Ashton looked out of the car window, deep in thoughts. It took him a while to answer, “He is after money, but not from me.”
I looked at him, puzzled.
He raised his eyebrow and warned, “Look out! Red light!”
I turned back to look ahead and jammed the brakes, startled.
He clapped his hand on his forehead and mocked, “I managed to escape unharmed from Shane, but in the end, I die from my wife’s carelessness. That is a little outrageous, don’t you think?”
I frowned and chided, “Stop spouting nonsense.”
He chuckled and the atmosphere lightened.
The traffic light turned green and I drove on.
Along the way, he filled me in on the details. “It is Armond. He must have faced a lot of pressure from his family when he lost big due to the incident in Moranta. He hired Shane to make a scene, officially declaring war on me. I suspect he planned to pursue a long-neglected matter.”
“What long-neglected matter?” I was clueless.
He started telling me a story.
Thirty years ago, the Murphys were not involved in the oil industry. They had some factories and a pharmaceutical company. Their business then was not as diversified nor huge as compared to now. The main player in the oil sector was the Sanders, one of the most prominent families in K City during those days. The oil sector wasn’t a major industry at that time, so the Sanders assigned the concession of that business to their adopted daughter, Winona Stovall. When Winona married into the Murphy family, she brought the oil business into that family as well.
I was shell-shocked. “The Winona Stovall you mentioned is my grandma?” I had to clear my doubts.
Ashton nodded.
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