The Husband and Father in Name

"You passed away suddenly before you had the chance to enjoy the happiness of having children and grandchildren around you. Your departure was a huge blow to me!" "After you left, Darian kicked me out of the house and Aleena filed for divorce with me in order to be with him." "Even Haghen hates and despises me and wants Darian to be his father!" "I can ignore all of these." "But I swear to find the murderer who killed you and make him pay the price." "Over the years, I have never given up on finding the murderer and I have found some clues. Mom, Dad, please wait a little longer ...." I was the adopted son of the Quinn Family. Even though I was not the biological son, my father and mother cherished me a lot. When I was in my twenties, I married Aleena. After a year of our marriage, she gave birth to Haghen. At that time, Darian Quinn, the real son of the Quinn Family, returned to the family. Darian was good at disguising himself and won the favor of his parents. I also took good care of him. After all, I thought, it was me who took his place and enjoyed the wealth and glory in the Quinn Family for more than twenty years. I owed him and wanted to make it up to him. However, I never expected that Darian had such a vicious heart hidden under his hypocritical face. He plotted to frame me. He secretly seduced my wife, deliberately flattered and spoiled my son and repeatedly spoke ill of me in front of my adoptive parents. Aleena and Haghen ignored me from time to time and even began to despise me. Fortunately, our parents saw Darian's malicious intentions and scolded him several times before he behaved himself for a period of time. As a result, when Haghen was eight years old, our parents died in a car accident. The driver involved in the accident had not been found yet. As soon as our parents passed away, Darian inherited their estate. The first thing he did was to dismiss me from all positions in the Quinndom Group and drive me out of the Quinn Family's manor. Aleena did not have the slightest hesitation and threw a divorce agreement in front of me, forcing me to leave the house. My eight-year-old son, Haghen, even punched and kicked me, saying, "I don't want you to be my dad. I want Uncle Darian to be my dad. Get out of here!" Darian put his arm around Aleena's waist and said to me smugly and sarcastically, "Hansel, to put it nicely, you are an adopted son of my parents. To put it bluntly, you are just a dog my parents raised!" "What do you have to compete with me?" Aleena snuggled in Darian's arms and said to me with disdain, "I married you not because of you, but because you are the heir of the Quinns!" "Since the real heir of the Quinns has returned, as the adopted son of the Quinns, what qualifications do you have to accompany me till old age?" The vows of love we were made in the past became a complete joke at that time. It was also from that time, my heart completely died for the mother and son. I left the Quinn Family with nothing, like a lost dog. I felt I had already despaired of the world. I sat by the river the whole night. I had several impulses in my heart to plunge into the surging river, but the voices and smiles of my adoptive parents kept appearing in my mind. The driver who caused their death had not been found yet and I had not repaid them yet for raising me. How could I give up on myself and seek death? When I was about to cheer myself up and leave the riverbank, an old man came over from not far away and said to me with a smile, "If you really jump down from here, it will disappoint me so much."

"I've been watching over you the whole night. Come on, I'll take you to have some breakfast and then we can have a good chat." This old man was my close friend later on, Kyler Etheridge, the big boss of the Ethereal Group. He has been following me ever since I was kicked out of the Quinn Family. In his words, he was very optimistic about my abilities and wanted me to join the senior management team of Ethereal Group. I refused. I said, "I want to try and see if I can make a name for myself after leaving the Quinns with my own abilities." Kyler favored me even more. With his help, I plunged into the financial industry. With my own abilities and hard work, I gradually broke into the ranks of the bigwigs behind the scenes. Kyler and I became close friends regardless of age difference and he introduced me into the top gathering circle in the business world, which was full of top bosses from various industries. Ten years had passed in a blink of an eye. Looking back, the Quinn Family, which was once so huge to me, was really not worth mentioning in front of me now. I never thought about taking revenge on Aleena and Haghen, mother and son. The only thing I could not let go of was the car accident that happened to my adoptive parents. Over the years, I had hired many private detectives and mobilized a lot of connections to investigate the details of the car accident that my adoptive parents had. The few days ago, I finally got some clues. I took out my mobile phone and looked at a photo on it. It was a photo of Darian and Aleena’s wedding. Ten years ago, after I was kicked out of the Quinn Family's manor, the two of them got married. Haghen, dressed a boy's suit and stood beside them and the family of three had sweet and happy smiles. This photo was sent to me by Darian on purpose to provoke me. I murmured. "Is it you? Or is it her?" "We should know the answer tomorrow!" "No matter who killed my parents, I will make that murderer pay a heavy price!" I have said that whoever killed their foster parents, I will make that murderer pay a heavy price On the day of Haghen's 17th birthday party, the Quinn Family was very lively. Ten years had passed in a blink of an eye, but there had not been much change in the Quinn Family's manor. Of course, these were just appearances. Over the years, under the leadership of Darian, the Quinn Family's company, Quinndom Group, had been on the decline. If the Quinndom Group failed to raise funds this time, they might have to mortgage and sell the old house to ease the financial pressure on the company. Many guests came to the Qin family. The moment they saw me here, many of them showed strange expressions. "Why is Hansel here?" "Nonsense, today is his son's sweet seventeen birthday party, how can he not come?" "That's a bit ridiculous. Everyone knows that Hansel was kicked out of the house. Moreover, Aleena divorced him and even his son didn't recognize him. He came here at this time, could he be here to mess things up?" "Since he was kicked out of the Quinns' manor, I haven't heard any news about him. I don't know what he has been busy with these years." "I heard that he seems to know Mr. Etheridge from the Ethereal Group. The Quinns invited him to attend the birthday party. It seems that they want to leverage his friendship with Mr. Etheridge to establish a connection between the Quinns and Mr. Etheridge." "What you said is even more nonsense. Mr. Etheridge is the big boss of the Ethereal Group? How could Hansel have a relationship with him?" In recents years, after I got into the financial industry, I had been working behind the scenes. Apart from the bigwigs in the top community, few people knew that I was the emerging financial tycoon in recent years.

