Femme Fatale: The King’s Deadly Temptress - Chapter 652: In the Past (2)

No matter how much she looked at it, Katherine couldn’t imagine Grandpa Theo being the bad guy. He was warm and loving, and…he just couldn’t be that person. She refused to believe it.

She sometimes stayed at the Young Mansion whenever her parents had to travel out of the country. Katherine loved spending time with her grandfather, so she always looked forward to staying there. It was Grandpa Theo who took care of her. He fed her, helped her with homework, and took her to places where they created memories together.

Of course, she might just be biased. But that’s not the kind of person who kills someone and hides the truth from the world. Granted, she knew she did bad things, but Grandpa Theo was not that kind of person. There’s so much kindness in his eyes to even think that he could do something like that.

It’s why she didn’t accept the butler’s words.

“My grandfather woke up, yes. But he doesn’t respond, so there’s no way to ask him and expect an answer now.” Katherine’s jaw was tight as she stared at Mr. Higgins. “Tell me why you think he’s the reason.”

“I don’t THINK. I KNOW. I heard him myself,” he said so surely.

“You heard him…”

“That is correct. I had been in the mansion for nearly a year when I overheard him talking to his lawyer.”

“And what exactly did you hear? Tell me word for word.” Katherine pauses. “No, actually, tell me what happened to your brother, and everything you heard.”

Mr. Higgins considered it. And then after a beat when everyone thought he’d hold back, he nodded. “Very well.”

Anticipation thrashed with the tension in the air, but before he could utter a word, someone else did.

“No. It’s better if you hear it from me.”

Everyone snapped their heads to the door where the voice came from, and they saw someone they didn’t expect to stand there. Mrs. Nieves.

She stood there gripping her robe with one hand while the other clenched around a flashlight. She’s wearing a farmer’s boots that went up to her knees, and it’s mudded from the damp soil outside. The older woman looked distressed. How long had she been out there?

“Mrs. Nieves. What are you doing here?” Katherine’s voice was almost a whisper. She didn’t have a choice showing her violent side to Deborah and Higgins. But this housekeeper shouldn’t see her like this. It would complicate things.

“I felt restless the whole night. When I saw Gerard leave the cottage at such an odd hour earlier. He acted strange the whole night. My gut twisted and I didn’t think twice about following him. I noticed someone from Mr. Park’s security followed after him too, so I stayed very far away. I knew Gerard was coming here because there was nothing else past the trees except the graveyard and this church, so I took the long route. As expected, he came here. What I didn’t expect was that he was hiding Deborah.”

No one said a word. Damien swept his gaze among his men, cocking his brow as if saying: ‘Seriously? You didn’t detect an old woman?’

Team Beta lowered their heads.

“You shouldn’t be here,” mumbled Amelia from the side. Now, what should they do to her? She’d seen everything.

As if sensing everyone’s apprehension, the senior housekeeper lifted her chin as she said, “Don’t worry. I’m not going to stop you from whatever you plan to do to him. I just don’t trust this old man.”

“Teresa,” Mr. Higgins called out as if he couldn’t believe the other.

“Don’t call me that name, Gerard. I knew you were strict—even borderline vicious, but I didn’t think you would do anything to that extent. If the Young Madam wants to know the truth about the Master, she should hear it from me and not from you who might taint it with lies.”

Speechless, Mr. Higgins’s mouth fell agape. Then Mrs. Nieves slid her stare to Katherine and said, “Young Madam. You will hear nothing but the truth from me. My parents worked for the Youngs their whole lives. I grew up in this estate with nothing but gratitude to your family for being so good to mine. And I will serve you until my dying breath if only that will be enough to return everything your family did for us.”

Katherine blinked. Mrs. Nieves had indeed been in the household her whole life. She would’ve known more than Mr. Higgins did. Desperate to learn about what happened in the past, she nodded. “Go ahead.”

“Many decades ago, Master Theodore wanted to start a construction company that would rival the ones at the top—including his own family’s. He had no interest in taking over his parents’ construction company that didn’t align with his vision. He spent long hours in the library studying.

“There were times when he shared to me that he wanted to build beautiful buildings that would later become iconic structures in the state. I was still in my teens back then and wasn’t officially employed by the estate. But because both my parents worked there, I was allowed inside, and I helped out too. Theodore talked to me as if I were an important person he was pitching his ideas to.

“He persevered and finally had the guts to start his dreams where he decided to partner with one of his close friends back in the university. Mr. Wyatt came by many times since then and the two would spend hours upon hours in the library, talking about their plans every night. I would serve them tea and snacks until late in the evening. Sometimes Mr. Wyatt would sleep over in one of the guest rooms, but most of the time, he’d go home, saying that his brother was waiting for him.”

Mrs. Nieves flashed her eyes to Higgins whose head was now hung low as he listened. She continued, “A year later Young Wyatt Constructions started to grow. Master Theodore’s parents disapproved of it initially. They thought it was unnecessary for him to build a different company when he was their heir. But they saw how much effort and passion their son gave that they could only support him.

“For three years, Master Theodore and Mr. Wyatt worked so hard that they were offered several big projects from known companies. The household knew all about it of course because we often had dinner celebrations for their milestones.

“Then there was this one night that the two of them were in the library. I was bringing them tea and as usual, they talked about business. Only that time, they weren’t simply talking. They were at the desk with papers strewn everywhere while they argued about a project. I didn’t finish college, but I understood what I heard.”

“And what did you hear?” Katherine probed.

“Mr. Wyatt insisted on his design, saying it’s his best work yet, and he was pretty adamant on pursuing it. But the Master refused, insisting that it was impossible to do it exactly as he wanted it to be because it posed danger—not only at the finished construction but also during construction. It was a risk he didn’t want to take.” She sighed. “I have never seen them fight like that.”