Chapter 29  Snow danced outside the car window, but Chase was too preoccupied to notice. His face was clouded with worry. He seemed caught between anticipation and dread, checking his phone repeatedly before putting it away again. Only when the car pulled up to our matital home, and he saw the lights on, did he finally relax a bit.  Eagerly, he got out of the car and made his way to the front door. I watched as he straightened his clothes, then casually opened the door, his face settling into its usual cool demeanor. As he swapped his shoes, he called out my name.  “Amanda, you actually came back after all this time. Do you have any idea what these past days have been like…?”  The living room lights were on, but instead of me, Davin greeted him. Chase looked up, momentarily surprised. “Dad, what are you doing here?”  “Your uncle’s at the family estate, so I came over to have a word. What, Amanda hasn’t come back yet?”  I  Savin frowned. Clearly, my disappearance hadn’t really registered with either of them. After all, Chase and I had grown up together, and even when we argued, I was always the one to make amends. To them, even skipping out on the wedding seemed like just another of my little stunts. Eventually, I’d always come back.  Chase didn’t want to appear embarrassed, so he made up an excuse. “Tomorrow’s her grandmother’s birthday. She wouldn’t miss it. She must already be at the Kennedy family.”  Davin casually lit a cigarette, his voice cutting through the smoke with ease. “When she gets back, make sure you smooth things over. It’s about time you give your grandfather a grandchild. He’s recently regained his sanity and is getting chummy with that illegitimate kid.”  “Hasn’t Uncle Derek always had it in for Grandpa?” Chase’s eyes narrowed,  Davin’s lips curled into a smirk. “What’s a little hatred compared to the lure of money? The moment your grandfather got a bit of his sanity back, Derek flew home. If not for the inheritance, then for what? And I hear he’s already setting up an arranged marriage.” “An arranged marriage?” Chase’s face went pale as he moved quickly to the sofa. “Has Uncle Derek decided on his partner?”  “If it’s not the Hoffman family, it’s the Graham family.”  Both the Hoffman and Graham families were powerhouses, on the same level as the Reyes family. The Kennedy family, while wealthy, couldn’t hold a candle to these century–old families. If it weren’t for my childhood bond with Chase, his match would have been from one of those families.  With his business abroad and a hefty marriage alliance to boot, Derek could easily leave Chase in the dust. Chase ground his teeth. “H was born a bastard and thinks he belongs in our family?”  Davin gave him a sidelong glance. “Ten years ago, maybe not, but do you know how much Derek’s company is worth now?”  “How much?”  “A hundred billion! And that number keeps climbing every year!”  Chase sank heavily into the sofa. He knew his uncle had been on the rise, but he hadn’t realized it was this big. A hundred billion was just a hair’s breadth from the Reyes Corporation.  The Reyes family had built its empire on generations of wealth and connections, standing tall as the second most powerful player in the domestic real estate scene. Derek, who started from scratch and reached this level in a little over a decade, was on track to outshine the Reyes family.  Once Ryan handed Derek the Reyes family fortune, his value would shoot through the roof, not just in the country but globally, putting him among the top 1%.  “How could this happen?” Chase looked dazed, his face a mix of confusion and worry.  “You’ve made a string of dumb moves recently that ticked off your grandfather. He feels he owes Derek, and if he takes this chance t hand the Reyes Corporation over to him…”  Chase quickly cut in, “No way! Grandpa would never hand over the whole Reyes family fortune to