Chapter 471
Chapter 471
It was the first time someone had come to see Kristen since her imprisonment more than two weeks ago, and she immediately thought Thalia had returned when the prison guard told her she had a visitor.
Six months ago, Thalia had stolen a large sum from Kristen and fled abroad. Kristen had been too preoccupied with handling Leonard's affairs at the time, so naturally, she had no time or energy to pay attention to her daughter. By the time she discovered what Thalia had done, the latter had already cut off all means of contact.
After Leonard received a fourteen-year jail sentence, Kristen could not be bothered to care about Thalia because she was putting all her effort into getting him freed. Alas, not only did she fail to do so, but she even wound up in prison herself.
Kristen continued mulling over how to save Leonard throughout her two weeks or so in prison, and even now that someone had come to see her, her first thought was to ask her visitor to help her son.
She waited eagerly, but her face blanched when she saw that her visitor was Alexander. "Aren't you supposed to be dead?"
Claudius stared at her, having no recollection of her at all. If Rose had not forced him to come and meet Kristen, he would not have wanted to see her at all.
"I'm not dead. Are you disappointed?"
Although he had lost his memory, Samuel's brief explanation the previous night had been sufficient to make it clear that he did not have a good relationship with Kristen. I'm not her biological son. I also kicked her out of the Xenos residence. No matter how I think about it, she should loathe me.
Kristen had always been under the impression that Alexander had passed away. Didn't they say he fell into the river in the middle of the night and that they couldn't recover his body? How can he be standing, alive and well, before my very eyes now?
A look of resentment flashed in her eyes. "Why didn't you die?"
"Do you remember Gemma?" he asked, fixing his gaze on her.
It had been thirty years since Kristen last heard that name, and she turned deathly pale at the mention of it as though she had just seen a ghost.
She turned to him in disbelief. "How do you know about her?"
"Is it something I shouldn't know?"
Claudius snorted. "She asked me to pass you a message. Thirty years ago, you committed a sin. Thirty years later, your son will be the one to pay for it." After a pause, he continued, "The main reason for my coming here today is to tell you that you don't have to fret over Leonard's imprisonment anymore. I'm going to make sure he stays in there for the rest of his life and never gets out."
Kristen's body went limp. She nearly lost her balance and fell out of her chair. She only managed to steady herself and stop herself from toppling over by clutching at the table.
Panic gripped her, and she looked imploringly at him. "Come at me for the wrong I did thirty years ago. Leonard is innocent. Whatever it is, he was your younger brother for over twenty years. Didn't the two
of you used to get along pretty well? He always looked up to you. Alexander, he has nothing to do with this! I'll bear responsibility for my actions! Don't drag Leonard into this."
Claudius merely shot her a glance before getting up to leave.
Kristen tried to reach out and grab onto him, but a prison guard quickly stopped her.
"Alexander! Do you even have a heart? The both of you may not be blood-related, but he was still your brother for many years! Take it out on me!"
I regret it now! I shouldn't have taken Alexander from Gemma for my own all those years ago because of that small sum of money. I wish I hadn't done it! If he had gone abroad with her, everything the Xenos family had would belong to me and my children now, and Leonard wouldn't be in jail! Oh, how I rue my decision back then!
Alas, remorse was pointless at this point.
Meanwhile, Sophia had just finished a meeting when she saw Steve rush toward her with a look of delight. "Ms. Yarrow! Mr. Lane! Mr. Xenos is back!"
The usually calm and composed Felix suddenly looked stunned when he heard that. He turned to Sophia subconsciously, who smiled and nodded.
Not expecting it to be true, he was so overwhelmed with joy that he could hardly contain himself. "W- Where is he?"
"In the office. He says he's waiting for Ms. Yarrow."
Hearing that, Felix gradually calmed down, then turned to Sophia. "I'm sorry, Ms. Yarrow, but may I go and see Mr. Xenos?"
Despite being aware of Alexander's memory loss, he still wanted to see Alexander with his own eyes.
Sophia chuckled at his question. "Mr. Lane, I'm not that inhumane."
A rare trace of embarrassment crossed Felix's face. "Sorry about that."
"Go on, then."
Felix had been Alexander's secretary for over ten years. The bond between the two men was no longer just that of a boss-employee relationship. He was just as worried as Samuel when something happened to Alexander. Even after Sophia said she had found Alexander, he remained unconvinced. Now that Alexander had turned up, it went without saying that he had to see Alexander in person. Only then would he be able to confirm that Alexander was alive and well.
After Sophia nodded, he hastened toward the elevator.
She followed closely behind him. Although he was overwhelmed with emotions, he still remembered to wait for her to get into the elevator before closing the doors.
When the elevator came to a stop, he let her walk out first before hurrying past her to the office. Since she had told him that Alexander had lost his memory, he did not go into the office and merely looked at Alexander through the doorway.
Seeing Alexander standing there and looking perfectly fine after all that time, Felix finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Walking up to the office door, Sophia looked at him and chuckled. "Aren't you going to say hi to your ex-boss?"
Felix shot her a rare smile. "That's all right, Ms. Yarrow. Mr. Xenos doesn't remember me, so there's no need to give him any added burden."
What a considerate and understanding secretary he is. Smiling, Sophia raised her head and entered the office. "Is something the matter?"
"Can't I look for you even if everything is fine?" Setting down the photo frame he had been holding, Claudius turned toward her. "Why didn't you put your photo?"
Sophia's eyes flicked toward the photo frame. Arching a brow, she replied, "Because Katherine has a photo of me at her place."
Claudius pondered for a moment. "Is she the woman who was with you in Lightspring?"
"Mm-hmm. I've known her and her husband for over two decades already."
"I see," Claudius murmured, then glanced at Felix standing at the door. "I think your secretary is looking for you."
"He used to be your secretary," Sophia said, casting a glance at Felix.
Upon hearing that, Felix stepped forward while looking somewhat embarrassed. "Mr. Xenos."
"I'm sorry, but I've lost my memory." Even as Claudius gazed at the man before him, he could not remember who he was.
Felix shook his head. "That's all right. I shan't bother the two of you anymore."
With that, he excused himself. Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.
"Shall we have lunch together?"
"Sure," Sophia replied after checking the time. She tidied her things away, then took her bag and walked out of the office.
Claudius' sudden appearance at the office caused everyone in the company to think that Alexander had returned.
Ever since that day when he and Sophia had a meal together at Mirage, practically everyone in Jadeborough knew that Alexander was still alive and in good health and that he had returned.
His return sparked the curiosity of many in the city. They could not help wondering what had happened to him in those six months.
Some even claimed that the man photographed shopping with Sophia in a foreign country was actually Alexander, saying that nothing untoward had happened to him and that his reason for going abroad was for market expansion.
Of course, all that was pure speculation.
What happened that night and why he had disappeared for over half a year was still a mystery.
Claudius' return to the country also threw Percy, who had been hatching a big plot against Odyssey, for a loop.