“I remember you saying something to me…” Feng Bujue looked at Barton and repeated, “You said, ‘When I was young, I also had a bright future.’ But… you didn’t mention any details about that ‘future.’ On the contrary, you described your experiences in prison vividly.” He turned around and continued to pace, “At the time, I was a little puzzled… logically speaking, people are always more willing to mention those glorious and beautiful memories, but you… avoided the topic when you were about to talk about it.”

Jue Ge shook the fax paper in his hand and continued, “And after getting this, I understood everything. It’s not that you didn’t want to say it, but that you couldn’t say it.” He paused for a moment. “Your bright future when you were young was closely related to your father.”

Feng Bujue turned to face everyone, walking as he spoke, “When Mr. Barton was seven years old, his mother committed suicide due to depression. I think… if that lady had held on for a few more years, she might have become the second mistress of this house, and John could rightfully take his father’s surname.

Unfortunately, there are no ifs in this world.

We can imagine Ms. Barton’s situation back then… she waited year after year for the man she loved to give her a legitimate status, but he had no intention of divorcing his wife and even had a second child with his legal wife; when she took her son to register for school, the child asked her, ‘Why do other students have both a father and a mother accompanying them?’ She couldn’t answer; she couldn’t even explain to her son why he had to take her surname.

But she didn’t have the ability to leave that man and live on her own. She was just a lowly mistress, all she could do was wait bitterly, cry, and make silent protests deep in her heart.

Therefore, that winter, she chose to end her life to gain release and forever occupy a place in that man’s heart.”

Kohlston, sitting on the chair against the wall, covered his face with both hands, deeply burying his proud head.

“Later, the guilty father sent his illegitimate son to a boarding school abroad.” Feng Bujue continued, “Keeping this child far away from himself and supporting him as he had supported his mother.

This child grew up day by day, he learned to be independent very early on, he was excellent in all aspects, and had a more mature personality than his peers, but… he always harbored hatred in his heart.

He didn’t thank his father for everything he gave him. In his view, these were all deserved, bought with his mother’s life. In the end, his father only wanted to atone with money, without offering any parental affection.

So, at an appropriate age, young Barton’s rebellious nature finally erupted. A young man who had received higher education, was handsome, and had a promising future, became a master thief.”

Feng Bujue pointed his palm upwards at Barton, “Everyone, please pay attention to my wording—master thief.” He curled his lips. “Although Mr. Barton himself told me that he was just a ‘burglar,’ and ‘spent two years in Pandanville prison’ at the age of thirty… but according to the file in my hand, he is by no means a second or third-rate petty thief, but a top expert who could be ranked among the Ocean’s Eleven (a film made by Lewis Milestone in 1960, and Steven Soderbergh also made a remake of the same name in 2001).”

“Thank you for the compliment,” Barton replied coldly.

“You’re welcome.” Feng Bujue looked at Barton and replied naturally, continuing, “As for the days you spent in prison… it wasn’t two years, but ten years, a full ten years.” He sighed deeply. “You went to prison in your twenties and didn’t complete your sentence until eight years ago. You have no job, no friends, and your father is aware of this. As your only relative in this world, he took you in. But his legitimate children are all adults, he couldn’t bring someone of unknown origin home and casually say, ‘Hey! Come and meet your half-brother, who just got out of prison.’

So… your identity became the gardener here.”

Feng Bujue stopped by the window as he said this, pausing and remaining silent for a while, seemingly to allow the people behind him some time to think.

“The moon is really beautiful tonight,” Feng Bujue said again after a while, admiring the night sky outside the window.

The others in the dining room were not in the mood to admire the moon. Their hearts were filled with mixed feelings, and they didn’t know how to face these sudden changes.

“So… let’s talk about this will.” Feng Bujue turned around. “As I said, I’ve read it, and it’s precisely because I read it that I’m basically convinced… Dennis is not Kohlston’s son.”

“Dennis’s name isn’t on the will?” Scofield asked, following Jue Ge’s train of thought.

“Of course not.” Feng Bujue pointed at Kohlston by the wall. “Mr. Lovecraft has always been good to his family. For example, young Master Jack and Miss Nancy, no matter what their life choices are, Kohlston has tried his best to support them, never stingy with money or patience.” He tilted his head. “If Jack were my son, he might have starved to death in the first year of ‘pursuing his dreams.’”

