Chapter 2

The next morning, I walked into the living room and saw Marshall returning with breakfast in hand. He beamed at me, inviting me to eat.

He had brought a spread of grits with cheese, fried dough, and cinnamon rolls, all greasy and spicy food.

"Harper, I wasn’t sure what you liked, so I got what your mother-in-law and Ben enjoy."

I looked at the spread and forced a smile.

"Dad, you still remember what they like to eat?"

Marshall’s smile faltered for a second but quickly returned to normal.

"Of course! We’re family, after all. How could I forget?"

"Your mother and Ben always loved grits, especially with extra spice."

I sat down slowly, picking up a spoon and eating the grits absentmindedly.

The flavor was fine, but both Mrs. Harrington and Ben were allergic to dairy.

And in recent years, Mrs. Harrington had developed high cholesterol, so she couldn’t eat greasy food anymore.

Ben couldn’t handle spicy food either. I once secretly put a tiny bit of hot sauce in his dish, and he turned bright red.

Maybe Marshall didn’t know about Mrs. Harrington’s health conditions, but their allergy to dairy? That’s something they’ve had forever.

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At first, I thought Marshall’s sudden return was part of some scheme.

I observed him for two weeks, but all he did was take Mrs. Harrington shopping for clothes and jewelry, or give me and Ben cash gifts for no reason.

Watching Marshall’s sincerity, I started wondering if I was being too suspicious.

Could it be that he really wanted to make up for lost time?

One day, when Ben and I were off work, Marshall brought home a man.

"This is my assistant, Gabriel Sterling. He’s been busy with work, but he finally had time to come by today."

Gabriel looked a few years younger than Ben, wearing gold-rimmed glasses and looking well-mannered.

"Nice to meet you! I’m Gabriel, Mr. Harrington’s assistant."

Marshall then told us that his boss was planning to open a branch of their company here and that he’d be made the general manager. Gabriel had been handling the company’s business over the past few days.

Mrs. Harrington and Ben were overjoyed, clearly impressed that Marshall had climbed to such a high position.

But something about it felt off. It all seemed too sudden.

During dinner, Marshall kept praising Gabriel, calling him talented and giving him credit for helping out a lot.

Gabriel, on the other hand, was humble, insisting it was all thanks to Marshall’s leadership.

After dinner, Marshall pulled Ben into the office, saying they had some business matters to discuss.

I felt increasingly uneasy and snuck to the office door to eavesdrop.

I overheard Marshall say, "Ben, this is a rare opportunity. You need to stick with me on this."

Ben replied, "Dad, I know, but is this really legit?"

Marshall lowered his voice. "Don’t worry. With Gabriel’s help, everything’s fine."

The more I listened, the more suspicious I became. I returned to the living room to find Mrs. Harrington and Gabriel chatting away.

There was something unsettling in Gabriel’s gaze.

That night, I shared my concerns with Everett, but he shrugged it off, saying I was overthinking things.

Yet my intuition told me there was something more going on with Marshall’s sudden success and this mysterious assistant, Gabriel.

Everett brushed it off, telling me to rest.

I sighed as I lay next to Everett, who was already snoring away.

If things kept going like this, Marshall could sell Ben out, and he’d still be counting the money.

As for the Urban Renewal Project, I decided to keep that to myself for now, just in case.