Secret Scion

Tristan Anderson was left fuming-it was certainly true when a person was really unlucky,

anything remotely horrible that could happen to them would happen. Though Asher Crawford was certainly a constant cause of trouble for him, the very thought of the man's power kept him restrained. "I'm sorry, Mr. Crawford," he said. "I will do whatever you want."

It was uncivilized to punish someone already apologizing, so Asher simply replied, "I'm not the one you should be apologizing to."

Tristan hence turned toward Castor Yaeger despite his reluctance. "Castor Yaeger, I apologize for my mistake, and I'm willing to pay for the damages. Don't we go way back? We can just let bygones be bygones, can't we?"

"Really? That's an apology? It sounds more like a threat to me!" Dove Yaeger snapped right then. "Come on, Cas. Let's not accept such an insincere apology."

Castor frowned in hesitation, while Dustin Bowie wiped the blood flowing out of his nostrils and growled, "Come on, Castor. What are you afraid of? We have Mr. Crawford with us just beat him to a pulp!"

Barry O'Conner nodded in agreement. "Dustin is right, Castor. Mr. Crawford came all the way out here, and sparing Tristan now would just be letting him off cheap."

Tristan was on the verge of blowing up in rage at their goading, and he turned to glare at them. "We're all friends-do we have to go that far?"

"Friends? Fuck off! You certainly weren't acting like one when you beat me up!" Dustin bellowed, "Come on, Castor! You shouldn't tolerate a little bitch like him!"

Castor suddenly pointed at Tristan then and asked, "Can I beat him up, Mr. Crawford?" Asher was actually aware of why Castor was hesitant about actually beating up Tristan. Unlike Barry and Dustin, who had influential families backing them in times of crisis, Castor was from Rollinsford and did not have such backing, which was why he needed to be careful. One might say that he was no different from Asher now that the latter had spent two years in Rollinsford- tolerating basically anything thrown his way, even when he should not.

Nonetheless, Asher nodded. "Of course."

Tristan's first thought right then was to run, but Barry and Dustin promptly cut him off, standing in front of the doorway and rubbing their palms with cold grins.

Backing away, Tristan tried to come up with something so that he would not have to get beaten up, but he was helpless against Asher... Even if he tried to get help, there were not that many people who held any sort of influence over Asher.

"Are you sure about this, Mr. Crawford?" Tristan asked, frowning.

Asher simply raised a brow at that. "What, are you threatening me?"

"Hmph! This isn't a threat, but Alexandrius is not the place it was two years ago-even Griffin Quinn was grounded by his grandfather no matter how much he used to strut!"

"And what does that have to do with you?"

Tristan raised his chin at Asher right then, mustering his courage in defiance. "What if I told you that my sister was the one who set up the race between Jeremiah Macquoid and Griffin?" However, his confession was an unexpected discovery for Asher. He did not expect Savannah Anderson to be able to catch everyone, including himself, in her schemes... It seemed that things had been going smoothly for her for far too long.

Flashing a smile that would send chills down anyone's spine, Asher simply said, "If Savannah is as good as you say, tell her to come after me."

With those words, Castor no longer hesitated clenching his fist, he punched Tristan in the face, who yelped and wobbled, almost dropping to the floor.

Noting their cue, Dustin and Barry rushed forward, punching and kicking to floor Tristan in no time at all.

Nearby, David Wakeford could not help flinching as Tristan screamed. He felt very lucky that he was just there to help, or he would be beaten up as well.

It was not until Tristan was battered and bruised that Castor and his friends stopped. Pushing himself off the floor while bearing with the pain, he spat a mouthful of bloody spit on the floor and walked away. Still, just as he stepped out, he turned and growled, "Castor Yaeger, just you wait! I'll not rest until this is answered!"

He fled after leaving those words behind, while David hesitated for seconds before walking up to Asher. "Thank you for your understanding, Mr. Crawford. I'm at your service if you need me in the future."

