Chapter 140: Your Sterling Family’s Ethos, Truly...
Ethan Shaw hadn’t specified what the matter was over the phone, only that he wanted Thomas Sterling’s family to come up, and that Madeline Sterling was here.
Seeing the situation, Jacqueline Vaughn couldn’t help but wonder if Madeline Sterling had really slept with Asher Keating. A wave of secret joy washed over her.
On the surface, however, she put on a heartbroken expression. "Did someone take advantage of you? Why are you dressed like this? Tell Mom, what happened?"
Even as she spoke, her eyes were fixed on Asher Keating. Asher, who was sitting on the sofa smoking, saw her looking at him and scoffed.
"Asher, what... what’s going on?"
Thomas Sterling’s first reaction upon entering was the same as Jacqueline Vaughn’s, but when he saw so many people in the room, he suddenly became uncertain.
"Asher, Asher, are you all right?"
Ruth Hughes rushed in, calling Asher Keating’s name. When she saw the scene, her vision darkened for a moment. ’Why is it like this again?’
’This time, could it be...’ Seeing Asher Keating’s reassuring gaze, her heart instantly clenched, but her eyes reddened.
She quickly walked over, took Asher Keating’s hands, and examined them carefully. "Are you okay? You’re not hurt, are you?"
"Mom, I’m fine." Asher Keating patted her hand.
"As long as you’re fine. By the way, where’s Leah? I was just looking for her for a while and couldn’t find her." Ruth Hughes had assumed Leah Sinclair was with Asher Keating, but a glance around the room confirmed Leah wasn’t there.
"...She’s resting next door," Asher Keating replied after a moment of silence.
It took Ruth Hughes a moment to process this. But she was a sharp woman. She glanced at Madeline Sterling, then back at Asher Keating, and immediately put the pieces together. She asked in a low voice, "Did Leah help you?"
"Mm."
"Should I go check on her, then?"
"No need, Mom. She’s... easily embarrassed."
Asher Keating quickly stopped Ruth Hughes. Morgan Sterling had also arrived. He had already left, but when he received Ethan Shaw’s call, he had the driver turn back, which was why he was a little delayed.
The moment he entered, he understood what had happened. His brow furrowed deeply. He now regretted not having sent Madeline Sterling back to Arcadia sooner.
"Is everyone here?"
Asher Keating lifted his eyes, his tone icy. "Uncle Sterling, I’d like to ask, is the Sterling family’s conduct always this... lax?"
He didn’t mince words. Thomas Sterling’s face turned cold, but Jacqueline Vaughn cried out, "Asher! What is that supposed to mean? You and our Madeline..."
"Nothing happened."
Asher Keating cut her off, a faint smirk playing on his lips. "Are you disappointed? Now, add four years ago to that. Are you disappointed now?"
"Wh-what do you mean?" Jacqueline Vaughn’s face turned a little pale.
"Asher!"
Morgan Sterling’s voice held a warning. There were too many people here. If it were just Ethan Shaw and Riley Sterling, it would be one thing, but the three Grant siblings and even Chester Hale were present.
"What? Are you afraid I’ll say it, Morgan?"
Asher had called him ’brother.’ Morgan was momentarily stunned. This was the first time Asher had addressed him that way since the incident four years ago.
"I... What am I missing here?"
Ethan Shaw was baffled. ’What does this have to do with four years ago? Four years ago... that was when things between Asher Keating and Madeline Sterling were at their most entangled.’
He seemed to recall that, seemingly overnight, the rumor that Asher Keating and Madeline Sterling had slept together spread everywhere. After that, Asher never seemed to deny the rumors about him and Madeline.
Thomas Sterling glanced at Theodore Keating. "Theodore, this matter... it’s not appropriate for the younger generation to be present. After all, there’s also the matter from four years ago."
He deliberately emphasized the words "four years ago." Theodore Keating looked at Asher Keating, who just sat there, cold and detached.
Theodore Keating’s heart ached for his son. Finally, he spoke up. "Regarding this matter, whatever Asher says, goes. My wife and I will support him. He’s our only child, and we don’t want to see him wronged."
The coldness in Asher Keating’s eyes wavered. Something stirred in his heart, and he pressed his lips together tightly. Ruth Hughes, clutching his hand, began to cry.
For the past few years, no matter what rumors circulated about Asher Keating and Madeline Sterling, Asher never came forward to deny them, no matter how outrageous they became. She knew he was suffering in silence, but since he wouldn’t deny it himself, she and Theodore Keating could only let him be.
"Four years ago, everyone said I slept with Madeline Sterling. How did that happen? Madeline Sterling, you know perfectly well, don’t you?" Asher Keating said coldly.
"I... I don’t know what you’re talking about." Madeline Sterling’s face was pale, and she avoided his gaze.
"Heh, you don’t know? You drugged me, made me think I’d slept with you. In reality, was I the one who slept with you? Hmm?"
Asher Keating’s cool gaze drifted over to her. In that instant, all the color drained from Madeline Sterling’s face. Her lips trembled as her eyes flickered toward Morgan Sterling.
That one sentence silenced the entire room. Forget the others; even Theodore Keating, Ruth Hughes, Thomas Sterling, and Jacqueline Vaughn were too stunned to react.
All these years, Ruth Hughes had believed that Asher Keating had really slept with Madeline Sterling back then. She thought he felt he was in the wrong, which was why he endured all the outrageous rumors.
But this meant that he hadn’t slept with Madeline Sterling four years ago either. So for the past four years, had Asher been the scapegoat all this time?
She shot to her feet, rushed in front of Madeline Sterling, and grabbed her. "Madeline Sterling! You make yourself clear! Who did you really sleep with four years ago? Why would you frame our Asher when it wasn’t him?!"
"What do you think you’re doing! What do you mean, frame him? He... what right does he have to say Madeline framed him?" Although Jacqueline Vaughn was panicking inside, seeing Ruth Hughes confront her daughter, she still instinctively tried to argue back.
"Impossible! For years, no matter what you all said about him, Asher never talked back. And today, you pull the same trick again! Do you have any conscience? Huh?! Madeline Sterling?"
In the beginning, when everyone was saying Asher Keating and Madeline Sterling had slept together, she had thought that her son was a grown man, and these things happen between men and women. It was normal that he might not have been able to control himself. Still, she couldn’t help but be angry.
But later, she and Theodore Keating found out that Asher had also been drugged when it happened, and that Aaron Keating had been involved. It was the first time Theodore Keating had a falling out with Timothy Keating’s family, the two brothers arguing heatedly over their respective children.
In the end, it was the old Mr. Keating who stepped in and suppressed the matter. It was also from then on that Theodore Keating truly realized he wasn’t powerful enough to protect Asher Keating. He began to demand a hand in the Keating Family’s business.
Only after getting involved did Theodore Keating discover that Asher had already started long ago, only he had been doing it in secret. He had begun right after the incident with Madeline Sterling.
That was why Theodore Keating was able to expand his influence so quickly in just over two years; it was all the result of Asher’s long-term efforts behind the scenes.
And now, to be told that all of it was a lie... Ruth Hughes felt like she was about to break down. Waves of fury churned within her. ’Four years! A full four years! Her son had been wrongfully accused for four years!’
Ruth Hughes’s vision went black. Nathan Grant and Asher Keating quickly stepped forward to support her, helping her to the sofa. With red-rimmed eyes, Ruth looked at Asher Keating. "Asher, you tell me! Who did that shameless woman really sleep with, that she would frame you like this!"