The Marvelous Elijah's Return

An arrest

Silence engulfed the room, and Mrs. Taylor frowned before

she cleared her throat and said, “We trusted you and give Emma to your bastard, and you betrayed us th

e moment your son–“,

“He‘s not my child anymore.” Mr. Briggs coldly interrupted.

“Well, the moment he rebelled against you, you turned on our family… So how do you expect us to trust

you when you have the means and ability to back out from any deal you make?”

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“Well, that‘s why I drafted out a contract. Mr. Alfred is offering fifty million for the project, and if we

settled on Theo marrying your granddaughter and living with you, I

will offer you fifty percent of the fifty million.”

TA

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Shock by her husband‘s sudden decision that she knew nothing about, Deborah cried, “Honey–”

“Stay out of this woman.” Mr. Briggs sternly replied, shooting his wife a deadly glare

, and then, his gaze shifted to Mrs.

Taylor as he added, “What do you say to such an offer?”

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“Also, you wouldn‘t need to feed me like that bastard or worry about me becoming a liability in your home

. After all, I am the Chief Financial Officer of my father‘s company. I have a master‘s degree and Doctorat

e Degree.” Theo bragged.

His titles immediately drew their attention like a mosquito is to an o blood

person and also because of the offer Mr. Briggs was making, the pair were immediately sold

and smiling widely at Mr. Briggs, Mrs. Taylor said, “Emma is not here, but

“We are not here for Emma!” Theo scoffed, already

knowing the history behind Emma in the Taylor family.

Clearing his

throat, Mr. Briggs glared at his son before looking at Mr. Taylor, saying, “We are interested in Ava, your ol

dest granddaughter.”

A slight frown crossed Mr. Taylor‘s face, anger boiling inside him, but he forced it aside, knowing that twe

nty–five million was at

stake, and then he said, “The first agreement we had, I reap nothing from in it, except headaches, disres

pect, and problems because my granddaughter got married to such a man that

is unworthy of her. And now, you are asking me to give another of my granddaughter to you?”

A nervous look passed Mr. Briggs‘ face at Mr. Taylor‘s words as he continued, “Emma is a beautiful youn

g lady, and another wealthy family would have been excellent to have her as their daughter–in–

law, but now she‘s stuck with the child you don‘t want.”

A line formed between Deborah‘s eyebrows as she looked at her husband and then said to Mr. Taylor, “

Why doesn‘t she just dumb him and remarried? it‘s only been a couple of days that they have been wedd

ed, so what‘s the issue?” Now it

was the Taylors‘ turn to feel uneasy as they exchanged glances with one another, knowing Emma alread

y refused, and yet, they still wanted more out of the deal. “Zane had already know about our granddaugh

ter, devaluing her worth to get married to the next suitor, and the title of a divorced woman is also

degrading… Because of you, she has become corrupt.” Mr. Taylor spat.

“50.5 percent of the fifty million.” Mr. Briggs stated, giving Mr. Taylor a smug grin. “Honey,” Deborah cried.

“sixty percent.” Mrs. Taylor said. “After all, this project was supposed to be her dowry… Now, you want to

use it to marry another one of our granddaughters.”

Scowling, Deborah met Madam Taylor‘s eyes, and she was about to object to such a bizarre request whe

n her husband suddenly interrupted, “Deal. My son, Theo, is going to marry your granddaughter then.” “

Who is Theo going to marry?”

Zane asked, his eyes darkening at the sight of his father. As Zane led her into the room, Emma kept clos

e by his side, seeing how her grandfather was glaring at her.

“Mr. Briggs has come to ask for my granddaughter‘s hand in marriage.” Mr. Taylor proudly uttered.

“Grandfather, I already told you that I am not divorcing my husband,” Emma said, keeping her tone low, e

ven though she was furious inside. A wild laugh left Theo‘s lips as he sized Emma with his eyes, saying, “

Don‘t toot your own horn. I don‘t want what had already been thrown into the trash and stunk up.”

‘I will make you pay for those words soon…‘ Zane thought, giving Theo a hard stare.

“That‘s good then because I don‘t what a man whose mouth is filthier than trash,” Emma

blurted out, making Theo jump to his feet.

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Immediately, Zane pulled her behind him, challenging his half –

brother with a look that was filled with rage.

His aura made Theo hesitate, seeing how dangerous Zane looked, and he quickly regained his composu

re and stood up straight, saying, “Teach your wife to watch her mouth, do you hear me?”

“I am not going to. So how about you come over here and do something about it?” Zane growled, glaring

furiously at Theo as he clutched his fists.

Frowning at Emma behind Zane, Mr. Taylor scoffed, “You should apologize to Theo now! He‘s going to b

e your older cousin‘s husband, and you will address him respectfully, do you understand me.”

Knowing that Ava and she were the only two females among the cousins, Emma mumbled, “Your brother

is marrying Ava.” Those words left a frown on Zane‘s face, and then he grabbed Emma‘s wrist, leading h

er out of the living room.

Then Deborah looked back at Madam Taylor and then said, “It doesn‘t

seem like he corrupt your granddaughter, but it‘s her that wants

to be corrupted, and yet you make it seem like–”

“Deborah, stop talking.” Mr. Briggs mumbled to his wife again.

When they got to their bedroom, Emma looked at Zane and said, “I don‘t like your brother… He is arroga

nt and conceited…”

“You are not alone in that thought. I don‘t like him either.” Zane mumbled.