When Asher said nothing, David smiled fawningly, "Well, I shall bid my leave now. By the way, I own this bar called Viva out in the entertainment district. Do come by whenever you can-you won't be charged for anything. It's on the house."

And with that, he waved everyone else goodbye before hurrying away.

Castor quickly asked Asher, "Please allow me to express my gratitude, Mr. Crawford. Shall we head upstairs?"

Asher simply waved him off.

"Your guests are more important," he said, and added as he was about to leave, "When we meet up again, do bring your friends along for some drinks."

Castor nodded. "Of course, Mr. Crawford. I'll call you after I arrange something."

As Asher turned to leave, Dove quickly caught up after hesitating for a moment, "Can I have a word, Asher?"

"If you want to thank me too, it's fine-I actually didn't help anyway," Asher said, turning toward

her.

Dove chuckled, "No one said anything about that. I just wanted to ask for a favor.

Asher did a double take. "A favor?"

Grinning, Dove nodded and explained, "Yes, I wanted to ask you to get me a job. It won't be difficult with your connections here at Alexandrius, right?"

"So, you're not going back to Rollinsford?"

"Why? Everything's fantastic here. Moreover, I have unfinished business..." Dove trailed off toward the end, her voice turning quiet.

Asher nodded in reflex when his phone started to ring. Taking it out and seeing that it was from Huxley Crawford, he told Dove, "Let's discuss later I still have something else on my plate." With that, he answered his phone and got in his car.

***

The Andersons worked in different businesses, but they were spread too thin. For example, Tristan's family was involved in the hotel business-having two three-star hotels in Alexandrius, but Savannah's side of the family focused on pharmacy, while Edward Anderson was the chief of the nearest precinct. In other words, the Andersons did not have an integrated family enterprise that centralized their wealth and influence; the children had to develop on their own. After graduating as a student in pharmacy, Savannah was supposed to work at her family's pharmacy. However, she was too prideful and was not interested in the family business, and reached out to a few friends to invest in a tour company as partners. Business had been good over the last few years.

Nonetheless, after she returned home today, she spotted Molly Parfait-Tristan's mother-sitting on a nearby rocking chair, looking utterly melancholic.

Frowning, Savannah approached her after a few seconds of hesitation.

"What's wrong, Aunt Molly? Is something on your mind?" she asked, when she saw that Molly's

eyes were red and puffy, and she obviously had been crying.

"Oh, Sana... Someone beat up my poor Tris!" Molly cried, almost bursting into tears.

Taken aback, Savannah furrowed her brow. "Again?!"

What was going on here? Tristan being beaten up twice in less than a month?!

Still, she soon realized that something was off, and she asked, "Wait, isn't Tris still at the hospital? Was he beaten up in the hospital?"

Molly sighed. "No, he's not in the hospital-he's been complaining so much that Ethan and I had to get him discharged so that he could rest at home. He then told me that he was leaving on an errand in the afternoon, but he returned battered and bruised!"

"Do you know who did it?"

Molly shook her head. "He refused to say a word, and has shut himself in the room... Oh, Sana, he always listens to you-why don't you ask him what happened? Why is he getting beaten up

so much lately? Who did he upset? We should call the cops if this goes on..."

"Calm down, Aunt Molly. I'll ask him what's going on." Savannah told her, while wondering if it was Griffin Quinn again.

However, that should be impossible since his grandfather had grounded him!

Utterly confused, Savannah arrived outside Tristan's room, but almost as soon as she knocked on the door, Tristan snapped impatiently, "Stop bothering me, Mom!"

"It's me," Savannah said.

"Sana?" Tristan's tone became much milder. "What is it?"

"Open the door."

It should be noted here that there were two individuals in his extended family that Tristan Anderson feared. The first was his grandmother, given sheer seniority, and the second was Savannah.

Hence, noting the edge in Savannah's voice, Tristan quickly put on a cap before opening the door while keeping his head lowered, "What's up, Sana?"

