Chapter 453 The Pendant in the Lake
“Enough!”
Edward slammed his cane against the floor.
At this point, what else was there left for him to misunderstand?
Years ago, when he had been overseas, he had believed Rose had used underhanded means to get close to Ryan and had ruined the most important occasion in the life of the grandson he was most proud of.
That was why he had given Rose a taste of her own medicine.
He had forced a divorce agreement into her hands, hoping to make her understand her place and stop reaching for more than she deserved.
But the truth was that his own wife had orchestrated everything.
All to bring Ryan down.
All so Rowan could have a chance to take his place.
His own grandmother had done this to him.
It was despicable.
The moment Edward spoke, Margaret’s expression darkened.
She knew her husband better than anyone.
He was a man who meant what he said, and once he made a decision, he rarely went back on it.
“You bear some responsibility for the state this family is in,” Edward said coldly.
“If none of this had happened, the Knight family might not have fallen into this situation.”
Nicholas was now under investigation.
With so many people watching, the Robinson family would never let an opportunity like this pass.
And the problems within Knight Group were just as serious.
Edward’s patience had finally run out.
“Since you’re no longer capable of managing this family, step down.”
Margaret stared at him.
“You have property in Australia. Leave tomorrow and live there.”
His voice was absolute.
“As for family affairs, don’t interfere anymore.”
Margaret’s eyes widened.
“Edward, what are you saying?”
Her voice shook.
“Are you exiling me? Are you putting me under house arrest?”
There was hardly any difference.
She was already old, yet he wanted to send her halfway around the world, away from her children and grandchildren, to spend the rest of her life in a foreign country.
“Otherwise, how much more damage are you planning to do to this family?”
Edward’s voice thundered through the room.
Margaret’s legs suddenly gave way.
She stumbled backward, trembling violently.
All the strength seemed to drain from her body at once.
Spend the rest of her life alone in another country?
Unable to return home?
Margaret clutched her chest.
Her mouth opened slightly, but no words came out.
Then her eyes rolled shut, and she collapsed.
The room erupted into chaos again.
Edward looked as though he’d aged years in a matter of minutes.
He turned toward Ryan.
Ryan remained completely calm.
“Now it’s the Knight family that has wronged you.”
Edward’s voice had lost its earlier force.
“The Knight family has come to this because of us.”
He swallowed.
“Ryan, stop.”
Ryan looked at him.
“I’m old now.”
Edward’s hand tightened around his cane.
“I’m handing my authority over to you. The Knight family is yours.”
Almost everyone in the Knight family had benefited from Ryan’s existence while simultaneously taking from him.
His own father had tried to kill him out of jealousy.
His own grandmother had schemed against him because of her favoritism.
And now Ryan had sent his biological father away and quietly torn apart the family that had once been built around him.
Wasn’t this simply the Knight family’s own reckoning?
If only Edward hadn’t put the family’s reputation first.
If only he had stood beside Ryan back then.
If only he had supported him instead of suppressing everything that had happened.
Would things have turned out differently?
He loved Ryan.
But perhaps he’d loved him in all the wrong ways.
Ryan slowly raised his eyes.
“This wound has been festering for far too long.”
His voice was flat.
“There are people who want this power far more than I ever did.”
He looked around the room.
“The Knight family is surrounded on all sides now.”
A faint smile touched his lips.
“So, I might as well give you all what you’ve wanted.”
Edward staggered slightly.
The Knight family was already in crisis.
And Ryan...
Didn’t want it.
He didn’t want to take over.
“Ryan!”
Edward stared at his retreating back.
“Ryan!”
His voice cracked.
Ryan didn’t turn around.
Edward’s cloudy eyes slowly reddened.
His lips trembled.
“I was wrong.”
He lowered his head.
“I was wrong from the very beginning...”
*****
That New Year’s Eve ended in complete chaos.
Ryan walked out into the cold night.
His gaze remained lowered.
He had always been alone.
“Were you planning this from the beginning?”
A voice came from behind him.
“You’ve just been waiting for the right moment to stab everyone in the back.”
Ryan’s long strides slowed.
He stopped.
Then he turned around.
Rowan had followed him outside.
Ryan looked at him.
A faint smile appeared at the corners of his lips.
“You’re ambitious.”
