The Inheritance - Book 1
Copyright© 2026 by Arise
Chapter 8
It was over. The oil painting was completely ruined.
One hundred and fifty thousand dollars!
Everyone could not help but swallow their saliva at this time.
Only Quinton and Harold were laughing in their hearts at this time. They could not help but wonder how Richard would ever be able to pay for the oil painting that was worth a hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Even if the manager of Wayfair Mountain Entertainment owed him a favor, he would never be able to explain himself with regards to the oil painting.
Hehehe!
“Richard, why don’t we leave now? Anyway, we’re almost done with the food,” Naomi said in a cautious manner at this time.
If they continued staying here for another second, Richard would never be able to pay for the oil painting!
“Oh! Things don’t look good. It seems as though someone is coming up now!”
Jacelyn pointed at the staircase at this time and Richard also looked in the same direction. At this time, Zack was walking towards them with a few waitresses and a bottle of good wine in their hands.
He was coming to give them a toast.
Richard felt very helpless. He had already told Zack that he did not want to reveal his identity for the time being. Why was he still coming here to give him a toast?
Zack arrived a short while later.
Quinton also naturally knew who Zack was.
“Lyle ... Mr. Lyle!”
Quinton quickly greeted him.
Unexpectedly, the manager whom Richard was talking about was in fact one of the richest men in Mayberry City, Zack Lyle!
Alice was very surprised at this time and she did not dare to speak at all.
Good luck to Richard!
As soon as he arrived, Zack nodded slightly towards the crowd of people.
After that, he looked at Richard before he greeted him respectfully, “Mr. Ger...”
As he was about to greet him, Zack suddenly recalled that Richard had already told him that he did not want his identity to be revealed.
Zack said: “Brother Richard, are you satisfied with the arrangements I’ve made for you today?”
Richard smiled as he nodded.
At this time, Quinton suddenly spoke up and said, “But Mr. Lyle, Richard just ruined your oil painting by dropping it into the water!”
“Yes, Mr. Lyle! Even though we told him not to do it, Richard took the oil painting down and he dropped it into the water!” Jacelyn quickly hurriedly chimed in as she did not want to bear the responsibility for the oil painting.
Meanwhile, Naomi quickly spoke up for Richard. “Mr. Lyle, Richard didn’t mean to do it!”
At this time, Harper also defended Richard and he asked Zack what they could do in order to repay Zack for the oil painting.
Zack immediately understood the situation that was unfolding before him.
It seemed as though not everyone here were Richard’s true friends and Zack knew that Richard had not revealed his identity to anyone yet.
He also knew that Richard was a very low-key and introverted person. It seemed as though he did not want to brag about the fact that he was actually very wealthy and powerful.
Moreover, Zack was not stupid and he clearly remember Richard’s reminder to him. Therefore, he would not do anything to cause the crowd of people to have any suspicions about Richard’s identity.
Zack had a shocked expression on his face as he exclaimed, “What? The oil painting was dropped into the water?” Zack started trembling with a frightened expression on his face. It seemed as though he really cared about the oil painting!
The atmosphere suddenly became very tense and Naomi asked anxiously, “Mr. Lyle, we’re really sorry about the oil painting!”
“Brother Richard, do you know that the oil painting costs over a hundred and fifty thousand dollars? Moreover, my boss really likes this oil painting very much. Tell me, what should I do if my boss asks me about this painting?” Zack asked as he stared at Richard.
Richard knew that Zack wanted to give him a way out of this matter without revealing his identity or the fact that he was indeed the real owner of Wayfair Mountain Entertainment. That was the reason why he could only react this way,
Hehehe ... Zack was a rather interesting person.
Richard had a very regretful look on his face as he said, “Mr. Lyle, I really didn’t expect this to happen but I can tell you that this isn’t entirely my fault.”
“Not your fault?” Zack asked as he frowned.
Jacelyn, who was standing aside, thought that Richard had wanted to push the blame to her. Therefore, she hurriedly said, “Richard, it’s your fault! The oil painting dropped into the water because it flew out of your hands! You shouldn’t try and blame anyone else for your own mistake!”
“Exactly! If you’ve done something wrong, you should have the courage to step up and admit your mistake. Otherwise, how can you call yourself a man?”
The girls were all very contemptuous at this time.
“I guess Richard is just afraid he’d have to pay the one hundred thousand dollars out of his own pocket. That must be the reason he’s trying to push the blame away from himself,” Harold quickly said as he was still jealous of Richard.
Richard did not only prove that he was better than Quinton or Harold, but he also made them very envious and jealous of him.
Richard smiled before he said, “Mr. Lyle, I admit that I was the one who had taken the oil painting down in the first place. The reason why I said it isn’t entirely my fault or responsibility, however, is because there was a gust of wind when I was trying to put the oil painting back in place and it blew the oil painting away.”