I ignored the guests present. Under their strange gazes, I went to the buffet table and picked out the food I favored to savor. Just at this moment, today's protagonist appeared. Aleena took Darian's arm and walked to me with Haghen. Haghen looked at me with disdain and said, "Are you wearing such outfit to attend my birthday party? Are you trying to embarrass me on purpose?" I dressed in ordinary casual clothes. Although not as good as the suits and ties of other guests, I was still quite clean and tidy. I did not think there was anything wrong with it, but Haghen looked quite unpleasant. To be honest, even if I dressed up in elegant suit and tie, it would be impossible for Haghen and others to find it pleasing. I said calmly, "I've been quite poor lately. I can't afford high-end shoes and clothes." Haghen looked at me with even more contempt. Before he could say more words, Aleena said coldly, "Hansel, I'm letting you attend Haghen's birthday party to give you face, so don't make any disgraceful things." Looking at the woman who once promised to grow old with me and made a vow of love to me, I could not help feeling a little emotional. Back then, I was too naive about love and failed to see Aleena's true face earlier. Whenever I thought of the time when she took out the divorce agreement and threw it in my face without hesitation and when I thought of how I was filled with sorrow and wanted to jump into the river, I felt that I was so stupid. The sincerity I gave back then should just be considered as feeding the dog! Darian looked at me with a smile and said, "I haven't heard from you in these years. I thought you couldn't bear the blow you suffered and chose to commit suicide." "After ten years, we brothers meet again. My parents must be very happy if they are still alive." I gave him a cold look and said in a calm voice, "I heard that after I was kicked out of the house, the Quinndom Group has been losing money every year under your leadership, almost to the point of selling the Quinn's house." "I wonder what Mom and Dad would think if they were still alive!" A cold anger flashed through Darian's eyes, but he held back and said, "What happened back then was a misunderstanding." "I have figured it out over the years. I am planning to let you rejoin the Quinndom Group and give you the position of vice president!" Aleena continued. "Darian is magnanimous. He doesn't care about the conflicts between you and him back then. You should stop being so pretentious." "Judging from the cheap clothes you're wearing. you must have had a hard time these years!" "Being able to become the vice president of Quinndom Group is absolutely pie in the sky for you." "Of course, there is still a condition for being the vice president of the Quinndom Group." I looked at the husband and wife coldly as they performed a duet in front of me and said calmly, "What are the conditions? Tell me!" Darian cleared his throat and said, "I heard that you have some friendship with Mr. Etheridge from the Ethereal Group? Is that true?" I nodded and responded casually, "He's an ordinary friend, we've met a few times." Darian's eyes lit up and he said, "As long as you can get Mr. Etheridge to invest more than sixty-eight million dollars in our company, the position of vice president of the Quinndom Group will be yours." Hearing this, I almost burst into laughter. Not to mention the current Quinndom Group, even when the Quinndom Group was at its peak ten years ago, a vice president position was not worth so much money. Sixty-eight million dollars investment for the position of Vice President of Quinndom Group?

