Secret Scion

"That's bullshit." Hallberg obviously did not believe a word. "Mikaela would always discuss matters with you no matter how insignificant they are. How could you not know anything about such a huge incident? I know you despise Asher, Radley. You despise the Stewards and want the Sullivans to deal with them. But you have to remember that we, the Leonards, cannot stick our heads out. We still have Garrett on our side. Have him deal with Asher instead."

Radley nodded. "I understand, Grandpa."

"Go and tell Mikaela to stay under the radar. If she causes any more trouble, she can see herself out of this household and go to her useless father!" Hallberg snorted with great indignation and left with a flick of his sleeve.

Radley heaved a sigh of relief as he wiped the sweat off his forehead and went to seek Mikaela out. He did not mention a thing about Harley's indictment, but gave her two contraceptive pills to prevent pregnancy.

Rollinsford was located at the border of the three provinces in Flosia's northwest. The foreign population was relatively large in the city. In order to lay down their roots, these individuals would establish their own power and form an underground force.

And the man in control of it all was Ford Cook.

Ford was a local that relied on an iron fist and a nimble wit. He had made a name for himself within a few years and gradually developed into the best underground influence in Rollinsford. He became a grandiose figure known as Master Ford.

As far as Asher was aware, Ford was in his fifties, and he had intentions to retire.

Hunter Larson, as a subordinate that Ford had personally cultivated, was the most promising candidate to take his place. Of course, he also had his competitors who could not be underestimated. There were rumors that this person had connections to the Leonards.

In the afternoon on Bar Street.

A young man and woman pair were walking shoulder-to-shoulder. The man was attractive and handsome while the woman was beautiful and alluring. They were none other than Asher Crawford and Noelle Steward.

Asher had wanted to seek Hunter out but Noelle had been insistent on coming along. He could not refuse her.

"That upscale club up ahead is Ford's property. But he doesn't usually show up here. It has always been Hunter who manages it," Asher explained as he strolled up with a cigarette in hand.

Noelle ran her fingers through her hair. "It may seem like you've done nothing for the past two years, but you've actually been asking around about Rollinsford's forces for a long while, because you knew that the information would come in handy sooner or later, right?"

Noelle had a growing feeling that Asher was by no means as simple as she had understood. She did not know much about him at all.

"Being idle is a sin. I had to find something to do."

"I heard that the people here are ruthless. If Hunter is unaware of your identity and attacks you, can you handle it?" Noelle asked with a frown.

Asher only gave her a vague smile. "There's no need to worry. He won't dare to lay a hand on me." He chucked the cigarette butt into a bin and made a beeline for the upscale club.

There were two hostesses at the door who were fairly attractive and wore erotic dresses that showed off their delicate bodies to the fullest.

Asher only gave them a passing glance which prompted Noelle to roll her eyes.

"Is Hunter Larson here?"

Beside the scantily clad women were two men who had sunglasses on. Anyone could tell they were under Hunter's orders at first glance.

"Who are you? Do you have business with Mr. Larson?" One of the men asked.

"So, he's inside. Tell him that Asher is here," Asher said amicably.

"Asher?" The man could not help but be taken aback. "Your name sounds familiar. Where have I heard it from?"

"Isn't Asher that useless in-law to the Stewards? Rumors were everywhere when he first married into the household for Noelle Steward. How could you not have heard of him?" the other man said with a wry smile.

"Oh, so it's that useless piece of trash? Haha."

Noelle retorted coldly. "Shut your trap! He isn't useless!"

"What? Can't stand his silence?" The man with the shades on smirked her way. "You're quite the pretty one, girly. Could you be the lowlife's woman, Noelle?"

Noelle had been angry but it immediately dissipated after he mentioned her as Asher's woman.

"I'm right. You are Noelle Steward. You are as beautiful as the rumors claim you to be. It's such a pity you married Asher. All the good crops end up getting ruined by the pigs. What a fucking shame. You can meet Mr. Larson if you like. You just have to accompany us for the night. We guarantee you'll experience the joys of being a woman. Hehe."