He glanced back toward the Knight residence.
“Now that I’m handing the Knight family to you, are you worried it’s going to be too much for you to handle?”
Rowan’s expression darkened.
He knew exactly what kind of storm was coming.
Knight Group was already battered from within.
The Robinson family was waiting for an opportunity.
Other competitors would soon smell blood.
And Ryan knew all of it.
Yet he was still handing Rowan this mess as though he were doing him a favor.
It was deliberate.
An insult.
A reminder that everything Rowan had spent years fighting for could be reduced to nothing more than a burden Ryan no longer wanted.
Rowan clenched his fists.
“Ryan, you’re a member of the Knight family too.”
His voice was filled with anger.
“What exactly do you gain by pushing the family into this situation?”
“If the Robinson family and all our competitors take advantage of this and attack Knight Group, what will you have left?”
He stared at Ryan.
“Are you really willing to destroy everything just to prove a point?”
To Rowan, it was absurd.
Everything in this world could be a lie.
Power and influence were the only things that mattered.
What was wrong with pursuing his own interests?
Ryan had been born into privilege.
He had been chosen as the family’s successor from childhood.
He had been handed everything Rowan had spent his entire life fighting for.
And yet Ryan had never cherished it.
He even looked down on it.
How could Rowan not be angry?
Ryan didn’t answer his question.
Instead, he said quietly, “Your resentment has nothing to do with Rose.”
Rowan froze.
“And Rose certainly doesn’t owe you anything.”
Ryan’s eyes were dark.
Above him, fireworks erupted across the sky.
Their brilliant light reflected off his face, yet his expression remained cold and unreadable.
“Don’t dress up your selfishness as rationality.”
His voice was merciless.
“You were the one whose motives were impure from the beginning.”
“Whatever affection you had for Rose was always weighed against what you stood to gain.”
He looked at Rowan.
“You calculated every step.”
His lips curled faintly.
“That kind of affection is just as cheap and ugly as the person who offered it.”
With that, Ryan turned and walked away.
Rowan remained frozen in place.
The bitter winter wind cut through him.
Yet it wasn’t the cold he felt.
It was everything he’d buried for years.
The resentment.
The regret.
The things he had never even been willing to admit to himself.
All of it came rushing back.
He had chosen power over Rose.
And now even that choice had been torn apart by Ryan and thrown back at him as though it were worthless.
After giving up Rose, he’d gained nothing.
The one thing he had never expected was that Ryan seemed to truly love her.
His arrogant, untouchable older brother had actually fallen in love with the woman Rowan had once abandoned.
And back then...
“Do you know why she jumped into the lake?”
Rowan suddenly shouted.
Ryan’s footsteps stopped.
Rowan burst into laughter.
A loud, almost reckless laugh.
“She didn’t do it for me.”
Ryan remained motionless.
“That jade pendant?”
Rowan’s smile widened.
“It wasn’t mine.”
“It was yours.”
Ryan’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Every eldest son in the different branches of the Knight family was given one by Grandpa. It was a symbol of our status.”
Rowan’s voice was filled with bitter amusement.
“The pendant Rose was carrying was the one you threw away.”
Fireworks continued exploding overhead.
Burst after burst illuminated the winter sky until the darkness looked almost like daylight.
But in Ryan’s eyes, the brightness seemed blinding.
He still didn’t turn around.
Rowan kept laughing.
“You know, I did resent her back then.”
“Why did she have to like you?”
“She didn’t choose me, and I wouldn’t have given up everything for her anyway.”
His voice gradually became more bitter.
“But I never imagined someone as arrogant as you would actually fall in love with a woman like her.”
“You two were forced together.”
“And yet you—and everyone in the Knight family—believed she jumped into that lake because she was willing to die for me.”
Rowan laughed again.
“In a way, didn’t I win?”
“Ryan.”
He called his name.
“You don’t need to mock me for giving her up.”
“After all, things between you and Rose are over now.”
His eyes darkened.
“Whether you deliberately kept your distance because you thought she still loved me after risking her life for me, or whether you had some other reason, the result is the same.”
“Your marriage is over.”
Rowan’s smile was cruel.
“So, what difference does the truth make now?”
He stared at Ryan’s back.
“You’re not any better off than I am.”