Chapter 2: She Waited for You for Five Whole Years

Words : 2127 Updated : Dec 17th, 2025

As soon as Jaden Waller returned to Jenos, he headed straight for the Waller family's ancestral home. When he pushed the door open and stepped inside, he froze. After all this time, the ancestral home hadn't fallen into ruin. The rooms looked recently cleaned-quiet and spotless. The courtyard had no weeds. In front of his mother's grave, fresh flowers and offerings were arranged with care. "Did someone come to pay respects?" he murmured, his brow creasing. He couldn't think of who. "Mom, your son has been unfilial. It took me this long to come back and see you." "Your son has been powerless. I still haven't found the true culprit from back then." "But the truth will come out sooner or later. Those rats hiding in the shadows-I will drag them out one by one and make them pay in blood. It won't take long." "Mom, I missed you." Jaden knelt before the grave and kowtowed three times, his forehead thudding against the earth. After finishing his respects, he left, caught a cab, and headed to Blossom Estates. "I wonder if Auntie still lives here." After the Waller family's downfall, he had stayed with his "auntie"-not by blood, but the Waller family's former secretary, Juliet Lashbrook. She had looked after him like family, so he had always called her Auntie. At the building, Jaden went upstairs and knocked gently. The door opened a moment later. A young man stood at the threshold. Juliet, in lace sleepwear, her porcelain skin glowing, went still for a heartbeat; then shock and joy flooded her face. "Little Jaden?" "It's me, Auntie!" "Is it really you?" "Mm. Did I change so much you couldn't recognize me?" Jaden grinned. "Where did you go these five years?" Juliet asked, voice tight. "Out there alone-did you suffer?" "You disappeared all of a sudden five years ago. I looked for you for so long!" She pulled him into a hug, tears shimmering at her lashes. "I'm sorry, Auntie. I left without a word and made you worry." "But I did fine these five years," Jaden said with a smile. "Auntie, have you been okay?" "Did what happened back then implicate you?" Juliet let him go, wiped at her eyes, and said, "No. I've been fine." "Really, Auntie?" Ever since the Waller family fell, almost no one connected to them had met a good end. "Really," she said, shaking her head with a smile. "Come on, get inside." Just as Jaden moved to step in, the elevator doors slid open. Four men in black suits strode out, aggressive, eyes hard. Trouble. "Boss, the bitch is home today!" "Finally not a wasted trip!" Juliet paled. "Jaden, get inside!" "Bitch, try closing that door!" the leader barked. Jaden's brows pulled together. His face went cold. He vanished from where he stood. In the next heartbeat, he was in front of the leader. His hand snapped up and came down in a brutal arc. Smack! The man shot backward like a cannonball, smashed into the wall outside the elevator, and crumpled. His face turned into a bloody mess. Blood gushed from his mouth. He lay there like a dead dog and went limp. "Watch your mouth," Jaden said, voice like ice. He turned his gaze on the other three. They had already gone rigid with fear, pressed against the wall, not daring to move. "Who are you? Why are you here for my aunt?" he asked, frowning. "We… we're Patrick's men," one babbled. "Patrick told us to inform Miss Juliet Lashbrook he's waiting at a hotel. If she doesn't go, he said she wouldn't be able to stay in Jenos." "He also said…" another faltered. "What else?" Jaden's eyes darkened. "He said anyone who came out of the Waller family never had a good end. If Miss Juliet didn't obey, there would be no place for her in all of Valia." "All of Valia? Big talk," Jaden said flatly. Juliet stood stunned in the doorway, staring at the broad-shouldered young man not far away. In her heart, a question rose unbidden-was this still that skinny little kid from back then? "Auntie, do these guys come to harass you often?" Jaden asked, turning back. "No, no, it's our first time-really the first time. The other times we came, Miss Juliet just wasn't home," they blurted, only making it worse. "Still dare say it's your first time?" Jaden's tone went colder. A phone rang. One of the men flinched. Jaden plucked the phone from his hand and answered. "How did it go?" a smug voice drawled. "If she still won't behave, tie her up and deliver her to my hotel. I'm going to ruin her tonight. Let her learn my patience has limits. Hey, are you even listening?" "Patrick Hoez," Jaden murmured. "I remember." "Who are you?" the voice snapped. Jaden hung up. He looked at the three, eyes icy. "Kneel. Apologize to my aunt." They dropped to their knees without hesitation and lifted their heads toward Juliet. "We're sorry, Miss Juliet!" "We were wrong!" "Get lost," Jaden said. They spun and bolted into the elevator. "Wait," Jaden said. They froze. "Take him too. And clean the floor." He pointed at the unconscious man on the tiles. "Yes!" they yelped. They hauled the man into the elevator, stripped off their suit jackets, and scrubbed frantically. Only after the floor was spotless did they step back into the car. As the doors drew shut, one spat, "Damn it! Where did that kid come from? Ruthless as hell!" "Grab our toys and come back. We kill him today. Then tie that bitch and send her to the hotel. After Patrick gets his fun, maybe we get a turn." "When I was kneeling, I snuck a look. That bitch's figure is insane. She'd be real fun." "I noticed too," another sniggered. Just as the doors were about to close, four golden needles materialized out of thin air, floating before their eyes. "What the hell-" Shnk! Shnk! Shnk! Shnk! In the next second, the needles punched through their skulls. When the elevator reached the lobby, the doors slid open automatically. Four corpses lay inside in eerie calm. If he hadn't worried about startling his aunt, Jaden wouldn't have let them step into the elevator alive. He took out his phone and dialed. "Young Lord, do you need me to handle something?" a respectful voice asked. "Help me kill someone. Patrick Hoez of the Hoez family in Jenos," Jaden said softly, keeping his voice low so his aunt wouldn't hear. "Yes, Young Lord." The call ended. "Come inside, Auntie. It's okay," Jaden said, turning back with a grin. "Jaden, are you… are you all right?" Juliet asked, still shaken. "I'm fine. Auntie, I'm starving," he said, deliberately changing the subject. He didn't want her to worry. "Okay, okay, I'll make you something," Juliet said with a smile as she headed in. In her heart, she knew these five years must have changed him in ways she couldn't imagine. If he didn't want to talk, she wouldn't force it. "By the way, Auntie, did you go to pay respects to my mother?" Jaden asked. "You mean the ancestral place being spotless, like someone had been cleaning, and the flowers at your mother's grave?" Juliet asked in return. He nodded slowly. "It was Miss Shadboult," she said. "For the past five years, Miss Shadboult went to your mother's grave every year. I ran into her once when I went." "Miss Shadboult?" Jaden frowned. "Auntie, you mean… Melina Shadboult?" "Yes. She waited for you for five whole years."

Chapter 2: She Waited for You for Five Whole Years

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