Did Darian and the others think I was a fool? Before I could respond, a loud noise came from behind me. A middle-aged man with a big belly walked over and many guests hurriedly stood up to greet him. Seeing the fat middle-aged man, his eyes suddenly lit up. He left me and hurried over to the man. Darian smiled brightly and said in a slightly humble and flattering tone, "Mr. Garfield, you are finally here." "It is such an honor for me that you can take time out of your busy schedule to attend my son's birthday party." Not only Darian, but also Aleena and our son acted fawning and licking in front of Martin Garfield. Many guests were whispering to each other. "Although the Quinndom Group has gradually declined over the years, a lean camel is still bigger than a horse." "The Vice President of the Ethereal Group, Martin Garfield, even come here. Does this mean that the Quinndom Group has established a connection with the Ethereal Group?" "If that's the case, then the Quinndom Group is likely to be reborn from the ashes. Who doesn't know that Ethereal Group is a huge company? As long as they can hold onto Ethereal Group's thigh tightly, they can fly up." "Even though Martin is the Vice President of Ethereal Group, he only holds a temporary position and does not have much real power. If it weren't for him being the nephew of Kyler Etheridge, how could he have become the Vice President of Ethereal Group?" "That's also his ability. If you have the ability, go find an uncle who is born rich!" Martin was very arrogant. He shook hands with Darian and said calmly, "Mr. Quinn, I'm busy, I don't have much time. Let's sign the contract first!" "After signing the contract, I'll go back and tell my uncle about investing in your company. How about that?" Darian was a little hesitant. Aleena hurriedly said, "No problem, we can sign the contract now." After that, she whispered to Darian. "If we can't seize this opportunity, the Quinndom Group will really be finished." "The Quinns' manor is not very useful to us. Even if we sell it at a high price, we can only get fourteen million dollars at most, which is not enough for the company's capital operation." "Although Mr. Garfield has lowered the price of the manor and only offered one million four hundred thousand dollars, as long as he can convince Mr. Etheridge to invest in our company, all of this doesn't matter!" Haghen also advised Darian, saying, "Dad, if our company goes bankrupt, it's useless to keep this house!" "I don't want to live a poor life. You promised me that you would buy me a luxury car and a mansion after my seventeen birthday." Darian excitedly nodded and said to Martin with a smile, "Okay, since Mr. Garfield has said so, I won't say much." Martin smiled proudly, took out a contract to purchase the Quinn Family's manor and asked Darian to sign it. I, who had been silent the whole time, said in a deep voice, "This manor is the ancestral property of the Quinns. Even if our parents were in the most difficult times, they never thought of selling it!" "Darian, are you going to sell it for only one million four hundred thousand dollars?" "If the ancestors of the Quinns knew about it, I'm afraid their graves would explode with anger." Hearing this, Darian was furious and shouted at me. "Hansel, shut up!" "You're just an adopted son and you dare to teach me a lesson?" The Quinns’ manor is my property under my name. I can sell it if I want. If you dare to talk nonsense again, I will have someone kick you out right now!"

Aleena and Haghen also glared at me, as if I had cut off their financial path. Before, they were counting on me to connect the Quinn Family with the Ethereal Group. But after seeing Martin, they felt that I had no use and could be discarded at will. Just as decisive as when they kicked me out of the house! They were so realistic! Martin glanced at me and snorted. "Are you the adopted son, Hansel, who was kicked out of the Quinns back then?" "You are not the one who is in charge of the Quinns, so what qualifications do you have to butt in?" "Get out of here!" Looking at the arrogant Vice President of Ethereal Group, I felt a sense of emotion in my heart. Kyler mentioned Martin to me. Even though Martin was his nephew, he was still annoyed with him. If Kyler had not asked him to help take care of Martin when his older sister passed away, Kyler would have kicked Martin out of the Ethereal Group long ago. Seeing Darian sign the contract to purchase the Quinn Family's ancestral manor, I frowned and said to him, "Does Kyler know about the purchase of the Quinns' manor at a lower price?" "Are you not afraid of your uncle's punishment after you do this behind his back?" Martin got angry and gave me a fierce glare, saying to Darian, "Mr. Quinn, what your brother said makes me quite uncomfortable." Darian gritted his teeth and stared at me angrily. "Hansel, can't you understand human language?" "You intentionally provoked Mr. Garfield and disrupted the cooperation between our family and Mr. Garfield. You just don't want to see our family live a good life, right?" "I shouldn't have agreed to let you attend this birthday party. Someone, break this guy's legs and throw him out." As soon as he finished speaking, some relatives of the Quinn Family walked towards me with unfriendly expressions. Aleena and Haghen glared at me, cursing and preparing to attack me. In the moment, an angry shout came from the entrance of the Quinn Family's manor. "Stop!" In the next second, Kyler walked in with a group of people. The people behind Kyler were all top bosses and experts in the industry and also members of our community. Seeing this scene, I rolled my eyes and felt helpless. Today was the day of the community's gathering party. I had already told Kyler not to tell those bastards that I came to the Quinn Family today. Kyler clearly did not listen to my words. He deliberately brought those bastards here to join in the fun! Kyler and the others raised their eyebrows at me, with a hidden smile. Kyler said to his nephew, who looked pale, "Mr. Garfield, you are so arrogant and presumptuous, using my name to bully others!"