“Hahaha. Richard, you’re really ridiculous!”
The crowd of people could not help but feel contempt at this time.
Quinton said, “Richard, are you seriously trying to put the blame on the gust of wind? Don’t you think you’re trying too hard?”
Zack looked as though he was thinking hard about what Richard had just said.
After a short while, he finally patted his forehead and said, “Brother Richard, thank you for explaining the situation to me. So was that actually what happened? I’m sorry for misunderstanding you. I guess we can only blame the gust of wind for blowing the oil painting away and causing it to fall into the water. I suppose it really isn’t your fault at all!”
“Yes, you shouldn’t hang the oil painting here. It’s very dangerous when the wind is strong,” Richard replied in a hurry.
“Yes, yes, Brother Richard. Thank you for the reminder. I’ll ask my staff to deal with this matter. I guess it’s our fault for putting this oil painting here in the first place.”
What?
Everyone was shocked at Zack’s reaction. Was Zack convinced just because of a few words by Richard?
Quinton felt a lump in his throat at this time. He felt very uncomfortable, while Alice and the rest of the girls felt even more uneasy.
“Well, in that case, I would like to thank you for your hospitality today, Mr. Lyle. If it’s fine with you, we’d like to go home now.”
Richard smiled. He thought that the way that Zack cooperated with him with regards to this situation was indeed very funny.
After leaving the Wayfair Mountain Entertainment, all of them could not help but look at Richard in a daze. This was especially so for Alice, who felt that everything was too unreal and she couldn’t understand Richard at all.
“Richard, you are really amazing! I can’t believe that you actually managed to persuade Mr. Lyle with just a few words when he seemed to care so much about that oil painting!”
Naomi couldn’t help but admire Richard after leaving the manor.
Alice was also listening in at this time.
She felt very doubtful about the whole situation. Were things really as simple as they seemed?
After returning to the dormitory, Alice and the other girls still felt very unpleasant and surprised.
If Richard was really poor and if he had won hundreds of thousands of dollars from the lottery, they would not feel so uncomfortable.
However, he was actually able to buy such an expensive limited edition luxury bag and he could even afford to treat them to a meal at the most expensive spot in the manor.
Moreover, when it came to the oil painting, Richard could actually persuade Zack to let the matter go just like that.
How was that possible?
“Alice, what do you think of the incident today?”
Alice was sitting on her bed as she listened to Jacelyn, who was removing her makeup at this time.
After that, she frowned before she said, “I don’t know. Perhaps we’re overthinking this. Didn’t Hayley already call Harper to ask and confirm the situation with him? After all, the only reason why Zack is treating Richard so well is because Richard saved his daughter’s life!”
“I guess Zack is just trying to come up with a reason just so Richard wouldn’t feel too embarrassed about the oil painting. After all, Richard saved his daughter’s life and that must’ve been a big deal to him.”
Alice felt much better as she thought about this reason.
“Well, I guess that makes sense. I actually thought Richard was a rich man now! That really scared me to death!” Jacelyn said as she let out a long sigh.
“What? You aren’t calling him Brother Richard anymore?”
The other girls started laughing among themselves.
“Who’s addressing him in that endearing manner? If he could actually ask Mr. Lyle to give me a good position in any of his businesses in the future, I’ll definitely refer to him that way! At least I wouldn’t have any worries in life at all.”
“Richard is really lucky. I guess Mr. Lyle would regard the incident today as though he had already repaid
Richard for everything that he had done for his family.”
The girls continued gossiping among themselves.
Alice felt very relieved when she heard what they said. After all, the more Richard had to suffer, the more relaxed she felt.
It was a strange feeling.
Meanwhile, Richard did not think too much about this matter at all.
After returning to the dormitory, Richard and his roommates fell asleep very quickly as they were exhausted after playing and spending the whole day outside.
The next day, it was time for them to go to class.
At this time, Richard saw Harper and the other boys writing their names on their checks.
When Richard read the messages in his group chat, he realized that it was time for them to pay their tuition fees.
“Richard, are you going to wait for the subsidy that you’ll be receiving in two weeks’ time before you pay your tuition fees, or do you have any other way to pay it off?”
In fact, Harper wanted to ask Richard if Mr. Lyle had given him some money to pay his tuition fees.
However, when he thought about the oil painting last night, Harper did not bother to ask that question anymore.
He was afraid that Richard would be a pauper again today.
Richard smiled before he said, “It’s okay. I still have some money left in my bank account and it should be enough to cover my tuition fees. By the way, I’ll go to the classroom a little later because I’ll have to withdraw some cash from the bank!”
Harper could tell that Richard was not lying. Richard might actually have some money left to pay for his tuition fees. With this, Harper felt much more relieved.
At this time, Richard arrived at the bank in front of the university campus.
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