Chapter 9 Watching the Frasers Meet Their Demise
+8 Pearls
Looking back, Frankie stood before their parents with an air of arrogance, head held high as if the world owed him something. His posture was confident, even smug, as he recounted in excruciating detail all the humiliations he had endured over the years while living with the Fraser Family. With a self–satisfied grin, he revealed how he had orchestrated Joshua’s death.
At seventeen, Frankie had already recognized Joshua as a formidable threat. That was when he began plotting with his sisters to subtly push Joshua to the edges of the family. They excluded him, belittled him, and made his life unbearable.
Finally, behind closed doors and away from prying eyes, Frankie began slipping traces of palladium into Joshua’s food, determined to make him slowly succumb to palladium poisoning.
In the beginning, Frankie only used small amounts of the poison and did not dare to put more, so it didn’t have an obvious effect. Later, after the college entrance exams, he gradually increased the amount, which directly caused Joshua to die of heart disease induced by palladium poisoning.
Shirley, Maddy, and Judy had no idea of what Frankie had done. Ironically, though they had unwittingly aided him by contributing to Joshua’s isolation, they were completely unaware of the lethal plot.
Especially Maddy, who had been particularly close to Frankie. She had unknowingly given him significant help, even supplying the palladium itself, though she never knew what he intended to do with it.
It wasn’t until twenty years later that he finally confessed everything. Only then did Maggie and David realize the full extent of their son’s cruelty. The truth shattered them, and they were so consumed by their grief and fury that they died soon after.
When Maddy discovered the full extent of what had happened, she confronted Frankie, demanding answers, but he coldly turned the blame on her. “It’s your fault Joshua died,” he sneered. “You’re the one who killed our parents, too, with your ignorance and blind trust. You’re just as guilty.”
Once she learned everything, she jumped down from the twentieth floor and committed suicide.
What she didn’t know was that Joshua, in his spirit form, had been watching everything unfold.
For a brief moment after her death, Maddy became a spirit lingered and saw Joshua gazing at her and the others.
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Chapter 9 Watching the Frasers Meet Their Demise
He watched her with silent eyes. Their gazes met, but there were no words exchanged.
+8 Pearl:
Perhaps, in that moment, Joshua must have felt a twisted sense of satisfaction, watching the family that had wronged him meet their demise one after another.
As he reflected on everything he had seen while in his spirit form, a growing sense of frustration welled up within him. The realization hit hard: He felt he had utterly wasted the past four years of his life.
Last year, this year… Frankie barely even used the Palladium! It wasn’t until after my college entrance exams that he began using it heavily, and even then, it wasn’t frequent. Otherwise, the doctors wouldn’t have diagnosed me with a life–threatening heart condition! But now, my body’s probably fine. All I need is regular exercise to get back on track!
He reached for a mirror and examined his head, sighing in relief when he saw no serious injuries. After a quick check, he covered the small wound with a band–aid.
For the next three days, he slept soundly. Then, he attended classes during the day, focused on rebuilding his strength through regular exercise, and also treated himself to nutritious meals to nurse his body back to health.
After three days of diligent effort, he could see noticeable improvements. His complexion no longer looked deathly pale. Instead, a faint flush of color had returned to his cheeks.
To make sure he was truly on the mend, he even went to the hospital for a full check–up. The results confirmed that there was nothing wrong with him.
Seeing himself grow stronger, his mind quickly shifted gears. It was time to plan for the future, and for him, that meant one thing: making money.
Having lived through this life once already, he knew countless ways to earn a fortune. The only problem? Right now, he was short on cash. Without a decent amount of capital, all the big projects would have to wait. For now, he needed to start small, accumulate his initial funds, and then gradually scale up.
If his memory served him correctly, in just a few days, a massive storm would hit Kepong. The storm would be catastrophic, affecting over a dozen nearby cities and causing billions in damages. In its aftermath, fishing boats would be unable to go out to sea for an entire month, which would cause the prices of crabs and fresh shrimp to skyrocket.
He distinctly remembered that after the storm, the prices of seafood had nearly doubled. If he could purchase some fresh shrimp and live crabs before the storm, and then store them safely, he would be sitting on a goldmine once the storm passed.
“This room is big enough,” he muttered to himself, surveying the space around him. “I don’t need to hold out for long, just five or six days will do. I can buy a small oxygen machine to
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Chapter 9 Watching the Frasers Meet Their Demise
+8 Pearls
keep the seafood alive. I’ve got about 8,000 dollars on hand right now. I’ll spend 100 dollars on waterproof tarps, another hundred on a small oxygen pump, and the rest will go toward buying shrimps and crabs. As for seawater, that’s easy. I’ll just rent a truck and drive down to the beach to fill up a few barrels and bring it back!”
He quickly calculated the numbers in his head.
Right now, he had 8,000 dollars on hand. He planned to set aside 1,000 for food and another 1,000 for buying tools. That would leave him with 6000 dollars, which he intended to sell crabs and live shrimps. After accounting for losses due to deaths and other spoilage, he estimated he could still turn a profit of over 5,000 dollars. By the time he wrapped up this round of business, he figured his total capital would exceed 11,000.
It wasn’t a huge amount, but it was enough.
Once he had over 10,000 dollars at his disposal, he could start thinking about broader
ventures.
“When the storm hits, it’s going to ravage fruit trees, especially bananas. People haven’t noticed the warning signs yet, but after the storm passes, the prices of bananas and longans are going to skyrocket overnight, doubling in value. If I can time it right, I’ll be able to turn my 10,000 into 20,000 in no time!”
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