###Chapter 133 Waiting for a Chance

Reluctant to let Savannah Anderson see his battered state, Tristan Anderson kept his head lowered.

Nonetheless, Savannah growled, "Lift your head."

Hesitating for seconds, Tristan raised his bruised face and grinned awkwardly, "Hey."

Savannah was taken aback to see the state of his face, and she could feel goosebumps all over her arm. Frowning, she asked, "Who did this?"

Tristan scratched his head and chuckled, "It's nothing, Sana. I just ran into some idiot and got into a scuffle."

Savannah took a deep breath and sternly said, "Tell me the truth."

Knowing that he could not trick her right then, Tristan admitted, "It's Castor Yaeger." "Castor Yaeger? That kid from out of town? Why would he have the balls to beat you up?" Savannah was actually surprised-it did not matter how important Castor was in Rollinsford, because he would be no more than a minor character in Alexandrius. That was why Savannah doubted that someone like him would attack Tristan.

"He is friends with Asher Crawford," Tristan suddenly said. Savannah understood what actually went down immediately.

Turning to sit on the living room couch, she put down her handbag and mused to herself for a while before saying, "You must have provoked him first, didn't you? You really are a troublemaker, Tristan."

First Griffin, and now Asher himself—if this went on, Tristan would be giving grief to the Macquoids next, would he not?

However, Tristan soon noticed the dark look on Savannah's face and quickly walked up to her. "No, Sana! Castor was the one who got me into a fight with Griffin, and I was a little upset, so I tried to straighten him up this time. I didn't expect him to be friends with Asher as well... I was even trying to keep quiet about it because I didn't want to trouble you." Savannah had every intention to scold Tristan right then, but was not able to say a thing after he said that. Musing to herself for a while again, she said, "Asher stayed in Rollinsford for two years. It's nothing weird if they are actually acquainted."

Tristan quickly told her, "Yeah, and his sister Dove Yaeger seems to like Asher as well. She was also the one who called Asher to the hotel behind my back today."

"Oh?" Savannah appeared slightly surprised, and she smiled thoughtfully after considering the idea. "Hah! I didn't expect him to be quite the playboy... Listen here, Tristan-neither Asher nor Griffin is a pushover, so don't bother them, and focus on Castor Yaeger. Do you get what I'm saying?"

Tristan was as conceited as the next rich kid, but he was no idiot and immediately caught on to Savannah's hint.

"I know what to do, Sana," he said, nodding.

***

Huxley Crawford was in a certain cafe trying to clear his head after he was out drinking with friends, and he decided to call Asher.

The interior was decorated well with several replicas of famous paintings lining the wall, which built up an elegant but relaxing atmosphere.

Soon, the door swung open-Huxley presumed it to be Asher, only to turn and find a man in his fifties: midsized, with a goatee and a gray coat, appearing quite well-mannered. Nonetheless, Huxley frowned ever so slightly as the man walked straight toward him, pulled out the chair opposite his and sat down.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"Someone important to you," the man replied with a faint smile.

Huxley laughed at that, wondering where this swindler came from to somehow target him,

Huxley Crawford. Giving the man a look of disdain, he growled, "Do you know who I am? Get out of here before I get pissed."

Even as Huxley had finished speaking and taken a large sip from his cup, the man never stopped smiling as he nodded. "I do. You're Huxley Crawford."

Huxley did a double take at that, but soon warned coolly, "Since you do know who I am, you know you shouldn't declare yourself as important to me-you don't have what it takes." No matter how many ideas scammers came up with these days, Huxley believed that he was above them. In fact, he believed that this man had simply done his homework enough to know who he was.

"We will know if I have what it takes soon enough." The man grinned. "Anyway, despite being the second son of the Crawfords, I'm aware you don't have much say in the family. Hell, everyone would be thinking about Asher Crawford if they ever mentioned your family, and not you... But if you're interested in changing that, I can help you, hence what I said."

His words actually left Huxley intrigued-who the hell was this guy?