Noelle was as red as a tomato, but the look in her eyes was glacial. That was when Asher struck like lightning and punched the man in his face. There was but a muffled noise before he collapsed. His nose had been broken and his face was covered in blood.

"Ah!" The two indecently dressed women screeched in fear.

Even Noelle, seeing the miserable state of the man, could not help but frown.

"You motherfucker. How dare you cause a ruckus here? Are you that tired of living?! Even the Stewards can't save you this time!" The man next to him barked in rage, and soon eight of his fellow men rushed out from within the clubhouse, staring intently at Asher.

Noelle was frightened by the situation and hurriedly tugged at Asher's hand. "Let's go. There are too many of them."

Asher, on the other hand, did not care how many people were there. All his attention was focused on his hand. This was the first time Noelle had taken the initiative to hold his hand. It was soft and warm, and her touch felt wonderful.

Noelle was rather embarrassed by how Asher was fixated on their joined hands, but she found herself unable to stay bothered by it while they were in such a dire situation. She tightened her grip on his hand, wanting to escape with him.

The group of men, however, was not a slow bunch. They surrounded the duo in a blink of an eye when they noticed Noelle and Asher trying to make their escape. The man in sunglasses bellowed, "No one has been this brazen here for years. You're just a useless in-law to the Stewards, Asher. You're nothing. I'll show you that you can't just act like a poser! Fuck him up, bros!"

The eight burly men swarmed them. Noelle was horrified to see a man's fist about to descend on Asher's face, and subconsciously closed her eyes.

But when she opened her eyes, Asher was still in good shape with not a scratch on his face.

On the contrary, it was the well-built man just now, covering his face and wailing in pain.

That was when Noelle recalled the time when Asher had backhanded Radley. Neither her nor Livia witnessed how he had done it.

Suspicion was clear on her countenance. Could Asher truly be some hidden expert?

Even in the face of eight Herculean men, he seemed extremely relaxed. On the other hand, his opponents were the ones being beaten.

Upon seeing this, one of the women who was dressed provocatively scrambled into the clubhouse and rushed toward Hunter's office. She was frantically knocking on the door. "This isn't looking good, Mr. Larson. Someone has fought their way to our establishment."

The door immediately swung open, and a young man in his late twenties asked, "Who is so bold

to start trouble here? Is it Winston Ziegler?"

The woman shook her head. "No. It's Asher."

"Asher?" Hunter could not help but frown. "What is he doing here?"

A subordinate behind him asked, "Hunter, is it Asher, the useless son-in-law of the Stewards?

Damn. He's got guts to run wild on our turf. I'll fucking kill him myself!"

With that said, the subordinate rolled up his sleeves and was prepared to go downstairs to teach Asher a lesson.

Hunter hurried to stop him. "Hold it. Asher is not someone we can mess with. I've heard rumors that say he's a scion from the Capital City. We won't have a good time if we provoke his ire. Let's

go down and see what's going on. I don't think we've ever messed with him."

As he spoke, Hunter hurried down the stairs, followed by several of his subordinates.

Only when he had reached the entrance of the club did he see all his men, who were guarding the premises, lying on the ground and groaning in pain.

"Mr. Larson, this brat is here to wreck the place!" The man in sunglasses covered his nose and accused.

Hunter knew Noelle, but he had never met Asher before. "Ms. Steward, is the man next to you Mr. Crawford? I have to ask. You and I share no grievances. Why are you wrecking my place?" Noelle answered truthfully, "We're here to see you but your subordinates spoke out of turn and tried to make a move on us. Asher retaliated out of necessity."

"You're here to see me?" Hunter was perplexed.

Asher huffed. "You're quite the egoistic man, Hunter Larson. It isn't easy to be granted a meeting with you. If I wasn't good at martial arts, wouldn't I have been completely obliterated by your subordinates?"

Hunter's stomach sank as he heard his words. He kicked the man with the sunglasses in the stomach. "You blind idiot! You actually laid a hand on Mr. Crawford. Do you want to die?!" Having been reprimanded by Hunter, the man in sunglasses did not dare to make a sound. He simply gritted his teeth in pain. His face was covered in sweat.