Chapter 407: Truth (Part 1)
Chapter 407 Truth (Part 1)
"Normally, people are always eager to talk about their glorious and beautiful memories. But you… deliberately avoided the topic when you were about to mention it."
Feng Bu Jue shook the fax paper in his hand and continued, "After I got this, everything became clear. It wasn’t that you didn’t want to talk—it was that you couldn’t." He paused. "That bright future of yours was closely tied to your father."
Feng Bu Jue faced the crowd as he walked, "When Mr. Barton was seven years old, his mother committed suicide due to depression. I think… if that lady had endured for a few more years, she might have become the second hostess of this family, and John could have openly inherited his father’s surname."
"Unfortunately, there are no 'what-ifs' in this world."
"We can imagine the situation Mrs. Chin must have faced back then… She waited year after year for the man she loved to give her a name, but he showed no intention of divorcing his wife, and even had a second child with her. When she took her son to register for school, the child asked, 'Why do other students have both a dad and a māma accompanying them?' She couldn’t answer. She couldn’t even explain to her son why he had to take her surname."
"But she didn’t have the ability to survive on her own without that man. She was just a lowly mistress, and all she could do was wait, cry, and silently protest from the depths of her heart."
"So, that winter, she chose to end her life, seeking liberation and forever occupying a place in that man’s heart."
Kolsten, sitting on the wall-side seat, covered his face with both hands, burying his proud head deeply.
"Later, the guilt-ridden father sent the illegitimate son to a boarding school abroad", Feng Bu Jue continued. "He kept the child far away from himself, supporting him just as he had supported the boy’s mother."
"The child grew up day by day, learning independence early on. He was ten points excellent in every aspect, with a personality far more mature than his peers. But… deep inside, he harbored hatred."
"He never felt grateful for everything his father gave him. In his eyes, it was all deserved—compensation paid by his mother’s life. In the end, his father was merely trying to atone with money, without offering any family affection."
"So, at an appropriate age, the rebellious nature deep in Barton’s bones finally erupted. A young man who had received higher education, handsome, talented, and full of promise, became a great thief."
Feng Bu Jue raised his palm toward Barton, "Ladies and gentlemen, please note my choice of words—great thief." He smirked. "Although Mr. Barton once told me himself that he was just a 'burglar' who 'spent two years in Pan Dongwei’er Prison at thirty…' based on the file I have here, he’s no second-rate thief. He’s the kind of top expert who could be listed among the Eleven Saints."
"Thanks for the compliment", Barton replied coldly.
"You’re welcome", Feng Bu Jue looked at Barton naturally as he responded, then continued, "As for the days you spent in prison… it wasn’t two years, but ten—ten long years." He sighed deeply. "You went to prison in your twenties and only finished your sentence eight years ago. You had no job, no friends. Your father, the only family you had left in the world, took you in. But his legitimate children were already adults. He couldn’t just bring home someone whose origins were unknown and casually say, 'Hey! Come meet your half-brother—you know, the one who just got out of prison.'"
"So… your identity became the gardener here."
At this point, Feng Bu Jue had reached the window. He stopped and stood there in a brief moment of silence, as if giving the crowd behind him time to think.
"The moon tonight is truly beautiful", he soon said, gazing at the night sky outside the window.
The others in the dining hall had no mood to admire the moon. They all felt a whirlwind of emotions, unsure how to face these sudden revelations.
"Now… let’s talk about this will", Feng Bu Jue turned around. "As I said, I’ve already read it. And after reading it, I was almost certain… Dennis isn’t Kolsten’s son."
"Isn’t Dennis’s name on the will?" Scofield followed Feng Bu Jue’s line of thought and asked.
"That’s exactly right", Feng Bu Jue pointed at Kolsten by the wall. "Mr. Lovecraft has always treated his family well. Take Young Master Jack and Miss Nancy, for example. Regardless of their life choices, Lord Kolston has always tried his best to support them, never sparing money or patience." He tilted his head. "If Jack were my son, he might have starved to death in the first year of 'chasing his dreams.'"
"Hey!" Jack grumbled unhappily.
