328: Chapter 328

Chapter 328

"Kate and I had a fateful night. We had sex in the office and ended up knocking her up. So I thought I should just fool Kate into falling in love with me so I can take the baby and hand it to my father," Henry confessed. "With that, Marlon will give me complete control over the company."1

"And what will you do if you have that Grant company?" Vernon asked.

Henry paused for a while before saying, "I will burn it down to the ground. I will ensure that everything in that family will be destroyed, including myself."

"Including yourself?"

"My real mother—that street whore, Penny—was the one who spiked a drug into James' drink that caused the crash. I have to bear the sin as well," Henry said. He clenched his fists even tighter until his hands trembled. "Penny wants me to be the sole heir of the Grant family so she will forever live a luxurious life. That's why she happily murdered James."

"How am I supposed to live knowing all of this, Vernon?" Henry asked though it was mostly just him pinning the blame on himself. "How am I supposed to take all of James' birthright and be happy when I know that I had indirectly murdered my own brother!?"

Henry got worked up every time he remembered about his circumstances. 

He never had any big ambition in his life and certainly had no ambition to ruin James' life.

James was such a great brother to him, and Henry would support him 100% if James got all the Grant inheritance while he got nothing.

After all, he was never the one who had a birthright for such wealth. He was the son of a prostitute who got conceived after drunken sex. 

For him, as long as he could live comfortably, then he needed nothing else. 

Vernon listened to everything and sighed, "You are just like me before I reunited with my woman, Henry. I was also destructive and wanted to burn it all because I thought the only woman I truly love in this world hated me."

"But after everything has been cleared and the misunderstanding has been solved, I know there is a family that is worth living for, and now here I am," Vernon said. "If you want me to support you through this destruction, then you can turn around and go back to LA. My wife would kill me if she knew I supported your heinous plan."

"I wouldn't have to meet you if I just wanted to take Kate's baby and give it to Marlon," Henry said. "It is exactly the opposite of that. I want to protect Kate, and I need your help."

"You… want to protect her?"

"Yes, Katherine is… my light…" Henry said. "I thought I could play a love game with her without falling in love. But I was wrong. I am now hopelessly, madly in love with her."

Vernon was dazed while listening to Henry's story. Somehow, the story hit a bit too close to home, "So you are in love with your late brother's girlfriend?"

"No, they weren't in a relationship back then because Kate was married to someone else before that, and she didn't want to cheat," Henry said. "It's a long story, but… all I want to say is… I have a change of heart."

"I want to protect her and the baby in her belly. We have too many enemies right now, my parents and my ex-fiancee, Sarah Lancaster, because I annulled our engagement yesterday."

"You annul the engagement with her? Lady Lancaster has a deep-rooted family background, you know that, right?" Vernon asked. 

"I know, but I realize that Kate needs assurance of our relationship. So I decided to end things with Sarah because it was a mere engagement of convenience in the first place."

"You—" Vernon was speechless over Henry's series of bad decisions. But he couldn't get mad at Henry because he didn't grow up like Vernon. 

Henry was spoiled to death. He was the darling in his family. His bad decisions were a product of depression and a destructive mind, which Vernon also had before meeting his beloved. 

On top of that, Henry fell in love at the worst time possible. It was as if God made fun of Henry by putting all the odds against him. 

So Vernon couldn't abandon his cousin for something he had little control of. 

"What kind of help do you want?" Vernon asked while counting all the possibilities to salvage his cousin out of the hellhole. 

"I don't want to work under my father again. I know that'd only make a toy for him to play with. He will control everything about my actions," Henry said. "I need to gain independence, but Sarah and her family had too many connections. If I don't have my backing, I won't be able to succeed."

"So you want me to be your backing?" Vernon asked, straight to the point. 

Henry nodded.

"I need someone powerful enough to deter everyone from Sarah's family from causing trouble," he said. "I also need someone with enough connections to get an alternate after Sarah's family blocked every business option from me."

"I don't need your money, Vernon. I have money to start a company, but I need your backing."

Vernon crossed his arms. 

He hummed for a while, wondering if this would be a good idea because he had gotten too relaxed after having a blissful married life with his wife. 

But he wouldn't abandon his cousin, who needed help, especially since Henry and Vernon were close in the past.

"Alright, I will help you," Vernon said. "I will be your backing, and I will also aid you to start your own company. You can use all of my company's connections to start whatever you want."

"Vernon…" Henry was speechless by his cousin's kindness. "Thank you, thank you so much, Vernon."

"Oh, don't thank me, you should thank James," Vernon replied. "When I first started a company in the UK, he was the one who funded everything. He helped me through my hard times, so I naturally have to help you."

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