Chapter 419

“It’s not too late, you know,” Marion said softly, his eyes filled with a tenderness that belied his fearsome reputation. To the world, he was a specter, a messenger from the shadows. But with Debra, he was different—quiet, sometimes playful, and even unruly. He was cute, not scary at all.

“Wait here a moment,” he said, disappearing downstairs. When he returned, he held a plate with a cherry jam-filled cake. Its red center gleamed like a jewel. It was quite surprising that a man like Marion would craft something so delicate. She was touched.

“Try it,” Marion urged.

Debra took a small bite. The flavors exploded in her mouth—a dance of sweet and tart that lingered on her tongue.

“It’s a shame you didn’t become a chef.”

“I used to be a chef.”

“I remember you mentioned being a barber, too.”

“Yep.”

“Can you tell me more about your past?” Her eyes sparkled with curiosity.

“Sure.”

Debra leaned in, eager to hear his story. She’d heard whispers from Randy and Erica, but Marion’s past was a tapestry woven with rumors and half-truths. She wanted to hear the real version from him. She wanted to know how he managed to catch Shawn’s attention, how he’d made a name for himself and earned respect abroad, and why, despite being the heir, he’d endured so many hardships before finally being brought back to the Houston family by Caleb. These questions had lingered in Debra’s mind for a long time.

“Let me think.” Marion paused before recounting past events. From as far back as he could remember, his mother had instilled one idea in him: revenge. She wanted the Houston family to pay for her misery. At first, his mother only took medicine. Later, she became an alcoholic, then a smoker. Eventually, smoking and drinking no longer satisfied her, so she turned to drugs. Finally, in a fit of madness, she jumped off a building.

Marion became an unacknowledged orphan, wandering abroad, doing whatever it took to survive. Shawn was not the kind of person who would normally look for a successor in such a place, but he needed someone fearless and capable of handling dirty work. The Bernard family might have been a charitable organization on the surface, but behind the scenes, they ran a massive black market operation. This kind of work wasn’t suited for privileged young men; they needed someone from the slums, someone who knew how to fight and survive. Shawn found Marion when he was sixteen. Marion shed a lot of blood for the Bernard family, climbing the ranks until he became the head.

Debra listened quietly. He continued, “That’s what outsiders know about me.”

Debra blinked, taken aback. “What do you mean? Is it not the truth?”

Marion tapped her forehead.

“It’s half true and half false.”

“Such as?”

“Such as my background.”