Chapter 153 The Heir's First Step

Chapter 153 The Heir's First Step
Evan immediately snatched the phone from Alice’s hands. His eyes narrowed as he read line after line of the incoming message. The tension that had wrapped around Alice slowly faded when she saw Evan’s expression. There was no anger, no dark shock. Instead, Evan let out a long breath and wiped his still-damp face.

“Evan? Is it true? What did the Archives Department say?” Alice asked urgently.

Evan looked at her, then tilted the phone so she could see the screen clearly. “It’s not the Archives Department, Alice. It’s from ‘Lucas,’ the project manager at the northern harbor construction. He sent the message to the wrong contact, or he used a project code that confused you.”

Alice reread the message. Sure enough, the sender’s name was Lucas, one of Evan’s most trusted head technicians. The truncated notification had indeed looked suspicious at first, but once opened fully, the message was about land data archives for the construction of a new pier.

“Oh… my God,” Alice sank onto the edge of the bed, clutching her chest. “I thought there was another huge secret about our parents. His name is Lucas, and he mentioned archiving. My mind immediately went everywhere.”

Evan chuckled softly. He sat beside Alice and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “I’m sorry. I forgot to change his contact name to his full name. He really is handling the legality documents for the northern land tied to Elino’s former assets. That’s why he mentioned Elino and state registration.”

“You really scared the life out of me,” Alice muttered, lightly punching Evan’s arm.

“I told you, didn’t I? No more secrets. No more enemies. Just boring work matters,” Evan said as he kissed Alice’s temple. “Now go back to sleep. Tomorrow is a big day for our little Lucas.”

The Next Day.

Morning sunlight poured perfectly through the large windows of the living room. Today marked exactly two months since Lucas Grizelle Nathaniel was born. Though there was no grand celebration like last month, the house still felt special.

Zavian and Lavina were already seated at the dining table, while Lucas lay in a baby bouncer between them. The baby looked extremely energetic, his small hands enthusiastically batting at the dangling toys.

“Look at him, Zavian. He’s starting to try making sounds,” Lavina said, her face glowing.

Zavian set aside his tablet, ignoring the stock market reports that were usually his priority. “He has remarkable energy. I think he’ll start crawling faster than most babies.”

Evan and Alice came downstairs. Alice looked fresh in a casual outfit, while Evan was neatly dressed in his work shirt, though without a tie.

“Good morning,” Alice greeted.

“Morning, Alice. Come sit down. Let Grandpa watch Lucas for a bit,” Zavian replied, wiggling his fingers in front of Lucas’s face.

“Evan, Rico called earlier. He’s already out front with the documents you requested last night,” Zavian added, without taking his eyes off his grandson.

“Yes, Father. I’ll see him for a moment,” Evan said.

On the front terrace, Rico stood with his leather briefcase. When he saw Evan, he gave a small respectful nod.

“Young Master, these are the final restructuring documents. With this, all Elino assets have officially been consolidated into a single protection foundation under Madam Alice’s name. There isn’t a single legal loophole left that Edwin’s remaining lawyers can challenge,” Rico reported.

Evan took the files and reviewed them carefully. “Good. What about Lucas’s education fund?”

“It has been allocated to an offshore account that cannot be accessed until he turns eighteen. Everything is proceeding according to plan,” Rico replied.

“Excellent work, Rico. After this, I want you to take some leave. You’ve worked too hard over the past year,” Evan said, patting his trusted aide’s shoulder.

Rico looked surprised. “Leave, Young Master? I’m not sure…”

“It’s an order. Go on vacation. I don’t want to see you in the office for the next two weeks,” Evan said firmly, a faint smile on his lips.

That afternoon, Alice took Lucas out to play in the backyard garden. She was trying to train him to lie on his stomach on the play mat. Evan joined them after finishing a few work calls.

“How’s the progress, Captain Lucas?” Evan asked as he sat down on the grass.

