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History made Josephâs identity clear. Josephâs parents were the only people who knew his true identity.
Rebekah was still talking. She was pale and grief-stricken.
âI remembered the story every time I saw Joseph. I also felt guilty about my brother, so I used to go out a lot and rarely stayed home, thatâs why Joseph wasnât around me. Of course, it was also the reason why I left him later on.â
Rebekah didnât want to ruin Henryâs life, so she waited for a suitable woman to come along for him.
She would divorce Henry when there was such a woman.
However, years passed and there was still no suitable woman for Henry. He even never paid attention to other women.
âHe loved you.â Hayden couldnât help but say to her, âCanât you tell?â
Henry wouldnât put up with a marriage longer than ten years, even if he wanted to help his sister. There was no reason for his insistence, except that he loved Rebekah.
âDefinitely notice.â Rebekah scoffed at herself.
âNo one can hide love when youâre with your loved one. He would drive me from the station or airport every time he came back to town, all the meals he prepared were my favorite. Even Joseph would try to get close to me, even though I wasnât familiar to him.â
âAnd whyâ¦?â Hayden was confused.
âBecause I hated myself and looked down on myself. Henry was the most perfect man in this world, he was gentle, good-natured and had a good family. I was already a mother, so how was I going to live up to him.â Rebekah then sighed and looked regretful, âI soon realized it was wrong, but it was too late.â
ââ¦â.
The story was over, but Hayden was immersed in it. She didnât ask any questions.
She just sat there looking at the pictures; in the last picture, Rebekah and Henry were standing on the mountain. She was holding his arm as they both smiled happily, Henry was looking at Rebekah with eyes full of love.
In the corner of the photo was the date. Hayden was stunned to see the date. It looked like Henry had died not long after that day.
He began to understand what Rebekah said. It really was too late.
Rebekah touched the old photo and continued.
âWhen we took this picture, he told me that we should take Joseph and our father to that place to take a family picture, after Benjamin was born.â However, fate had other plans.
After a long silence, Hayden finally remembered what Rebekah told him before telling the story.
âWas it Ted who caused Mr. Beckhamâs death?â
Rebekah clenched her fists at hearing this. The flame of anger flashed in her eyes.
âIt was him. He divorced his wife and came looking for me, but I didnât want to be with him. To get rid of him, I went up the mountain to hide, though he followed me up there anyway. If Henry hadnât gotten there in time, I would have died with that bastard.
Then Ted fled, and Henryâs carâs brakes failed on the way down the hill. His car hit the barricade, but still fell off the mountain. The police said it was an accident. I knew Ted must have been responsible.â
âDid you tell the police this?â.
âI did, but I had no proof. Ted disappeared again at that point, so even the police couldnât find him.â
Hayden knew what had happened then.
Joseph had already told him. When Joseph was thirteen, he saw a man harassing his mother and then his mother went out with that man. He followed her and heard some words like âpregnantâ, âbabyâ, or something like that. Little Joseph didnât know what they meant, but then, through the police, after his fatherâs death, he found out.
Little Joseph, thirteen years old, went to the hospital and inquired about his motherâs pregnancy. He was irritated, so at his fatherâs funeral he threw his mother out of the family.
All the truths were clear now, but Hayden still didnât know what he should ask.
He knew there was a reason Rebekah left the family, but Rebekahâs pain wasnât enough to compare to Josephâs misery at losing his father as a child.
In reality, Hayden was on Josephâs side, and he thought his mother was wrong.
However, he still felt sorry for Rebekah. She lived through many hard things during these years, she entered the malicious world right after being from a welcoming family; she was cheated on and gave birth to a bad manâs baby. Years later, when she finally found the right man, it was too late; she was thrown out of the family by her son, and lived alone with the other baby. People had made fun of her and despised her all these years.
âSo that bastard threatened you with Josephâs identity, did he?â.
Rebekah nodded and then explained.
âI know youâre a nice girl, but I donât want Joseph to know the truth. I didnât get close to him when he was young, it was his father who raised him, so he has strong feelings for his father. He will be miserable if he knows that Henry is not his biological father. And my father, I canât let him know about this, heâs too old now, such a shock would affect him.â
âWhy donât you think about yourself.â Hayden frowned, âAnd what about Benjamin, are you resigned to not asking Joseph for help, even if we have no other choice? Benjamin is yours and Mr. Beckhamâs son.â
It seemed that Benjamin was now the Beckham Familyâs only child.
However, in Rebekah and Henryâs mind, Joseph was also their son. Even they never thought of such messy fights for power between the two sons in such a large family.
âThere will be another way.â When Rebekah said that, she remembered something. Her eyes grew bright: âThere is a way.â
She hurried to take Haydenâs hand, âPlease help me find Mr. Shell of the Treasures And Antiques store in N-Town. I want to give him something and ask him to assess its price.â
âN-Town Treasures & Antiques, the antique store?â.
âYes.â Rebekah went to the closet next to the bed and opened a hidden drawer.
She pulled out an ebony box and opened it. Inside was a pair of jade bracelets.
âThey were my motherâs. I wanted to give one to you and one to Benjaminâs future wife, but I can keep only one. Take them and sell one of them tomorrow, they are worth more than they were ten million years ago. So now a single one will be worth more than fifteen million.â
Hayden looked at the jade bracelets and took them carefully.
âItâs a gift from Josephâs grandmother â are you really willing to sell it?â
âItâs the only way to rescue Benjamin. Mom would understand me.â Rebekah was definitely not willing to sell it, but she had to. She tried to convince herself that the bracelets were meaningless: âItâs been there for so many years, I would have forgotten them if we hadnât talked today.â
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