Ms. Escape Marrying to Run Fighting to Rise novel Chapter 159

Chapter 159 Observation

Finisherf

Jeremy watched the butler’s face shift like a shadow crossing glass. His tone stayed calm. “Arthur, remind. me. How long have you been working for me?”

Arthur straightened his back at once. “I started as your assistant when I was 38. Then I became the Bartons butler. It’s been more than 20 years now, sir.”

Jeremy gave a slow nod.

More than 20 years.

He still remembered that day. Arthur had joined the Bartons the same year his son and daughter–in–law died in that wreck in Haldoria.

So that was when the trail began.

His chest felt heavy, like someone had pressed a stone against his heart. He told himself he wasn’t hurt, but that was a lie he couldn’t believe.

For almost 30 years, every person he’d fed and trusted had been nothing but wolves waiting for his blood.

I’m tired. I’m too old for this. Jeremy rose to his feet. His hands clasped behind his back, his sigh long and weary, and he walked back to his room.

He fell asleep not long after. Then the front door opened. Footsteps echoed across the hall. Danielle had come home.

“Where’s Grandpa?” she asked as soon as she saw the butler.

Arthur hurried to answer. “Ms. Danielle, Mr. Jeremy’s resting. He said he’s tired.”

Danielle gave a small nod. “Then I’ll wait for him.”

Her eyes lingered on him for a beat. “Has Grandpa done anything unusual lately?”

Arthur hesitated before answering. “He called Justin. Told him to come home.”

Danielle froze. “Justin?”

Justin Hotchner was the Bartons‘ adopted son, Jeremy had picked him out of an orphanage years ago, raised him like his own, and molded him to be the Barton Group’s future heir.

Everything in the family belonged to Nicole, but Jeremy feared she wasn’t strong enough to run the company. So he’d prepared Justin to stand in her place.

Danielle and Chandler both hated that man. Justin was sharp. Too sharp. And nothing could bend him.

Danielle had tried everything to win him over. Flattery, money, promises. Nothing worked. Not even temptation.

She had walked into his room without a single thing on her body, and he still told her to get out

20:14 Wed, Jan

Chapter 159 Observation

The memory made her jaw ache. Her molars pressed until it hurt.

That bastard was worse than Curtis.

Fosshed

Curtis kept everyone away because of his obsession with control. But Justin–she had walked right into his space, stood in front of him bare, and he hadn’t even looked twice. His eyes were cold, untouched by any hint of desire.

Arthur lowered his voice. “Don’t trouble yourself, Ms. Danielle. Mr. Jeremy brought him back for Ms. Nicole’s sake. He doesn’t trust you or your father.”

Danielle drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “So he even called Justin hack,‘ she said, her tone edged with amusement. “So he’s finally writing his will and planning to announce Nicole as his heir in front of the press.

A faint smirk lifted the corner of her mouth. The tension in her shoulders cased.

She could already see it playing out in her mind. Justin would rush back home, all loyalty and devotion, helping Nicole handle the family’s affairs. Then, once Jeremy was gone, he’d learn that everything had been handed to her and Chandler instead.

The image of his face at that moment sent a spark of excitement through her.

The man who’d served so faithfully for years would, in the end, still end up beneath her feet.

Danielle gave a low laugh and sank into the couch, the sound of it soft but full of satisfaction.

“Sir, Mr. Justin has arrived, the maid’s voice came from outside the door.

Justin had flown all night from Moweland. For years, he’d managed nearly all of the Bartons‘ foreign businesses. That was why Danielle and Chandler kept their guard up around him.

He stepped through the doorway with steady, measured strides. He looked taller somehow, colder too. His eyes, sharp and clear, carried the chill of winter itself.

Danielle froze where she sat. Her chest tightened before she could stop it.

She hated to admit it, but Justin had become something rare. A man who’d clawed his way out of an orphanage and still managed to shine like a polished gem. His elegance didn’t come from wealth or birth. It was something built into his bones. Anyone looking at him would never guess he’d once been abandoned

She used to chase after Curtis. Not for love, but for the power of his family name. She’d never fooled herself into thinking it was anything more. Curtis had a sharp tongue that could slice through steel. No woman could fall for a man who spat poison that easily.

But Justin wasn’t like him. He was different. He was an orphan, but he carried himself with that same quiet authority as the Bartons. It gave her a strange illusion, like he was someone she could own, someone she could bend if she wanted to. That was what made her heart race. And yet, he never once looked her way.

“Where’s Grandpa?” Justin’s voice cut through the room. He didn’t even glance at her.

“Mr. Justin, Mr. Jeremy’s asleep, the butler said with a polite smile. “You’ve grown even more impressive,

sir.”

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