Chapter 9
Jacob was bundled up by the Hachett brothers and sent back to the countryside.
Rumor had it that both his legs were broken.
Howard wanted this sole heir to survive, but he was also determined to ensure the survival of the entire Kecith family.
I had forgotten that, even though the Hachett family had kept a low profile recently, they still held significant influence within the underworld’s dark web.
When Ronald informed me of all this, he was nonchalantly swiping on a tablet.
I no longer cared about Jacob’s fate, so I asked him out of curiosity what he was doing.
Ronald handed me the tablet and said, “I’ve shorted the Caide Group.”
I was taken aback.
“The Caide family? My family?”
Ronald nodded, smiling.
I exclaimed, “What about the shares I worked so hard to secure? Are they gone too?”
Ronald’s smile widened.
“I sold your shares at a high price before shorting them,” he explained.
0.00%
05:02
Chapter 9
11
288 Vouchers
Caleb, standing beside us, chuckled.
“Lilianna, you have no idea. My younger brother here is the most skilled trader in the world.”
I was filled with admiration.
For the first time, I grasped the meaning of the saying, “In the midst of chatting and laughing, the powerful enemy is reduced to ashes.”
Ronald handed me a glass of water to help me calm down.
“The Caide family has gone bankrupt and is now saddled with enormous debts. Your deceitful father and stepsister are out on the streets, pursued by debt collectors and with no place to settle down,” he informed me.
He also mentioned that he had invested my money wisely, securing a prosperous and carefree future for me.
As I listened to him give instructions, my heart felt heavy.
Ronald was organizing his affairs before his passing, taking care of things for me.
But I no longer wanted him to die.
He saw the fear, sadness, and hesitation in my eyes and gently pulled me close.
“Don’t worry. I still have some time left,” he reassured me.
Tears filled my eyes and began to fall.
That evening, I went to see Caleb and asked if there was truly no cure for Ronald’s illness.
27 708
Chapter 9
11
Caleb shook his head, a rare sadness in the eyes of someone usually indifferent to life’s ups and downs.
“The best we can do is make the most of the time we have with him,” he said, looking at me.
“I can’t express how thankful I am that you’ve come. Since your arrival, his condition has improved.”
He then handed me a black card.
“I intended to give this to you later, but with it, you can seek help from the Hachett family anywhere in the world. Consider this my way of repaying you.”
With shaky hands, I accepted it, feeling a heavy weight press on my
heart.
Whether or not I possessed this card, my love for Ronald had already been profound.
Whoever I loved, I gave them my entire heart, just as I had done with Jacob before and as I did with Ronald.
2
Upon leaving Caleb’s room, I found Ronald waiting at the door.
“How did you know I was here?” I asked.
“When you cared, you just knew,” Ronald replied with a smile.
My heart ached, yet I was filled with an unexpected surge of courage.
So what if our time together was limited? What if a miracle occurred?
Regardless of how much time we had left, I wanted to cherish every day with him.
05 020
Chapter 9
11
270 Vouchers
Three months later, Ronald passed away and chose to be buried at sea.
I took his ashes and set off on a journey around the world.
At each new sea I visited, I scattered a part of his ashes. Together, our footprints spanned across the globe.
Five years on, I decided to move back to New Zealand and make it my home.
This was the place where we had shared the most time together.
The lush green fields extended endlessly.
An airplane soared above, gradually disappearing into the horizon.
As I watched it vanish, I smiled and wondered, “What was on Ronald’s mind when he waited for me after bringing me here back then?”
The end.