It was taking everything in him to suppress the rage he felt as

AUDI

he thought, ‘Why would father all of sudden want to get theo married into the Taylor

family? It doesn‘t make sense.”

The buzzing sound from his phone made Zane reach into his back pocket, took out his phone, and answ

er it, seeing that it was Mr. Alfred calling.

“Zane, why didn‘t you tell me what happened between your father and you?” The old man‘s voice came

over the receiver.

Sighing, Zane closed his eyes as he took a deep breath and then answered, “I–”

“Come over to the address I am about to send you, and let‘s talk it through.” Mr. Alfred ordered.

“Alright,” Zane agreed, ending the call. Then he glanced back at Emma and said, “I have to go. Will you

be okay here till I get back, or do you want to-” “I will be fine. You should leave.”

Emma said, smiling at him.

“Are you sure… You can come-”

“I will be fine. I will even lock the door and don‘t leave the room until you get back.” “You promise?”

“I do.”

Even though Zane was hesitant, he sighed and then turned away, leaving the room, and closing the door

behind him.

Now that he was gone, the silence in the room slowly started to make the Taylor mansion feel like a

haunted home to Emma, and she knew going downstairs was not a good option, so she

locked the door and crawl back into bed.

Soon, a loud, “Bang,” on her door echoed, and she

immediately jumped from her sleep, hugging her knee as she stared at

the door, fear rising inside her heart, and then she called out, “Who is it?” Another, “Bang!” “Bang!” “Bang

!” echoed loudly before she heard Abner‘s voice, “Your grandmother requested your presence

downstairs.”

Keeping her silence, Emma slowly crawled out of bed, knowing what she promise Zane, and yet, she did

n‘t want to disobey her grandparents again and have him come home to a chaotic house.

When she opened the door, the cold smirk on Abner‘s face immediately made her heart drop. But she qui

etly walked past their and headed downstairs.

The moment she arrived in the living room and saw that Ava was back home and the Briggs were still the

re, Emma knew that she shouldn‘t have left the room.

“Where is your so–

called husband?” Ava asked with a smug smile, hugging unto Theo‘s arm. “Did grandmother tell you that

I am getting married to the second son of the Briggs family?… It seems like I got the better end of the sti

ck here, dear cousin.”

“Congratulations, Ava. I am happy for you.” Emma forced herself to say politely. Narrowing

his eyes at her, Theo let out, “Now that you don‘t have that bastard to hide behind, you have stop acting l

ike a loose woman.”

Slightly tightening her fist, Emma looked over at her

grandmother and said, “Grandma, you ask for me.”

“The Briggs are staying over for dinner. Go and help Abner in the kitchen and

help with tonight dinner.” Mrs. Taylor said.

“Okay, Grandma.” With that, Emma left the room, ignoring the snort from Ava.

When they got in the kitchen, Abner handed over a apron to Emma, saying, “Your grandmother warn us

only to supervise you and not to help you. Dinner is solely yours to make.”

Walking through the door of a large penthouse, Zane mind was half focus, and the other half of his brain w

Emma… That he had left her in that place alone.

The servants immediately bowed as he walked passed them, and then this older gentleman approached h

you in the study hall. Please step right this way.” Calmly, Zane followed him, more servants bowing to him

room that appeared to be a large library with shelves of books all around. A beautiful mahogany table sat

of the fireplace, and Mr. Alfred sitting there, staring out of the window.

“Master, Sir Zane is here.” The older gentleman said before turning away, when Mr. Alfred dismissed him w

“Sit, Zane.” Mr. Alfred commanded, abandoning the beautiful sight of the window in favor of facing Zane h

Without any hesitation or questioning, Zane stepped forward,

standing in front of the desk.

“Your father had made a move… A ridiculous move at that rate, so what‘s your plan,

boy…” Mr. Alfred stated, looking at him closely.

“I still need to downplay things until I can figure out what I am going up against.” Zane replied calmly.

Tapping his fingers on

the desk, Mr. Alfred didn‘t look pleased with Zane‘s response, and he could tell by how the

old man‘s brows furrowed together and that the corners of his lips twitched slightly.‘

However, Mr. Alfred pushed it aside with a frown and then asked, “So, you want me to continue with your

“Actually… I know this is too much to ask, but can you hold back on kicking off the project just yet.”

Zane asked.

A smile crept upon Mr. Alfred‘s lips, and then he stopped hitting the table, saying, “I can hold it as long as

to.”

At eight o‘clock, Zane walked into the Taylor‘s mansion and he could hear laughter coming from the dining

A hiss then suddenly left her lips and Zane‘s brows snapped together, hearing the pain laced in her voice.

“What happened?” Zane asked.

Immediately, she jumped at his voice, and when she refused to turn around or

answer, Zane walked around her. “What the hell happened to you?” He let out, scowling at the blister on h

flared. “It‘s nothing,” Emma mumbled.

Not buying her story, Zane turned to head downstairs when she grabbed his wrist and said, “Honestly, it‘s

“Don‘t lie to me, Emma.” Zane said, his dark eyes boring into hers.

“I was bored so I when to go help out in the kitchen-“

“You are still lying.” Seeing the look of frustration on his face, Emma hesitated, but then he pleaded, “Plea

“Promise me you won‘t do anything. I don‘t want you getting in trouble again.” Emma whispered. 2 “I prom

“Grandmother said, since the Briggs was staying over, I should be the one to make dinner tonight. I was fr

Taking

Emma by the back of her head, Zane pulled her face against his stomach, caressing her hair gently as he

am sorry. But I am going to break my promise to you.”