Chapter 486

As Tanya ate, she noticed something was off with Elissa's mood. "Mr. Blaine and Jacqueline moved back? Feeling lonely already?"

"Not at all." Elissa chuckled softly.

Her mentor's place was just a short drive from Vistapeak Gardens. It wasn't far enough to get sentimental over.

Tanya arched a brow, mumbling around a mouthful of chicken. "Then what's wrong?"

"Rowan knows." Elissa paused, realizing that was too vague. "He knows that Paige Jensen orchestrated my adoptive parents' deaths."

Tanya froze, abandoning her food. "What did he say?"

She knew better than anyone that this was the thorn wedged deep in Elissa's heart.

Until it was pulled out, Elissa and Rowan were over.

Elissa lowered her head, a self-deprecating smile on her lips. She had been so naive. "He didn't say anything. He got a call saying Paige collapsed, and he left."

Why did she ever think Rowan would choose her over his own grandmother?

Family was always family.

Inside a private hospital owned by the Murphy Group.

When Rowan arrived, Paige had already been moved to a VIP suite. Karol Murphy, Slate Murphy, and the rest of the family were standing guard.

Seeing them looking as if facing a mortal enemy, Rowan walked in with a raised eyebrow. "Waiting for her to dictate her will?"

The entire room went stiff.

Even if that was exactly what they were thinking, no one had the guts to say it out loud.

Especially Slate, who had been Paige's favorite all these years.

Despite his fear of Rowan, he couldn't hold back. "She's not dead yet, and you're already cursing her?"

"I'm cursing her?" Rowan offered a cold, mirthless smile, walking over to the bed. He glanced at Paige lying there then shot Slate an indifferent Hook. fcursing worked shed be dead already."

What kind of ungodly disrespect was this!

Karol immediately tried to play peacemaker. "Rowan, no matter how much you

resent her, she's still your grandmother..."

Rowan shot back, "Are any of you blind to the fact that she's not?"

The words dropped like an anvil, freezing the air in the room.

Everyone exchanged wide-eyed looks. Even the heart monitor tracking Paige's pulse noticeably sped up.

When no one spoke, Rowan

chuckled, though the amusement didn't reach his eyes. "Every single

person in this room

shares her

blood. I'm the only one who doesn't."

Still, no one dared to argue.

After a long pause, Karol, acting as the elder, forced herself to speak again. But the Murphy family has never mistreated you? these years, have we? You're basically running the entire Murphy Group now."

"Aunt Karol," Rowan laughed lightly, "you should know better than anyone that I took this position by force."

He casually dragged a chair over and sat down, leaning back comfortably. Crossing

his long legs, his dark eyes swept over the Murphy family members present.

"If I hadn't taken it, there probably wouldn't be a trace of me left in this family, right?"

They would have taken his life along with everything else.

Others might not know the details, but Karol certainly did.

Before she could speak, Rowan tilted his chin, signaling lan to enter.

Taking the cue, lan stepped in and addressed the crowd. "My boss has some private matters to discuss with the Matriarch. Please wait outside."

Slate wasn't happy about it, but lacking the courage to defy Rowan directly, he hesitated. "She hasn't even woken up yet..."

"Look closely." Rowan pointed at the heart monitor. "What unconscious person has a heart rate like that?"

The moment he said it, the monitor beeped even faster.