Chapter 100: The Foley Family History
Chapter 100: The Foley Family History
Chapter 100: The Foley Family History
Layne only told Cheyenne about the art exhibition the next morning.
Without saying anything, he urged her to get up and get dressed quickly so they could go out together.
Cheyenne, of course, didn't really want to go. She had been running around between the Todd mansion and the Lawrence Villa for the past few days since recovering from a serious illness, and she was feeling a bit tired.
"Cheyenne, can you bear to let me go alone to attend the exhibition?" The old man's voice came through on the phone in a mournful tone that sounded pitiful no matter how you listened to it.
"I can," Cheyenne replied.
As soon as she finished speaking, her grandfather's voice came through from the other end of the phone. "Alas, getting old is really too pitiful. Look at me - I don't know how to drive or ride an electric bike."
"Forget it. I'll beg for two dollars and take a bus," Layne said.
Cheyenne worried that if he went out by himself on public transportation, he wouldn't be able to find his way back home.
She got up by lifting off her covers and put on slippers before saying, "Okay. You wait for me at the Lawrence Villa's doorstep in twenty minutes; I'll be ready soon."
The next moment, Layne's voice immediately became cheerful again. "I knew you are a filial granddaughter! Great! Actually I'm already waiting in the lobby; you're just still sleeping."
---
The Foley Villa.
The grand hall looked empty. Old Mr. Foley stared at the flowers in the yard for a while, leaned on his cane and returned to the sofa in the hall, flipping through newspapers on the table.
He found that they were all articles he had read before and lost interest immediately.
Muttering to himself, he said, "It's more lively when Cheyenne is around. At least when she comes over, she can accompany me to play chess."
Kelvin was too busy; they rarely had time to play chess together. As for Corey, he was known for being bad at it and old Mr. Foley didn't like playing with him either.
Thinking about it again and again made him miss Cheyenne even more.
If Kelvin hadn't divorced her yet, maybe he could have welcomed his great-grandchild by year-end!
Just as he felt bored out of his mind, his son Corey came back with a handsome face full of sorrowful expression wearing a black suit from outside while holding a red invitation card in his hand.
"Father," Corey greeted before heading upstairs to his room.
"Stop right there and come sit down," old Mr. Foley interrupted, waving his hand. NôvelDrama.Org © content.
Corey obediently walked over and sat in front of the old man.
He felt like a little schoolboy being called out by the teacher, which made old Mr. Foley look even more annoyed.
"Are you afraid of me?" he asked.
To be honest, how could Corey not be afraid of him?
When he was young, he had been scolded and beaten by his father many times. Even after getting married, he was often brought before the family shrine to receive punishment from his father.
Fortunately, after Kelvin was born, old Mr. Foley shifted his focus onto Kelvin and used the same methods on him instead. That boy turned out to have some talent and grew up strong under the old man's guidance.
Gradually, Kelvin stopped being afraid of his grandfather and even began to surpass him in some ways.
"I'm not afraid of you, Father; I respect you," Corey replied softly.
Hearing this response made old Mr. Foley sneer with disappointment as if wishing that Corey would toughen up.
"The biggest accomplishment in your life is probably just having given birth to Kelvin," he said coldly.
Hearing such words made a smile filled with pride mixed with shame appear on Corey's face.
"You're right, Father; I am satisfied with what Kelvin has become."
"Alright, enough about him. Let's talk about you. How are things with your wife?" old Mr. Foley asked.
Corey's wife has been in a vegetative state for many years, and Corey has been taking care of her abroad. It's been almost five years in the blink of an eye!
What old Mr. Foley was trying to convey was that if there's no real chance of recovery, they might as well return to their home country together. It's not a good idea for the two of them to stay abroad; it's lonely and if something happens, there's no one around to help out.
Corey became emotional when talking about his wife and shook his head while saying "She's still the same."
Old Mr. Foley tapped his cane on the floor rhythmically and said, "Come back home."
Corey didn't immediately agree but said he would think about it as he was still searching for medical experts to help with his wife's condition.
"Oh, and your younger brother? I called him yesterday and found out that he and his family are also on their way back home," old Mr. Foley added.
"Franklin?"
Old Mr. Foley had another son named Franklin Foley, who was one year younger than Corey.
Five years ago, something happened which caused Kelvin's mother to accidentally fall down the stairs resulting in her becoming a vegetable while Franklin's wife Lucy committed suicide; nobody knew what happened that day though.
When someone finally discovered the scene, they found Lucy lying lifeless in a pool of blood, and Kelvin's mother had become a vegetable, never waking up again.
In these years, he had been investigating what happened back then, but no one was present at that time.
The surveillance in the room was also destroyed. The security guard who was supposed to watch over it said that he had too much to drink at night and didn't know anything.
Kelvin had him take a breathalyzer test, and the result showed that his blood alcohol concentration was as high as 70%.
It was a state of deep drunkenness.
That security guard was fired by him and later left Akloit.
Franklin insisted that it was his sister-in-law who accidentally killed Lucy, causing a complete falling out between the two families.
Old Mr. Foley did not deliberately favor either side back then, which made Franklin feel disheartened and prompted him to leave the country with his two children.
Three years ago, Kelvin got married and even as a uncle, Franklin did not come back but just asked someone to bring back a gift from overseas.
The old man only asked around last month and found out that Franklin was not having a very good time with his two children in Metshire.
The family of three lived in a small room, and they could not even afford the cost of their child's education.
Franklin's son Vincent Foley was one year younger than Kelvin. He studied at a university in Chulae and had a relatively high level of education.
But after leaving Chulae, he was nothing.
Being born with a silver spoon in his mouth, how could he stand such gaps.
Franklin's daughter had just turned eighteen this year and was still in junior high school when her mother had an accident five years ago. Suddenly going abroad with her father also meant the end of her education.