Chapter 123: The Three Prodigals
Leah Sinclair offered a faint smile but said nothing. From the attitudes of both Nash and Shawn Grant, she could tell they utterly despised Madeline Sterling. To them, Madeline was apparently someone beneath mention—a completely inferior person.
Nash Grant sat on the sofa, silently playing with her phone. Of the others, only Asher Keating and Morgan Sterling sat near her; Ethan Shaw and Riley Sterling didn’t dare get close.
Madeline Sterling was relegated to a corner by herself. Asher Keating and Morgan Sterling exchanged a bewildered look. Neither the Sterling Family nor the Keating Family knew when Nash and Shawn Grant had returned, or why they were back.
Nash Grant put down her phone and lit a cigarette, her expression impassive. "You two can stop trading glances. We just got in this afternoon. I was going to call you tomorrow, but Shawn got bored and suggested coming here. He spotted Madeline Sterling and figured you might be here too, so we came to take a look."
When Shawn Grant and Leah Sinclair came back, Nash Grant glanced at Madeline Sterling, who hadn’t dared to speak from her corner. Frowning, Nash hesitated for a moment. "Fine, you can stay."
"???"
Madeline Sterling looked utterly baffled. ’Was she going to tell me to leave? If Leah Sinclair can be here, why can’t I?’
Nash Grant gave a small yawn and leaned back lazily on the sofa. "Shawn, you tell them."
"...Why do I have to say it?" The word ’speechless’ was practically written across Shawn Grant’s face.
"Stop your whining! I told you to talk, so talk. Let Eldest Sterling and Third Master Keating hear whether you’ve matured at all!"
Nash Grant immediately hurled a throw pillow. It missed Shawn Grant and hit Riley Sterling instead. Riley clutched the pillow, a wronged look on his face. ’It’s been so many years,’ he thought. ’How has her temper not mellowed at all?’
Shawn Grant grumbled for a bit before finally speaking. "It’s like this. My sister and I came back this time mainly to act as the vanguard, to let you all know... the Grant Family is returning to Riverfall."
Everyone present, aside from Leah Sinclair, was inwardly stunned. Morgan Sterling shot a look at Asher Keating, who frowned slightly.
Back when the Grant Family was in Riverfall, the Keating and Sterling families had been doing well, but they were always overshadowed by the Grants. The Grant Family was the undisputed richest family in Riverfall, controlling more than half of the business sectors in the city and its surrounding areas.
The old Mr. Keating had always said the Grant Family wouldn’t limit themselves to Riverfall. Sure enough, just as he had predicted, the Grants suddenly announced their withdrawal from Riverfall over a decade ago and moved directly to Kingsford.
The Sterling Family, the Keating Family, and the other major business clans of Riverfall had no idea when the Grants had even begun to slowly relocate their assets to Kingsford.
However, it was precisely because the Grant Family left Riverfall that the Sterling and Keating families got a chance to breathe, slowly growing to their current stature.
In today’s Riverfall, the Sterling Family was number one in the business world, with the Keating Family as number two. Although other families like the Hales, the Shaws, and the junior Sterling branch had also done well, they were still leagues behind the top two.
For all these years, it was as if the Grant Family had never existed in Riverfall. Asher Keating knew they were thriving in Kingsford—doing even better than they had in Riverfall. That’s why he didn’t understand why the Grants would come back.
"Is that it?"
"Yeah, that’s it."
"Heh. I see you’re itching for a beating again," Nash Grant said, starting to get up.
Morgan Sterling and Asher Keating quickly stopped her. "Shawn’s still young."
"Young? He’s the same age as Ethan Shaw and Riley Sterling. He’s four years younger than you, Morgan, and two years younger than Third Master Keating. Weren’t you two already taking over your family businesses at his age? What about those three?"
"And yet here they are, fooling around in places like this day in and day out. Can’t do business for shit, but you’re having a grand old time being rich playboys, aren’t you? Mason is five years younger than you three, and he’s already started taking over my aunt’s businesses, and he hasn’t even graduated yet!"
Nash pushed them both aside, stormed over, and smacked Shawn, Ethan, and Riley on the back of the head, one by one.
"..."
"..."
"..."
Ethan Shaw and Riley Sterling exchanged a look, their expressions broadcasting how unfair this was. She was lecturing Shawn, so why drag them into it?
Leah Sinclair watched the scene unfold, dumbfounded. ’This young lady of the Grant family sure has an explosive temper,’ she thought. ’And it’s the first time I’ve ever seen Ethan Shaw and Riley Sterling look so aggrieved yet not dare to talk back.’
Nash sat back down in a huff. Morgan Sterling smiled and lit a cigarette for her. "Nash, the three of them just haven’t settled down yet. They’ll be fine in a couple of years. Right, Asher?"
"Mhm. Nash, they’ll be fine once they settle down," Asher Keating added placatingly.
"Heh. Third Master Keating, when does your family’s next construction project break ground? Toss these three on-site to haul bricks for a month. The very sight of them is irritating." Nash gave the three of them a nasty eye-roll.
"Ah, please don’t, Nash! I’m doing great now. I’ve already started working at the family company."
"Me too, Nash, I swear! If you don’t believe me, ask Asher! I’ve been at it for over a year now."
Ethan Shaw and Riley Sterling finally couldn’t hold back their wails of protest. They genuinely believed Nash would actually throw them onto a construction site to haul bricks.
"Hey, I came all the way to Riverfall with you, didn’t I?" Shawn mumbled, looking aggrievedly at his hot-tempered sister.
"Would you have come if I hadn’t dragged you here? If I’d known you’d be like this, I would’ve been better off bringing Mason! You’re infuriating me!" Nash took a gulp of her drink and slammed the glass down on the table with a CLACK.
"Alright, alright, calm down, Nash. What Shawn said might have been simple, but he got the point across. It was... concise and clear."
Morgan Sterling said with a smile, trying to smooth things over. ’Concise and clear? It was downright earth-shattering.’
"Tch. What was that? The way he said it, it sounded like the Grant Family couldn’t cut it in Kingsford anymore and had to come crawling back to Riverfall. What nonsense. The Grant Family is staying in Kingsford. Shawn and I are just here first. Mason is studying in Eldoria; he’ll come after he graduates. My grandfather threw the three of us siblings out here to Riverfall to let us make some waves. That’s the long and short of it."
Nash Grant blew a smoke ring, glancing at Morgan Sterling and Asher Keating. Shawn secretly rolled his eyes at her. ’Your explanation wasn’t much more detailed than mine.’
Asher Keating slowly took a sip of his drink. Morgan Sterling pursed his lips and glanced at him. Seeing that Asher had no intention of speaking, Morgan hesitated, then chose his words with care. "So, is the old Mr. Grant’s intention to test the three of you?"
"Something like that. After all, the Grant Family started from scratch. He wants us to be tempered, not just sit back and reap the rewards. Wasn’t that how my dad and my aunt fought their way into Kingsford in the first place?"
As she spoke, Nash shot another glare at the three across from her. Those three—the very definition of people resting on their laurels—sat there looking wronged but not daring to talk back.
"Alright, that’s all. We’re leaving. I’m tired," Nash said, standing and grabbing her bag. "We’ll pay a formal visit to your families’ elders another day."
The others quickly stood to see them out. Downstairs, just before getting into the car with Shawn, Nash turned back and added one last thing. "Oh, by the way, that Southwood bid from L&C? That was me. The Grant Family acquired L&C."