The day of the language competition arrived before anyone knew it.
This time, to everyone's surprise, Mr. Burton had caught wind of the kindergarten event and showed up with as much enthusiasm as the children themselves.
Mr. Burton beamed, "I may be an old man now, but there's nothing I love more than watching little kids. Anyway, I'm retired-so from now on, whenever there's a school event, I'd love to come join the fun."
Seeing Mr. Burton there to cheer him on, Marvin couldn't contain his excitement and dove right into Mr. Burton's arms.
"Mr. Burton, you came too!"
Chuckling, Mr. Burton ruffled Marvin's hair. "Of course I did. For your big competition, Grandpa had to be here in person to cheer you on."
With a childlike heart himself, Mr. Burton got along famously with Marvin-they could spend hours playing together, much to everyone's amusement.
Standing off to the side, Neville watched the scene, his gaze flickering with something unreadable, tinged with an odd complexity.
Noticing Neville's look, Mr. Burton glanced his way, gave him a subtle nod, a silent acknowledgment, and then turned his attention back to fussing over Marvin.
A shadow crossed Neville's dark eyes.
It seemed Mr. Burton had figured out who he was.
But neither of them ever brought it upâan unspoken agreement hung between them.
Neville shifted his gaze to Stella.
He'd heard Marvin mention this so-called Mr. Burton many times before. He'd assumed the man was just some skilled old doctor. But at their last encounter, Neville had learned the truth: Mr. Burton was none other than the founder of The Burton Group. After decades out of the public eye, most people barely remembered the man, so Neville had only recognized him by chance.
He never would have guessed Stella had managed to befriend such a remarkable person.
Something flickered in Neville's eyes as he thought about it.
Her childhood friend-her ever-present "big brother"-Antoney Watson, was another shadowy figure. His background wasn't exactly simple, either.
And then there was Abby...
For now, Neville hadn't uncovered anything particularly unusual about her.
He watched as Marvin, Mr. Burton, and Abby stood chatting and joking around Stella, the four of them forming a close, easy circle.
There was something about Stella-she was extraordinary herself, and everyone drawn to her seemed to be anything but ordinary.
Just then, a voice cut through the pleasant atmosphere, jarringly out of place.
"Tsk, Neville, you're the head of the Connolly family. You could've picked any proper heiress to help you raise your son, but you settled for some nobody with barely an education? Look at her her friends are either muscle-bound, empty- headed women or old men well past their prime. And these are the ones you bring along to cheer your son on? Aren't you embarrassed?"
Laughter and conversation died instantly.
Stella and the others all turned to look at him. Their expressions weren't angry- just blank, as if they'd spotted a pile of dog mess on the sidewalk. Disgust, and nothing more.
Abby used to bother sparring with Jasper, but lately, she couldn't even be bothered. Talking to someone that dense felt like it would lower her own IQ. Even looking at him seemed like a waste of brain cells.
Abby nudged Stella and wrinkled her nose. "Star, there's something foul here-it stinks. Let's talk inside."
Stella squeezed Marvin's hand and smiled. "Good idea."
Without a word to Jasper, they all turned on their heels and walked away.
Jasper's eyes narrowed as he watched Stella leave, a nasty smirk creeping onto his lips.
"Stella, you won't be so smug for long. Just waitâI'll make sure you're humiliated in front of everyone before the morning's over."
Once they were out of Jasper's line of sight, Abby glanced over her shoulder before grumbling under her breath.
"Is something wrong with Jasper's brain? He's already lost to you so many times, but still doesn't learn his lesson. Maybe he actually likes getting put in his placeâ some people just get braver the harder they fall."
She shook her head. "After what happened last time, The Wilkinson Group lost billions in market value. If it hadn't been for Jasper's dad and Haynes pulling some last-minute PR magic, The Wilkinson Group would be in real trouble by now."