"Hehe…" Feng Bu Jue chuckled. "But… how has this lord treated others?" He turned toward Henderson again. "A man who had an affair with his wife, nearly seventy years old, is still working as his servant, even engaging in heavy physical labor. Is that just a coincidence? Is it possible that Dennis’s name was left off the will simply because he forgot to write it?"
"You… you know…" Nancy immediately understood and looked at her father in astonishment.
"Yes, I’ve always known", Kolsten replied with a hoarse voice. "I knew about Dennis shortly after he was born, but I never confronted his mother or Henderson about it…"
"Henderson, feeling deep remorse, dedicated the rest of his life to atonement. Even when his body could no longer handle the work of a butler, he refused to retire. He only wanted to work in this villa… in the place where that madam and his son once lived, until his very last breath", Feng Bu Jue continued. "Kolsten’s pride was trampled, and he couldn’t let it go. Therefore, he never tried to stop Henderson."
"Huh…" Feng Bu Jue exhaled deeply. "After reading the will, I finally understood why Henderson fainted when he saw the corpse. Because… the one who died was his son."
"I’m sorry, Henderson", Barton turned his head and said to Henderson at this point. "I have no grudge against you, but I had to do it."
Henderson didn’t respond, sitting silently by the table, his face still pale as paper.
"Yes, you had to do it", Feng Bu Jue took over. "Because this afternoon, you overheard the conversation between Kolsten and Dennis in the second-floor room." He walked back to the table, stuffing everything he had into the paper bag again. "Naturally, you wouldn’t stand in the corridor, pressing your ear against the door panel to eavesdrop—that’s too easy to be discovered. So you went to the storage room, got wire cutters and a ladder, came outside the house, and climbed onto the tree closest to the room to eavesdrop. That way, even if someone saw you, you could immediately pretend you were doing pruning work."
Feng Bu Jue picked up the last bit of red wine on the table and poured it all into the wine glass. "However, the height a ladder can reach, or the places an average person can climb… are still quite far from the second-floor window. In other words… ordinary people, even if they climb the tree, can’t hear the conversation in that room clearly. Unless…"
"Unless one possesses special skills", Scofield interjected. He had also seen Barton’s file and had some knowledge of his abilities.
"You climbed to the highest branch where only cats could stand, using your superior hearing to successfully eavesdrop on the conversation in the room", Feng Bu Jue said. "Obviously, the reason Dennis and Lord Kolston quarreled wasn’t about removing Madame Odetta’s name from the will…" He took a sip of wine. "But about removing everyone’s names from the will and adding just one… 'Dennis Lovecraft.'"
The three direct heirs—Jack, Nancy, and Odette—immediately changed expressions upon hearing this.
"I think Dennis must have found out about the will’s contents through some channel… perhaps by bribing Kolsten’s lawyer… then all he needed to do was hire a few private detectives to follow the trail and easily uncover Barton’s true identity", Feng Bu Jue continued. He emptied his glass. "A lover who committed suicide, a bastard who served time in prison, a wealthy man with multiple marriages… handing this story to the tabloid press would keep them busy for a serial half-year. Dennis undoubtedly used these to intimidate Lord Kolston into submission."
"No! You’re lying! My Dennis would never do that! Why would he push his father to such an extreme? What’s the worth of an inheritance? He’s already married to me. Our family…" Carol said, her voice trembling with emotion.
Feng Bu Jue interrupted her, "You truly are pitiful."
Carol widened her eyes, tears glistening in her pupils. She seemed to realize something but couldn’t accept it yet.
"Dennis must have already known he wasn’t Mr. Lovecraft’s biological son", Feng Bu Jue said. "Undoubtedly, his mother told him before her death. That means… he knew even as a child. He must have secretly hated his biological father and his origins. That’s why he was so cold toward Henderson. He was also ten points indifferent to his younger brothers and sisters."
"He married a woman from a family with a higher status than the Lovecrafts to secure a backup plan for himself. He looked into Kolsten’s will both because he knew his real identity and because he understood this old man’s nature."
"Dennis had no real emotional attachment to Kolsten, his nominal father. The bitterness buried in his heart far surpassed anyone else in this house. When he discovered that 'Barton'… forgive my language… this bastard’s name appeared on the will, while he, who had played the role of son for decades, got nothing… his actions were only natural."
(End of Chapter)
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