Chapter 168 Does Your Mother Know?
Gordon was nothing short of an American legend.
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A self–made man who clawed his way up from nothing, armed with nothing but ruthless instinct and a talent for spotting gold where others saw gravel. By forty, he’d built a business empire so untouchable it made him the richest man in America, and years later, no one had come close.
But life never did hand out perfection.
At the peak of his power, when his company was soaring and his influence was untouchable, his marriage crumbled. His wife left him–left the country, in fact–and cut herself out of his world without a backward glance. The daughter she left behind didn’t seem to care much for him either.
Gordon would admit, if pressed, that he hadn’t been a good father. He was a figurehead, a ghost who flickered in and out of Caroline’s life. Some years, he barely saw her at all.
She looked too much like her mother. Every time he faced her, it brought back that cold, distant woman who had walked away like none of it ever mattered.
But now, sitting across from her, really looking at her, he realized something that caught him completely off guard. Caroline didn’t look like her mother, not really.
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Chapter 168 Does Your Mother Know?
18 min loff
The resemblance was skin–deep. Beneath the surface was a different creature entirely, one he couldn’t place. It unsettled him. The more he looked, the more unfamiliar she became.
And she was staring back at him with eyes like cut glass–cool, clear, and detached. The titles, the wealth, the respect–none of it meant a thing to her.
To Caroline, the richest man in America was no different than a stranger on the street.
“What does it have to do with you?” she asked.
Every word was razor–sharp, dipped in contempt, but delivered with such calm detachment that getting offended would’ve made him the fool.
Gordon felt the breath hitch in his chest.
He, who had directed empires and toppled rivals with a single call, had to take several deep breaths just to suppress the anger rising up in him.
“What do you mean it doesn’t concern me?” he said. “I’m your father. I introduced you to so many great men any woman would kill to marry. Every last one of them is leagues ahead of that Alistair guy you picked.”
At the mention of Alistair, Caroline’s expression darkened. Her
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Chapter 168 Does Your Mother Know?
fingers tightened around her coffee cup.
Gordon’s gut clenched. For a second, he was sure she was about
to throw the drink in his face.
But she didn’t.
Instead, she said coldly, “Stay out of my life. If you lay a finger on him, I swear I’ll make you regret it.”
Gordon let out a short, disbelieving laugh.
That was my daughter speaking?
Other people had daughters who were sweet and affectionate. His daughter was a block of ice with a temper.
Not that he wanted to meddle in her personal life, necessarily.
To be fair, Caroline had always been impressive. Smart, focused, easy to raise in the sense that she never caused trouble.
Sure, her personality was a bit sharp, but compared to the disasters other families dealt with, she was practically a poster child.
Nobody’s perfect.
Even when she insisted on adopting some random kid while still in school, he hadn’t pushed back. He’d looked the other way.
Chapter 168 Does Your Mother Know?
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As she got older, even he, who had always been a hands–off father, started to worry. He carefully picked out several outstanding young men for her, but she didn’t like a single one.
Gordon wasn’t in a hurry. His daughter was beautiful, capable, and still young. There was time.
It wasn’t until Mabel fell ill and he rushed to New York that he found out she had gone behind his back and gotten married. And not just to anyone, but to a divorced man.
If she had married someone even remotely respectable, Gordon might have kept quiet. But this? This was idiotic.
He was furious at Caroline for making such a reckless decision, but part of him blamed Mabel too. His mother, usually so composed and shrewd, had helped keep it from him. That was the part that stung him the most.
Still, Mabel was sick now. Gordon couldn’t bring himself to confront her, so he turned all his frustration on Caroline instead.
“Do you know why your grandmother collapsed?”
“Yeah,” Caroline said coolly. “Paige ran her mouth and pushed her over the edge.”
Gordon blinked. “She’s your aunt. You shouldn’t call her by name like that.”
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Chapter 168 Does Your Mother Know?
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“Names are for calling people,” Caroline replied without missing a beat, “Gordon.”
He stared at her.
He knew he should be angry and should put her in her place for being disrespectful. But looking into those cold, unreadable eyes, the fight went out of him.
What am I doing?
He knew he hadn’t earned the right to call himself her father. So how could he stand here and tell her how to live?
Trying to change the subject, he shifted back to Alistair. “I heard you two haven’t even known each other that long. I’m not trying to insult your judgment, but how well do you really know him?”
When Caroline’s brows drew together, Gordon raised both hands as if to show peace. “This isn’t just about you. He is starting to affect the entire family.”
He wasn’t exaggerating. Gordon was well aware of how capable Caroline was. She’d built Vireon Technologies from scratch without relying on a cent from the Ashbournes, and the company was thriving. Even he couldn’t help keeping tabs on her progress.
The other four companies she now owned had originally been
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Chapter 168 Does Your Mother Know?
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side projects–investments her grandfather made for fun before, he passed. They were barely breathing when she inherited them. Now they were booming.
Gordon, a man who’d been crowned a business genius his entire life, had to admit that his daughter had gone further, faster, than even he had at her age.
He should’ve been proud. Instead, he was terrified she was throwing it all away for love.
He’d already looked into Alistair. If he were just some bystander, Gordon might’ve even felt bad for the guy. But he wasn’t a bystander. He had responsibilities to Caroline and Ashbourne Group.
Anyone who’d done their homework on the Harlow and Whitfield families knew exactly how ugly things had gotten. Gordon had studied those files himself.
He was scared. More scared than he wanted to admit. Because the idea that Caroline, his brilliant, powerful daughter, might one day cross a line she couldn’t uncross for the sake of some romantic fantasy? That was a nightmare he couldn’t afford to ignore.
Caroline’s voice was devoid of emotion. “My husband has no intention of wasting his energy on that trash. If that’s all you came here to say, you can leave.”
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Chapter 168 Does Your Mother Know?
Gordon didn’t move. He wasn’t done. “Does your mother know?” he asked.
The words stopped her cold,
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It had been years since she’d heard that word–mother–spoken in a real conversation. It didn’t belong in her world anymore. The sound of it threw her.
She stared at him, wide–eyed, caught off guard by how casually he’d said it. There was no weight, no grief behind it. Just a flat, matter–of–fact tone. And at that moment, it hit her.
So many years, and Gordon had never once truly looked for her mother. Never questioned why she disappeared without a trace. Never asked why his daughter had grown up like a ghost in his life. If he had cared, he would’ve noticed something was wrong. But he hadn’t.
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