“He’s a bit lazy today,” Alice laughed when Lucas chose to suck his thumb instead of trying to roll over.

“Come on, champ. You’re a Nathaniel. Don’t give up so easily,” Evan teased, picking up a small toy and shaking it in front of Lucas.

Lucas stared at the toy with his wide, clear eyes, then suddenly, plop. His tiny body rolled over successfully.

“He did it!” Alice cried out in delight. She immediately hugged Lucas and showered him with kisses.

Evan laughed proudly. “The first step toward becoming the ruler of the business world.”

“Evan, could you stop talking about business in front of our baby?” Alice scoffed, though her eyes shone with genuine happiness.

“Just kidding, my love. He can be anything he wants to be. A painter like his mother is perfectly fine too,” Evan replied, wrapping an arm around Alice.

That evening, the atmosphere grew even warmer when Lavina brought tea and snacks out to the garden. They sat together, enjoying true peace. Zavian joined them as well, letting go of his cold image and playing with Lucas.

“This house finally feels alive,” Lavina said as she looked at all of them. “God has truly been kind to us after all those storms.”

“That’s true,” Alice agreed softly. “I never imagined life could be this peaceful.”

In the middle of their relaxed conversation, Evan’s phone vibrated again. This time it was not from a project manager, but a video call from the head supervisor at their beach house.

Evan answered and turned the screen toward Alice.

“Young Master, sorry to disturb you. I just wanted to show you that the rose garden Madam Alice ordered has been fully planted. Everything is blooming beautifully,” the supervisor said, directing the camera toward a field of multicolored roses facing the sea.

“It’s beautiful!” Alice exclaimed.

“We’ll go there this weekend, Alice. Just like I promised,” Evan said.

After ending the call, Evan looked at Alice with a very deep gaze. “There’s nothing left for us to worry about. Everything is exactly where it should be.”

That night, after Lucas had fallen fast asleep and Zavian and Lavina had returned to their room, Evan and Alice stood on the bedroom balcony. The night breeze blew gently, carrying the fresh scent of earth after the afternoon rain.

“Evan,” Alice called.

“Yes?”

“Are you truly happy?” Alice asked as she gazed at the stars.

Evan pulled Alice into his arms from behind, burying his face in the fragrant curve of her neck. “More than I can ever put into words. I have the woman I love, an incredible son, and the peace I once thought was impossible to attain.”

“I am too,” Alice whispered. “Thank you for not giving up on me when I was unbearable back then.”

“Thank you for giving me the chance to become a better man,” Evan replied.

They remained silent for a long moment, savoring the intimacy. Then the calm was broken when Evan felt his phone vibrate in his pocket again. He frowned.

“Again? Doesn’t your project manager understand timing?” Alice joked lightly.

Evan pulled out his phone. “Not a project. This is a notification from the front gate security system.”

He opened the CCTV app. The screen showed a luxurious black sedan stopped right in front of the main gate. A well-dressed man stepped out of the car and handed a large folder to the gate guard.

“Who is that at this hour?” Alice asked, peering at the screen.

“The guard says he’s from an international law firm. He claims he’s carrying urgent documents that must be signed by the majority shareholder of Nathaniel Group,” Evan said, frowning. “But I don’t recall scheduling any transactions tonight.”

“Maybe it’s just routine paperwork?” Alice suggested.

Evan did not answer. He watched as the gate guard ran toward the intercom. A second later, the intercom inside their room buzzed.

Evan walked to the wall and pressed the talk button. “Yes? What is it?”

“Young Master, sorry to disturb you. The man at the gate says he’s carrying documents labeled ‘Absolute Inheritance’ that were just released by overseas authorities. He says this is the final fragment of the Smith fortune that was never recorded in any document,” the guard reported, sounding confused.

Evan turned to Alice, his expression hard to read. “The final fragment of the Smith fortune? Haven’t we already settled everything?”