Chapter 772: Forsaking Principles for Profit

The man’s name was Quinn Chandler. As it turned out, he had some history with Ethan Hawthorne; he was the young master of the Chandler family—the famed "Chandlers of the North," a counterpart to the "Hawthornes of the South." Quinn Chandler’s father was the renowned Old Master Chandler, a powerful figure in the north, but Quinn was an illegitimate son and was not favored by the Old Master.

Unlike Ethan Hawthorne’s father, Old Master Chandler was not a philanderer. He and his wife shared a deep and mutual respect. Quinn Chandler’s birth was an accident; the Old Master had been tricked by Quinn’s mother.

Quinn Chandler’s mother was a maid for the Chandler family. Fiercely ambitious, she refused to accept her lot as a servant for life and set her sights on Old Master Chandler. At the time, she was the Old Madam’s most trusted maid, and no one suspected she harbored such designs. Even Old Master Chandler, who had been astute his entire life, never imagined he would be manipulated by a maid.

Afterward, Old Master Chandler was furious and drove Quinn Chandler’s mother out of Chandler Manor. What he didn’t know was that she had become pregnant that night. She gave birth to Quinn while on her own, and after the baby was a month old, she brought him to see the Old Madam.

Old Master Chandler did not have many heirs; his wife had only borne him one son and one daughter. So, although the Old Madam despised the maid for her betrayal, she could not let a child of Chandler blood be abandoned. She made the executive decision to take in both mother and son. Old Master Chandler, however, wanted nothing to do with them. It was even the Old Madam who named the boy.

When war broke out, Old Master Chandler sent his wife, son, and daughter abroad, but Quinn Chandler and his mother were left behind. Following that, the Old Master sank into a depression and died of illness within a few years. Quinn’s mother also passed away some years later, leaving him as the sole member of the great Chandler family still in the country.

Mad Lord had investigated and found all of this out later. When he first met Quinn Chandler, he had no idea he was a young master of the Chandler family. He simply couldn’t reconcile the man fighting stray dogs for food with the scion of a great house.

He and Quinn Chandler met in Port Krol. At the time, Quinn was living worse than a beggar, and Mad Lord was only marginally better off. As two fellow castaways who had both come from the mainland, they became sworn brothers. Quinn was the same age, just a few months older.

During those years in Port Krol, he and Quinn Chandler weathered every storm together, and life slowly improved. He even found a girlfriend who, like Rosalind Green, was a stunning and delicate beauty. She, too, had been smuggled into the city.

Mad Lord had once believed he would spend his entire life in Port Krol, that he would marry, have children, and that his sworn brotherhood would last a lifetime.

But he had forgotten a simple truth: money corrupts. Even blood brothers will betray each other for personal gain, let alone sworn brothers. Over a big business deal, Quinn Chandler stabbed him in the back. He nearly died in Port Krol. The money was gone, the woman was gone, and all he was left with was a scarred face.

Mad Lord gave a self-deprecating laugh. ’Fools have their own kind of fortune, I guess. Quinn Chandler thought I was dead for sure, but I managed to survive. I don’t even want to get even with him. I was the fool; I have no one to blame but myself.’

’Besides, he saved my life once. I’ll just call it even.’

"Boss!"

Will’s booming voice startled Mad Lord out of his reverie. "What are you shouting for?" he snapped irritably.

"Boss, are you thinking about that woman again?" Will asked, a strange look in his eyes. He was worried his boss still had lingering feelings and would fall for that slut’s tricks all over again.

Will had seen the woman once. ’She’s a real looker, no doubt,’ he thought, ’but a restless woman like her is trouble, no matter how pretty. He’d be better off finding a quiet, homely woman. Once you turn out the lights, it’s all the same anyway.’

"I’m thinking about your mother!"

Mad Lord rolled his eyes and went back to his room for an afternoon nap.

Will pouted. ’I miss my mom, too,’ he thought glumly. ’But she’s already passed on. I can think about her all I want, but I’ll never see her again.’