On the other hand, the mysterious man smiled again, having seemingly caught on to Huxley's thoughts. "Anyway, I won't be telling you who I actually am for now, but just remember that I can change your current circumstances."

That in turn made Huxley study the man intently, but he appeared absolutely inscrutable, as he merely smiled faintly without showing any emotion otherwise. Moreover, he sounded perfectly confident in everything he said. After hesitating for seconds, Huxley asked, "Do tell. How are you going to help me?"

"Just do what I tell you, and I assure you that you will turn the tables-even claiming Asher's place on top of your family," the man replied. "After having left Alexandrius for two years, he is basically a different man and no longer the hellraiser from before. In fact, he is as powerful as he is cunning now, and we both know Solomon Crawford loves him. That's why he is just next to Solomon in power within your family, but there is only one thing you can do for now... and that is, bear with it."

"Bear with it."

"Yes, that's it." The man nodded. "You will never win against him... At least, not now. That is why you must bide your time and build your advantage, while waiting for a chance. We both know that Asher is under pressure as well, and it's not just the Schmidts, but also the Macquoids, and the latter is not going to let him off easily. So, you still have a chance."

Huxley thought then that the man actually made sense, but just as he was about to say something, he rose and headed outside.

Springing to his feet, he quickly asked, "Sorry, but what's your name? And how do I contact

you?"

"We will meet again when the time is right," The man simply said.

***

Asher parked his car outside the cafe when he spotted a familiar car he recognized as belonging

to one of the younger Schmidts. Still, he did not pay it much attention and alighted. Entering the cafe and heading upstairs, he noticed the mystery man stepping out of Huxley's

private room, and could not help looking at him twice.

"Friend of yours, Huxley?" he asked as he stood at the doorway.

Huxley was going to shake his head, but quickly nodded instead.

"Yeah, he's the father of a friend of mine," he said, knowing that it would ease Asher's suspicions. "Oh. What's with that getup, though? Heh." Asher chuckled as he entered. Meanwhile, even as Huxley poured Asher a cup of tea, what the mystery man told him about biding his time and waiting for his chance lingered in his mind. "By the way, I don't think we've gone out drinking since you've been back. I'll make it up to you if I have a chance, Ash." Asher was actually surprised by Huxley's politeness. Was he and his grandfather unnecessarily worried?

"Oh, don't mention it," he said. "We're family, aren't we? Moreover, you had to work hard for the family over the last two years when I wasn't around, and I couldn't fulfill my responsibility as the eldest. I owe you that much."

Huxley waved him off, chuckling, "Exactly-we're family, so you don't have to be so cagey. We're Crawfords, and that would never change. And since families are strong when they stand together, we have to work hard for the family's future.

Asher smiled and nodded, pleased that Huxley would think that way. It also proved that he had been worried about unnecessary things before, and that Huxley was not holding a grudge.

***

Meanwhile, the man in the large coat stepped out of the cafe and took a deep breath to calm himself before heading to the car that caught Asher's attention before. Getting in, he greeted the woman within and said, "I've done as you told, ma'am."

In fact, Asher was right that the car belonged to one of the Schmidts, as Rose Schmidt herself was behind the steering wheel. Nodding, she said, "Yes, but it won't be that easy to convince Huxley-even if he's not as formidable as Asher. One meeting won't be enough to rein him in, and you should meet him more. You don't have to tell him much of anything either, because you've succeeded as long as you have his attention. All it takes after this is to slowly lure him into our trap."

"Yes, ma'am, I understand. I must say that manipulating Huxley is certainly a shrewd trick, especially to use him against Asher... He's Asher's cousin, and the man would never see him coming. Once they are out of the way, no one in the Crawfords' younger generation can win

against you."

With that, Rose shelved her thoughts and soon drove away from sight. If Asher was still the hellraiser from two years ago, she would not have to personally deal with him.

At the same time, Asher and Huxley had reconciled despite previous differences, which was a

relief to Asher.