Chapter 236 Last Words
Marlowe was almost knocked straight back into the lift
It one more person lunged, he’d end up flattened against the wall.
I cleared my throat loudly.
You lot see a briefcase and start crawling like cockroaches on a dropped croissant. Did any of you even ask how Edouard is doing? Or are you all just here to count zeroes?‘
The front row shuffled backwards.
A man in a beige trench coat blinked, glanced at his shoes. ‘Of course we care. He’s family.‘
The ICU door clicked open.
Ashton stood in the doorway.
‘Come in.‘
It was like he’d fired the starting pistol at a race.
Everyone surged forward.
A man elbowed past a woman in a tweed jacket.
Someone’s handbag caught on the IV pole.
Edouard lay still beneath the ceiling light, chest rising in fits and starts.
A ventilator mask covered his nose and mouth.
Tubes ran down both arms, taped tight against his skin
Two doctors stood at the head of the bed, flanked by three nurses.
One adjusted the beeping monitor, which clicked in a slow, rhythmic pattern.
I leaned close to Ashton. ‘How bad?‘
He gave a slight shake of the head.
The room filled, wall to wall.
No one spoke until one of the doctors cleared his throat and turned.
‘He’s critical. Any moment now. Say what you need to.‘
That landed like a dropped brick.
A few people blinked hard.
A woman near the back gave a choked gasp.
“That can’t be right. He was walking last month.‘
‘Don’t go now, Edouard. The family needs you.‘
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+15 BONUS
Someone sniffled.
Then another.
Soon, a soft wave of crying spread across the room.
But the tears didn’t last five minutes.
A man leaned in close to Marlowe and muttered, ‘We should probably start talking arrangements.‘
Another voice picked it up. ‘Exactly. Did he even leave a will?‘
The mood shifted.
Crying stopped. Elbows came out.
Marlowe didn’t answer.
Edouard’s eyelids fluttered.
His eyes opened slowly.
He had yellowed whites and pupils like pinpricks.
His gaze drifted across the room, dull and cloudy, settling on each face in turn.
His hand lifted, barely.
It trembled mid–air before pointing, unsteadily, straight at Ashton.
There was hatred in that look. Pure, solid resentment.
His lips moved, but no sound came.
Ashton stepped forward. ‘Looks like he wants me to read the will.‘
Edouard’s mouth twitched, maybe trying to form the word ‘no‘.
Nobody paid him any mind.
They were already murmuring.
‘Just let Ashton read it. Come on, he’s barely hanging on
‘Stop wasting time.‘
Ashton tipped his chin at Marlowe.
The lawyer nodded, stepped past two people, and pulled a thick bundle of papers from his briefcase.
Ashton took them.
The room hushed instantly.
Even the monitors seemed to pause.
“The will begins with an inventory of assets. Liquid funds: five hundred million. Property and other holdings: close to eight hundred million.‘
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Chapter 236 Last Words
Someone sucked in a breath behind me.
Gwendolyn’s eyes bulged.
Ashton kept going. ‘All LGH shares to be transferred to Ashton Laurent.‘
He paused, brows raised slightly. ‘You’re giving me everything?‘
Edouard’s eyes went wide.
His brow tensed. A vein popped above his temple.
He shoved against the mattress, trying to lift his chest.
His shoulders rose half an inch before slumping back down.
The monitor picked up pace.
Ashton met his gaze and held it. ‘Well. Thank you, Grandfather.‘
Edouard let out a hoarse, broken sound.
His fingers twitched, then stilled.
The voices around me blurred into a swarm of whispers
‘Why the hell would he leave everything to Ashton?‘
‘They weren’t even close. Not like that.‘
‘It’s not like he needs the shares. Ashton’s been running LGH for years anyway.‘
‘No one’s kicking him off the CEO post, with or without this.‘
‘Forget the company. What about the rest of the money Let’s get to that!‘
Ashton waited until the noise ebbed before speaking again.
‘Grandfather instructed that all his property be liquidated, converted into cash.‘
He paused.
‘He wanted it split evenly. One million to each family member.‘
Silence dropped like a rock.
Then, behind someone’s shoulder: “That can’t be right,
‘One million? Out of billions?‘
“There’s no way. Ashton, are you sure you read that properly?”
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Ashton held up the sheaf of papers. ‘Positive. It’s right here in black and white. The will was notarised. And the one who drafted the will is standing right here.‘
Marlowe stepped forward on cue. “The instructions were clear. That’s the allocation.‘
Someone raised their voice. ‘What about the rest? Eventer giving one million each, there’s still a huge
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Chapter 236 Last Words
chunk left. Where’s the rest of the money?‘
Ashton said, ‘Donated. All of it. To charity.‘
The silence this time was much longer, heavier.
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Gwendolyn broke it with a shriek. ‘He wouldn’t leave us with nothing! Edouard wouldn’t do that!‘
A woman near her agreed. ‘One million’s pathetic. He might as well have given us a bloody coupon.‘
A man shrugged. ‘Hell, I’ll take it. You don’t want your share, hand it over.‘ 1
It escalated fast.
Dozens of voices talked over each other, some shouting
A man near the window jabbed a finger at another’s chest.
Two cousins I didn’t recognise started bickering about who counted as closer blood.
A few of the out–of–towners stood off to the side, clinging to their phones, grinning like they’d just won a scratch card.
Ashton let them go on for a minute, then raised his voice.
‘Enough! This is a hospital, not a bar room. What’s written stands. No amount of bitching is going to change that.‘
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