairs with an expressionless face.
The vast Stephens family mansion stood silent, its antique yet luxurious villa seemed to fall silent because of his arrival.
Edward Stephens ignored the servants, exited through a side door on the first floor, heading to the estate where Robert Stephens lived.
The Stephens family’s ancestors were of Chinese descent, so the entire ancestral home still retained some of the Suzhou-style garden aesthetics. That being said, four to five generations had passed, and in terms of education and conduct, there’s long been no relation to bloodline.
As Edward Stephens passed through the bamboo grove, he was stopped by Charlotte Smith coming out of Robert Stephens’s room.
The woman’s face was as pale as ever. She lowered her head before him, speaking softly, "Second Young Master, sir just lay down to rest, please do not disturb."
Edward Stephens pushed her aside and walked toward the nearby small villa.
Charlotte had to follow, with an anxious expression, she said in a low voice, "Second Young Master, if you do this, sir will punish me."
Edward Stephens extinguished the cigarette, turned his head to look at her, his gaze remained icy cold, stabbing at Charlotte Smith with no warmth, "Ryan Smith, got caught by you half a year ago?"
Charlotte lowered her head, "...I’m sorry, Second Young Master."
"As expected, no mistake. You Smith family members, one by one, are best at betrayal." He sneered coldly, ignoring Charlotte Smith, and walked forward expressionlessly.
*
When Edward Stephens pushed open the door to Robert Stephens’s villa, he smelled a faint scent of sandalwood.
The man whom Charlotte mentioned was resting, was leaning on the sofa, wearing a simple moon-colored outfit, with a small cashmere blanket on his knees, absentmindedly playing with a piece of sandalwood in the incense burner.
Seeing him come in, the man smiled slightly, sitting up from the sofa, "I heard your voice from afar. You’re no longer young, yet still like a child."
He moved a blanket from the sofa, signaling Edward Stephens to sit over.
"We haven’t seen each other for more than a year, you rarely come back, we should have a good talk today."
The gentle, deep male voice was just as it had been every time in the past. Edward Stephens stood at the door watching him, the man’s strikingly handsome face reflecting in his dark eyes.
Silently, he walked over, sitting opposite him, staring at the sandalwood burning on the solid wood coffee table, he asked, "What do you intend to do?"
Kidnapping Ryan Smith, kidnapping Daisy Ginger, making him isolated and friendless, destroying everything that belonged to him.
What exactly is the purpose?
Robert Stephens said blandly, "Brother hopes you can return home."
"Return home?" Edward Stephens let out a low laugh, lifting his head to look at him, "Is this how you hope I’ll come back with everything you’re doing to me now? Seems like you’d rather I died in Banyan City."
"Edward," Robert Stephens leaned back on the sofa, he looked up, gazing at his younger brother’s youthful face, "Don’t you remember what you once promised me?"
"I don’t care what I promised you before, but dragging Daisy Ginger into this now is wrong!" Edward Stephens clenched his fists, anger barely concealed in his eyes, "The grudges between us, what right do you have to harm innocent people?"
"She took you away from me, is that innocent?" Robert Stephens propped up his face, softly laughing, "If I could, I truly wish she’d died in Banyan City..."
"Robert Stephens!" Edward Stephens suddenly stood up from the sofa, staring at him directly, his tone low, "You dare to lay a hand on her!"
Robert looked at him, his smile slowly fading.
Finally, his face became expressionless.
"When Charlotte came back to me, you didn’t seem this upset," he said, "What, after a year, have you actually fallen for that little girl?"
"..."
"She does look quite nice," Robert Stephens commented blandly, "just that her temper isn’t great, she can’t take care of you. If you like that look, I’ll have someone find a few for you, as for her, divorce her soon."
Edward Stephens thought to himself, he really is out of his mind.
A year without seeing, and his mind has only gotten worse.
Seeing his younger brother’s face turning increasingly pale, Robert Stephens showed a slight smile, speaking softly, "The tech company you opened with Ryan Smith in Switzerland is doing quite well. If Ryan hadn’t moved so slowly, I might not have even noticed you secretly opened such a big company outside."
He stared at him, lightly laughing, his voice growing gentler, "When did Edward decide to leave his brother? Even though we are half-brothers, we could be considered mutually dependent, such estrangement truly saddens me."
Edward Stephens lifted his eyes to look at him, locking eyes with him.
"Don’t treat me like Charlotte Smith," Edward Stephens said, "I can’t possibly be at your mercy for my entire life."
"Heh..." Robert Stephens chuckled lightly again, lounging lazily on the sofa, his handsome and mature face appearing to have the upper hand in the warm room air.
Compared to him, the twenty-five-year-old Edward Stephens appeared too immature.
The eight-year age gap isn’t something mere prodigious talents can bridge.
When he was maneuvering the currents of the Stephens, Edward Stephens was merely an eight-year-old child.
"Edward, your illness is cured." Robert Stephens said blandly, "You should consider coming back to me. This family isn’t just mine, the blood of the Stephens flows through your veins, you can’t possibly remain uninvolved for a lifetime. I’m merely letting you realize the truth earlier."
Edward Stephens tightened his grip; the phone in his pocket suddenly vibrated, disrupting the tense atmosphere slightly.
He lowered his head, took out his phone, glanced at the screen.
Daisy Ginger’s name flashed on the screen.
Edward Stephens’s pupils slightly contracted for a moment, instinctively swiping the phone, a man’s anxious voice came through the phone.
"Second Young Master, Miss Ginger is missing!"
Edward Stephens was shocked, he glanced at Robert Stephens, then quickly turned away and walked out.
The man leaning on the sofa watched his retreating figure, his expression gradually turning cold.
Once he left, he suddenly smashed the incense burner on the table onto the floor.
"Bang!" The sound startled the people outside the door, prompting them to walk in instinctively.
"Sir, you..."
Charlotte saw the man’s sinister expression, scared stiff and immediately silent.