"Long Shaoming, watch what you say!" Elder Long fumed.
Long Shaoming looked at everyone else but at his father. "Since Alcina is given back her 10 percent shares. Another 10% shares still rest with me after adding up Long Jie's, Long Shen's, and another two percent shares which make 52% in total. From this 10%, 5 Percent will go to… Esma Dermott."
The spoon from Long Jie's hand fell down as he looked at his father in utter shock. Was his father crazy? He knew that his father had been investigating Esma and he let it happen since Esma was currently Song Lily's psychologist.
"Shut your mouth, Jie," Zhenyi whispered.
"LONG SHAOMING!!!"
"Keep your voice down, father. I'm giving you respect because you are my birth father. Otherwise, I would never have breathed the same air as you," Long Shaoming declared, the hatred and disgust in his voice understandable.
Alcina grinned as she heard Long Shaoming's words. 'Breathed the same air as him? Interesting. Dear Uncle, I gotta applaud your script maker.'
"I can smell trouble, Jie," Zhenyi said with a troubling expression on her face. "This sister of yours is clearly here to break the family. And she is not even hiding her intentions."
"Apparently, my dear children, Esma Dermott is my father's illegitimate daughter who's around the same age as Alcina," Long Shaoming told his family with a bitter laugh. "My father left the poor child with another man of his kind. A monster. She was never accepted by the Dermotts because she had Long Yuhan's blood flowing in her veins. Before you ask why I am giving her shares? It's because I don't know how to beg her forgiveness. My father had destroyed three lives -- Jie, Esma, and Alcina."
Long Jie suddenly recalled that Alcina had asked him to help her in a certain case involving her mom. Zhang Clan could be called hermits who often lived in recluse, away from the crowd of the big cities. Even though they look ordinary and simple, they could be considered one of the most powerful hidden clans.
"She is a chameleon, Zhenyi. You will never be able to see her real color," Long Jie said with a sigh.
"Well, I love a good challenge," Zhenyi said with an excited grin.
Long Jie patted her head lovingly. "If I'm right, she definitely has the means to contain your animosity. She is just not here for her inheritance."
"You are wasting your time, Dad," Long Jie said out loud, everyone's eyes darted towards him. "Esma didn't want your money. Heck, she didn't want to be called Long. This is the reason why she never dropped Dermott as her surname. And what she wants -- you guys will never be able to give her. So, please drop it. You will be hurting her instead of making wrongs right."
Long Jie did not attempt to keep away the truth from them that he indeed knew that Esma was his grandfather's daughter. Instead, he deliberately spilled the beans. He was of the view that Esma shouldn't leave her right to inherit the family's health because of her hatred. He didn't mind if she killed her Elder Long. Rather, he would be pleased.
"Esma?" Song Lily whispered as realization hit her. "She is Dr. Dermott's daughter? The one who you were friends with?"
Long Jie smiled wickedly. "The same Esma who is your current psychologist. You sure trust strangers more than your own family."
On the other side, Long Shen stared at his nephew and said, "What does she want? As long as we can give her, we don't mind. We didn't know before she existed. If we had known, we would have never let her suffer."
The real reason why Long Sheng never became the family head was that he was too soft-hearted for this cruel world. When Long Shaoming told him about Esma being their half-sister, he urged Long Shaoming to bring the poor girl back home as she had already suffered too much.
"She wants grandfather's blood, " Long Jie said so casually that Long Yuan choked on air. "If you can give her his blood, I don't mind."
"The meeting ends here," Grandma Mian said as she stood up and walked towards her room. "Leave me alone for some time, kids."
The old woman was devastated with the revelation of big truths tonight. She couldn't handle the younger generation bickering over the same topic again and again.
In the same way, the older generation retired for their rooms as none of them wanted to discuss anything else.
___
"Did it hurt?" Long Yuan asked Alcina, who was busy munching on the snacks she had taken from Long Jie's place. They wouldn't poison his plate. So, it was the intelligent option.
"Excuse me?" Alcina blinked her eyes at him as she looked up from the plate.
"When you fell from heaven," Long Yuan winked and Long Wei choked on air.
"You dumbass." Long Wei punched Long Yuan's shoulder as he reminded him," She is our sister. You better stop flirting with her."
"I'm not flirting," Long Yuan said with a shrug. "But you see she is quite a looker. If I didn't know better I would have said that Alcina and Brother are created from the same mold."
Meilin's gaze turned to Long Jie and then to Alcina. As if studying their features, she said, " Exactly. They have some identical features. From their hair to their foreheads and noses. But Alcina's western features are dominant."
"Really?" Alcina said, sniffing her hair. "I just dyed them black. A few days ago, I had platinum blond hair."
'Who sniffs hair?' Meilin wanted to ask but since she realized that this cousin-in-law of hers was an anomaly, she held back her words.
___
Author note:
Now you know why Long Jie cares so much about Esma? She is his best friend as well as the only kin who genuinely loved him. She was with him in good and bad times. She is a little crazy but she has a heart of gold.
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