The Ex and Her Riches novel (Gwendolyn and Maverick)

The old man on the bed remained unconscious and didn’t react to Gwendolyn’s words.

Of course, Gwendolyn knew her father wouldn’t be able to hear her, let alone respond to her question.

She believed Kieran’s diagnosis was correct, but still, she found it hard to accept and wanted to confirm her

father’s condition herself.

Tears welled in her eyes before dripping onto the back of her hand. Her sorrow was so overwhelming that she

struggled to breathe.

“They’re animals!” growled Gwendolyn with a ferocious look on her face. How dare they hurt Dad just so they can

snatch the right to inheritance from me! I won’t forgive the culprit, even if they’re my relative or someone I love or

respect deeply!

“Don’t worry, Dad. I’ll get to the bottom of this and make the culprit pay!” Caressing the back of Marcus’ hand, she

rested her head on his arm.

As her tears quietly seeped into her hair, she recalled all the fatherly love Marcus had showered her with

throughout the years.

“Ms. Gwendolyn.” Leif stood at the entrance and carefully knocked on the door. “Your brothers have arrived.

They’re waiting for you.”

“I’ll be there soon.” Suppressing her grief, Gwendolyn tried to sound normal as she elegantly wiped the tears off her

countenance.

Just as Leif prepared to head downstairs, he was surprised to hear Gwendolyn ask in a small voice, “Did any of my

brothers quarrel with Dad lately, Leif?”

He thought about the question and answered, “I think so. Mr. Treyton had an argument with Mr. Marcus about Ms.

Weller.”

Gwendolyn remained expressionless as she listened attentively. “What about Asher?”

“He returned once a few days ago to discuss something with Mr. Marcus in the study, but they didn’t argue.”

“I see. Thanks for telling me.”

After Gwendolyn collected herself, she slowly descended the stairs.

Inside the living room, Asher sat in the center and was accompanied by Sienna. Sitting on the left side of the couch

were Kieran and Treyton, while Lorelai was on the right.

They were usually cheery, but at that moment, the atmosphere in the living room was somber.

Evelyn stood across the coffee table. Tear stains were still visible on her youthful but attractive face.

The first to see Gwendolyn descending the stairs was Treyton. He stood up and led her to the spot next to him.

After Gwendolyn was seated, Evelyn dolefully explained, “I’m sorry, my dear brothers and sister. I know my name

isn’t on the family’s genealogy because I’m an illegitimate daughter, and I shouldn’t have attended a gathering of

the Harris family. However, I was worried about Dad after I heard what happened, so I rushed here as soon as I

could. I apologize!”

Kieran knitted his eyebrows upon listening to her explanation.

Meanwhile, Treyton gazed at her in shock and snapped, “I’m not your brother! Why did I never know Dad has an

illegitimate daughter? I only know one sister, and that’s Gwendolyn.”

Evelyn’s eyes reddened. “I’ll leave if my presence here bothers you, Treyton.”

“That’s enough. I know about this. Dad told me personally.” Asher raised his eyebrow. “Since she’s here, she might

as well stay. She’s still family.”

“Thank you, Asher.” Promptly, Evelyn sat down next to Lorelai.

To hide the icy look in her eyes, Gwendolyn kept her head lowered and said nothing.

A brief silence ensued in the living room. Everyone was harboring their own thoughts.

The first to speak again was Asher. “Kiddo, I think we should focus on treating Dad’s condition first. Other matters

can wait until he wakes up.”

In other words, he wanted to cancel tomorrow’s handover of the right of inheritance.

Gwendolyn raised her head and met his eyes. “No. Dad has Kieran by his side. Additionally, we don’t know anything

about medicine, so we can’t help Dad in any way. We only need the lawyer representing Dad for tomorrow’s

signing. After all, someone needs to helm Harris Group.”

Looking at her with worry in his eyes, Asher advised, “You’re pregnant right now. You need to think about your

children, too. If you proceed with the signing tomorrow, you’ll have to shoulder all the responsibilities that come

with it. You’ll be exhausted.”

Kieran added, “Also, you’re carrying twins, which takes a greater toll on your body. Your body won’t be able to

handle the stress. I agree we should delay the signing until Dad wakes up.”

Treyton and Sienna also agreed with that proposal.

However, Gwendolyn stubbornly insisted, “I’m not afraid of shouldering some stress. I believe my babies can go

through this with us together. Uncle Gideon and Uncle Hector won’t hesitate to exploit this opportunity, you know.

Someone needs to take charge of the situation, and I’m ready to do just that.”

Silence befell the room once more.

She turned to Asher and continued, “When I was born, Dad established a rule that the family would only be

inherited by female descendants. Now that he’s incapacitated, there’s no one else more suitable than me to bear

this responsibility. What do you think?”

Asher remained quiet.

Suddenly, Evelyn, who hadn’t said a word, blurted, “What if it’s because you don’t have the right to inherit the

family’s assets, Gwendolyn?”

Her words spurred everyone in the room to turn toward her.

“What are you trying to say?” Gwendolyn grinned.

“Because you’re not a descendant of the Harris family.”

Meeting Evelyn’s eyes, Gwendolyn snorted, but she didn’t refute the other woman.

“When Dad was out on a business trip, your mother was impregnated by another man. This is something that even

Dad doesn’t know. As a precaution, Dad took a strand of your hair and ran a paternity test with it.”

Evelyn grabbed the test report from her bag and set it on the coffee table. “I unintentionally saw this report inside

the drawer of Dad’s bedside table. After asking Ms. Lorelai about it, I learned Dad was enraged after receiving the

xo.com fast updatereport during the morning. He even chased Ms. Lorelai and Leif away. Unfortunately, he

got so agitated that he accidentally fell down the stairs. If you don’t believe me, you can ask Ms. Lorelai, Leif, or any

other housekeepers in the building. They already know about this.”

Wordlessly, Gwendolyn observed her brothers’ reactions.

Treyton was the most inflamed by the news as he glowered at Evelyn. “Impossible! Gwendolyn grew up with me.

There’s no way she’s Mom’s illegitimate daughter. The first thing you do coming here is to slander Gwendolyn and

my mother. What are you planning? What exactly do you want?”

In response, Evelyn explained, “You were only two years old when Gwendolyn was born, Treyton. You wouldn’t have

known anything about that, so why are you sure the report is fake? Dad personally asked someone to run the

paternity test, so how can it be anything but real?”

She turned to Kieran with a grin. “Kieran’s here. If he reads it, he’ll know whether this report is fake or not.”