“Hey!” Jack exclaimed unhappily.

“Hehe…” Feng Bujue smiled. “But… how does this gentleman treat others?” He turned to Henderson. “A man who had an affair with his wife, nearly seventy years old, is still working as his servant, even doing heavy physical labor. Is this just a coincidence? Dennis’s name isn’t on the will, did he forget to write it?”

“You… you know…” Nancy immediately understood, then looked at her father in surprise.

“Yes, I’ve always known.” Kohlston replied in a hoarse voice. “I knew soon after Dennis was born, but I never told his mother or Henderson about it…”

“Henderson, feeling deeply guilty, has devoted the rest of his life to atonement. Even though his body can hardly handle the work of a butler, he is still unwilling to retire. He just wants to work in this villa… in the place where that lady and his son lived, until the day he is completely exhausted.” Feng Bujue continued, “Kohlston’s dignity has been trampled on, he can’t let it go, so he didn’t stop Henderson.”

“Huff…” Jue Ge sighed. “After reading the will, I finally understood why Henderson fainted when he saw the body. Because… the one who died was his son.”

“I’m sorry, Henderson.” Barton turned to Henderson at this time and said, “I have no grudges against you, but I had to do it.”

Henderson didn’t respond, just sat silently at the table, his face still as pale as paper.

“Yes, you had to do it.” Feng Bujue took over the conversation. “Because this afternoon, you heard Kohlston and Dennis talking in the second-floor room.” He walked back to the table and stuffed everything in his hand back into the paper bag. “You naturally wouldn’t stand in the hallway, sticking to the door to eavesdrop, that would be too easy to discover. So, you went to the storage room to get the pruning shears and ladder, came outside the house, and climbed up the closest tree to that room to eavesdrop. That way, even if someone saw you, you could immediately pretend to be doing trimming work.”

Jue Ge picked up the last bit of red wine on the table and poured it all into his wine glass. “However, the height that the ladder can reach, or rather, the place that ordinary people can climb to, is still quite a distance from the second-floor window. In other words… even if an ordinary person climbs up the tree, they wouldn’t be able to hear the conversation in that room. Unless…”

“Unless it’s someone with special skills,” Scofield interjected. He had also seen Barton’s file and knew a little about his abilities.

“You climbed to the high branches where only a cat could stay, and used your superior hearing to successfully eavesdrop on the conversation in the room,” Feng Bujue said. “Obviously, the reason why Dennis and Kohlston were arguing was not to have Kohlston remove Mrs. Odetta’s name from the will…” He picked up the wine glass and took a sip. “But to have Kohlston remove everyone’s names from the will and add only one… ‘Dennis Lovecraft.’”

Jack, Nancy, and Odetta, the three direct heirs, all changed their expressions upon hearing this.

“I think Dennis must have learned about the contents of the will through some means… such as bribing Kohlston’s lawyer.” Feng Bujue continued, “Then, he only needed to spend money to hire a few private detectives, and it would be easy to find out Barton’s real identity.” He drank the wine in his glass in one gulp. “The suicidal lover, the illegitimate son who has been in prison, the wealthy man with multiple marriages… giving this story to a gossip tabloid would be enough to serialize for half a year. Dennis undoubtedly used these things to scare Kohlston into submission.”

“No! You’re lying! My Dennis wouldn’t do that! Why would he push his father to this point? What is an inheritance? He already married me, our family…” Carol said excitedly.

Feng Bujue interrupted her, “You are indeed very pathetic.”

Carol’s eyes widened, tears sparkling in her eyes, she seemed to have realized something, but she still couldn’t accept it.

“Dennis must have known for a long time that he was not Mr. Lovecraft’s biological son.” Feng Bujue said. “His mother must have told him this before she passed away, which means… he knew when he was just a child. He must have secretly hated his own biological father, hated his own origins, so he was very cold to Henderson. He was also very indifferent to his younger brother and sister.

He married a wife from a higher social class than the Lovecraft family to leave a way out for himself. He would investigate Kohlston’s will, first because he understood his own identity, and second because he understood the old man’s personality.

Dennis had no affection for Kohlston, his nominal father. The inferiority complex buried in his heart far exceeded anyone else in this room. When he found out that ‘Barton’… please forgive my wording… this bastard’s name appeared on the will, while he, who had been someone else’s son for decades, wouldn’t get a single penny, it was normal for him to take such action.”