Chapter 268

The Lynch family estate.

Easton followed Valery and Marcus through the imposing front gates, his gaze sweeping over the grand facade of the ancestral home. He was nineteen—old enough to know just how small his world had been. Aside from a handful of school competitions in nearby cities, he’d never left that remote fishing village on Seaview Bay. Most of his life, from the moment he was old enough to understand, had been about carrying the family’s burdens.

Marcus, his father, had a limp that made manual labor nearly impossible. He couldn’t lift heavy crates, let alone work regular jobs. So by the time Easton was ten, he was already down at the docks, hauling baskets of seafood for the stall owners. The old man who ran the main stand was kind enough to slip him a few bills every day, just because he pitied the boy.

Valery, on the other hand, had never been one for work. She’d married Marcus back when he’d just left the Lynch family and still had a bit of money—

enough to pawn a fancy watch or two and live large for a while. But they’d burned through everything with hardly a thought, growing lazier as the years passed. By the time Easton was old enough to fend for himself, the money was long gone.

Easton had made it this far purely on grit.

He’d never, not once, imagined himself as the grandson of a wealthy family. He certainly hadn’t pictured his hapless, crippled father as the son of the richest man in Harboridge.

“Pretty grand, isn’t it? Do you have any idea how much this place is worth?” Valery’s voice trembled with excitement as she watched Easton stare, wide-eyed, at the Lynch family manor. She dropped her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “Your father says this house alone is worth over a billion dollars these days.”

The Lynch estate stood right in the heart of Harboridge’s most luxurious district, where land was worth its weight in gold. And this wasn’t just any mansion—it was a registered landmark, its value now far beyond mere money.

“Just imagine,” Valery went on dreamily, “if your grandfather left this house to you someday...”

“Mom!” Easton cut her off, his tone sharp. “Dad signed an agreement to forfeit his inheritance when he left the family.”

Valery shot Marcus a furious glare. “What were you thinking? Even if the Lynches were in debt, this house alone would have covered it—”

Why did he have to sign away his inheritance?

“You don’t understand,” Marcus muttered, avoiding her gaze. “Back when the Lynches got into trouble, the house was auctioned off. The White family bought it and gave it back to the Lynches. Technically, it still belongs to the Whites. Reginald only kept it in the family because Nicole was supposed The Heiress Acts Mischievously, But Her Family Can Read Her Mind Chapter 347: Administering Drugs Switched Marriage The Coddled Little Wife Chapter 538: Unimaginable Ms. Bigshot Is Pampered by All Chapter 560 - 559: Why Hasn’t Chi Gui Come to marry in, as her dowry.”

The ties between the Whites and the Lynches ran deep. That was why Jade and Nicole acted so entitled—they had leverage.

“In that case, Dad, all the more reason we shouldn’t come crawling back just because the Lynches are back on top,” Easton said, his voice steady and clear. “We can’t go chasing after things that were never rightfully ours.”

“That’s nonsense! Of course it’s ours! We’re Lynches, aren’t we?” Marcus snapped, bristling with old pride.

Easton opened his mouth to argue, but the butler appeared at the door. “This must be Young Master Easton. Please, come this way.”

The butler’s eyes flicked over Marcus, polite but guarded. “Mr. Lynch didn’t tell the family about Young Master Easton’s return. The fewer people who know, the better—especially if word gets to Master Tyrone.”

He said it deliberately, watching Easton’s reaction. He’d watched Tyrone grow up—couldn’t openly defy the old man, but his loyalties lay with Tyrone.

If Easton was here for the inheritance, he’d have to warn Tyrone.

“Grandfather... didn’t tell Tyrone I was coming?” Easton had a sinking feeling.

It sounded like Grandfather wanted to officially bring him back into the family. And the secrecy? That was for fear Tyrone would object.

Easton turned on Marcus, angry. “Dad, you told me Grandfather’s health was bad and he wanted to see me. Why did you keep it from Tyrone?”

Marcus coughed, flustered, and shot the butler a warning look. “I just didn’t want Tyrone to overreact...”