Chapter 30 How is Angela linked to the Murphy family?

Suspicion arose in Carlos's mind, "Which man?"

Eddie replied, "My mom's father. She said she's severed all father-daughter ties with that man."

Carlos knelt in front of Eddie, "You want me to play your dad, how am I supposed to do that?"

Eddie explained, "Just treat me as if I’m your biological son and accompany me to the birthday party."

Carlos stated, "I’m not obliged to do that."

"That's why it's an exchange of conditions!" Eddie said, "The Parker family thinks I'm a fatherless bastard. I just want to show them that I do have a father!"

Carlos asked, "Then why don't you ask your biological father to go with you?"

Eddie suddenly fell silent.

Carlos continued, "Hasn’t your mom told you who your real dad is?"

Eddie replied, "I know! But I can't say."

Carlos let out a cold laugh, "What, is he some sort of nefarious character?"

Eddie gave him a silent glare—how could he talk about himself like that?

But Sidney found it amusing; he raised his hand as if to say, "I want to go too."

"Does Sidney want to go as well?" asked Eddie.

Sidney nodded.

"Great! Then you'll play my dad, Sidney will play my half-brother from a different mother! You and mom will play a remarried couple!" Eddie had already concocted the script and assigned the roles.

Carlos said, "I haven't agreed to this yet." The little guy was already allocating roles without consent?

Suddenly, a servant knocked on the door.

Carlos asked, "What is it?"

The servant announced, "Mr. Murphy, Miss Brown is here."

"She’s come to bring Madam Murphy fresh strawberries, knowing they're her favorite. Moreover, she brought Sidney the Lego set he loves."

Hearing Lily had come, Sidney’s smile disappeared as he went back to his homework. He didn't like Lily, deep down in his heart.

Despite Lily being a beautiful 'she-wolf' and very nice to him, indulging him in every detail, he felt she wasn't sincerely fond of him but rather seeking to ingratiate herself with his dad.

*****

Eddie took a seat at the table, assisting Sidney with his homework. Despite comprehending Carlos's frustration, Eddie experienced a surge in his own blood pressure while guiding Sidney through the assignments. However, he couldn't bring himself to treat Sidney harshly.

Lily, fiercely protective of Sidney, approached Eddie with a confrontational tone, questioning, "What gives you the right to mistreat Sidney?"

Perplexed, Eddie replied, "How am I mistreating him?"

Lily expressed her concern, stating, "Why are you being so stern and forceful with him? This is the Murphy family residence, and we won't tolerate such unruly behavior!"

Eddie was taken aback.

"Moreover," Lily continued, "Sidney has intellectual challenges. He has disabilities. How can you expect him to solve such difficult math problems? He can't do it, and then you scold him? That will scare Sidney!"

Suddenly, Eddie and Angela exclaimed in unison, "He is not disabled!"

The mother and son were nearly incensed by this statement. Angela looked at Eddie with some surprise.

Eddie shot a stern glare at Lily and asserted, "Sidney is my best friend. He isn't intellectually disabled, and he's not stupid! He simply lacks focus. I'm frustrated because he doesn't take his studies seriously. He's not unintelligent. I won't tolerate you speaking about Sidney that way. Otherwise, I'll get upset!"

Sidney, somewhat startled, stopped crying and looked at Eddie, deeply moved. Eddie stood resolute, not allowing anyone to defame him as intellectually challenged.

Eddie turned to Sidney and insisted, "You are not stupid, right? You just haven't been focusing."

Sidney hiccupped, sniffled, and, looking at his homework that was spotted with tears, suddenly gripped the pen and furrowed his brows in serious concentration, as if trying to work through the problem.

"I refuse to believe you can't do this question if you think it through using the formula I just taught you," Eddie told him.

Sidney scribbled formulas on his workbook with a "scratch scratch scratch".

Carlos was taken aback.

Lily thought Sidney was intellectually challenged because he couldn't even master basic arithmetic, not to mention formulas; he struggled even with simple addition and subtraction within ten.

Woodberry School had admitted him by making an exception.

Carlos had donated tens of millions of dollars to ensure Sidney could attend Woodberry School. He had only one condition for the school; to get Sidney to speak and to ensure his academic performance could match up to that of an average child.

Being the prospective heir to the Murphy Group, everyone from the company had high hopes for the child, yet their expectations were often met with disappointment.

In such a brief time, had Eddie really taught him formulas?

Sidney showed Eddie his workbook. Carlos and Angela instinctively gathered around.

"Amazing, Sidney actually learned the XY equation! What a smart boy he is!" Angela exclaimed.

"And what about me? I taught him that!" Eddie sought recognition for his efforts.

Angela gave him a peck on the cheek, saying, "Eddie, you're also great!"

"'Also'?" Eddie placed his hands on his hips, beaming proudly. "I'm the best!"

With that, he looked expectantly at Carlos, blinking as if waiting for his praise. Carlos understood the look in his eyes and ruffled his fluffy hair, "What a smart and good child."