Chapter 3

When I returned to the cabin, Ashley, Eddie, and Luke were sitting together. They looked perfectly happy and cozy, as if the tense confrontation from moments ago had never even happened.

Eddie gestured toward the couch and said, "Have a seat, Victor. Make yourself at home."

His tone was so natural, as if he were the one hosting me on his plane.

Ashley held Luke in her arms, smiling so widely her eyes crinkled. Then she looked up at me, as if she had suddenly remembered something.

"Oh, by the way, Victor… I want Eddie to be the lead counsel for the upcoming merger signing conference.

"He was a top international corporate lawyer back in the day before something came up, and he had to step away from the field. This merger is a chance for him to start over."

Lead counsel? I had just pulled every legal and asset authorization, including this merger.

Still, I calmly nodded and said, "Sure."

But she immediately frowned. "What's with that attitude, Victor?"

I looked at her and said, "You're appointing a man who was disbarred two years ago for a bribery scandal as the lead counsel for a cross-border merger. Is that how you show responsibility to your law firm, Ashley?"

Eddie's eyes welled up right on cue. He lowered his head and softly whispered, "Forget it, Ashley. Mr. Wright clearly doesn't want me there, so I won't go. I don't want to be the reason you two fight."

I couldn't be bothered to watch his performance. Instead, I walked over to the couch by the side, sat down, and closed my eyes.

Moments later, Ashley said coldly, "Since when did you become so mean, Victor? You've really disappointed me."

Luke started crying. "Mommy, does that mean Daddy can't work anymore?"

She immediately comforted him, her voice gentle. "Of course not, sweetie. I call the shots here."

Then, she looked at me and demanded. "You already have everything, Victor. Can't you just let him have this one thing?"

I opened my eyes and looked at her. "And what exactly do I have, Ashley? The inheritance I gave up as heir to Wright Group, or my law license, which was suspended for two years because I took the fall for you during that scandal?

"Or are you talking about the fact that I didn't make it back in time to see my father one last time because I was too tied up managing your cases?"

Ashley's face instantly paled. "I remember everything you did for me, Victor. But now, Eddie is going through a harder time than you did."

It hit me that Ashley hadn't forgotten. She remembered what I had lost and every single sacrifice I had made for her. It was just that none of it mattered as much as Eddie.

In that moment, my heart completely died. But my stomach suddenly throbbed with a sharp, intense pain.

Over the years, I had traveled aggressively across the globe for Ashley's law firm, frequently surviving on nothing but coffee for days on end. Over time, I developed a severe, chronic ulcer.

Now, the spasm hit me with a vicious, urgent intensity, as if an invisible hand had reached inside my abdomen and squeezed with all its might.

Cold sweat broke out on my forehead, and my breathing grew tight and shallow.

Pressing a hand against my stomach, I called out to the flight attendant, Nancy Slate, in the front cabin. "Go to the medical bay… Grab my medication…"

She walked over, looking clearly troubled. "Mr. Wright, the medical bay on the plane was converted into Mr. Collins' walk-in closet on Ms. Freeman's orders."

I turned to stare at Ashley in disbelief.

She was the one who had stubbornly insisted on adding the medical bay to the plane in the first place, knowing my severe stomach condition could flare up at any time.

Her eyes guiltily darted away for a second before she regained her composure and defensively shot back, "It's just a few hours' flight, Victor. Just bear with it, and it'll pass."

I looked at her, and a memory surfaced from years back—her tearfully pressing a bottle of medication into my hand and swearing that she would never let me suffer like that again.

A violent wave of nausea and agonizing pain tore through my stomach. My vision went black as I doubled over and spat a mouthful of blood onto the carpet.