The Billionaire Who Saved Me - Chapter 41: Chapter 41

Mason shot me a glare, clearly displeased. "You can say that now, but once you officially become my wife, don't ever comment on their rights or wrongs, especially not in front of outsiders."
"What about in front of you?" I asked.
"That's fine," he replied without hesitation.
I was a bit stunned by his bluntness.
I asked, "By the way, you're such a well-mannered man, but why is Joey so different?"
"Because I grew up with Grandma. Joey was raised by that woman," he said, full of disdain. "Joey picked up all her petty, scheming ways."
He wasn't even bothering to hide how much he despised Helen. Was that a sign he was starting to treat me like his real ally?
Since I mentioned that, Mason said something more about his family. It was only through Mason's casual explanations that I finally learned—Martin wasn't actually the true head of the Knight family, but Mason was.
It turned out that Mason's grandparents built the business empire from the ground up. They started with nothing and spent decades braving setbacks, clawing their way forward until they amassed a fortune.
They had four children—three sons and a daughter. Martin was the eldest. The second, Edward, worked in a high-ranking government position. For years, the Knight family's enduring influence in the business world had a lot to do with Edward's connections in politics.
Their third child, Christina, left during the wave of emigration in the '90s. She went to Navorange and never returned. Mason said she usually called on Christmas to offer greetings. Other than that, she barely kept in touch with her family.
Mason didn't know much about this aunt, only that she had a huge fight with Delilah when she was young, then packed her things and left. No one ever explained what the fight had been about.
The youngest child, Samuel, died tragically. At five years old, he was bitten by a dog. Despite getting rabies shots, he developed sepsis and didn't survive.
Samuel's death became a permanent wound in Delilah's heart. She always believed it wasn't the dog bite that killed her son but the hospital's negligence and delays in treatment.
That grief turned into action. Delilah began pouring money into hospitals—first out of rage, then out of hope. She hired top-tier doctors from both domestic and international institutions and brought in cutting-edge medical equipment.
What began as an effort to make sure no other child died like Samuel eventually blossomed into a bigger business.
Hospitals run by the Knight family quickly came to dominate the local healthcare market thanks to their sterling reputation and elite medical staff. They became leaders in the field.
And it didn't stop there. While Delilah focused on medicine, Mason's grandfather succeeded in other industries too. Together, they built a business empire. But more than that, they remained deeply in love and made their ambitions come true.
Still, time didn't wait. As the couple aged, the inevitable question arose: who would take over the business empire?
Martin, frankly, was hopeless. Edward was completely devoted to his government career and had no interest in business. Christina was off in another country, completely out of reach.
Even if Christina were here, Mason's grandparents wouldn't have considered letting a daughter inherit the family business. They believed the empire should be passed down through the male line.
With no suitable candidate among their children, the grandparents turned their eyes to the next generation. But Edward only had one daughter, and his wife had no intention of having more.
Thus, Mason became the proper candidate. From a young age, he'd been raised by his grandparents like a future CEO—groomed in every way to take the helm.
Had things gone according to plan, this would've been a heartwarming family success story.
But when Mason was seven, tragedy struck—his mother died. Just six months later, Martin remarried Helen. Mason's grandparents were strongly against the idea of Martin remarrying less than a year after his ex-wife’s death. They believed it would be a shame to their family name.
But Helen was already eight months pregnant when she married into the family. A prenatal ultrasound revealed it was a boy.
Mason's grandparents, who had long prayed for more boys in the family, dropped their objections. They summoned Martin into the study and gave him a scolding. Three days later, Helen was officially brought into the Knight family.
Two months later, she gave birth to a healthy baby boy, Richard.
Mason's grandparents, perhaps out of guilt, made every effort to give Mason more—more attention, more love, and more of everything. They even refused to let Helen raise him, insisting on keeping him close by their side.
They did this out of fear that once Helen had a son of her own, she'd mistreat Mason. But their protective gesture only fueled Helen's resentment. Her jealousy toward Mason grew by the day.
Helen thought her in-laws were blatantly playing favorites. Both boys were their grandsons, yet Mason was treated like a crown prince, while Richard got the leftovers.
If that were the extent of it, maybe things wouldn't have gotten so bad. But everything truly exploded the year Mason turned twenty—when his grandfather passed away. The will he left behind nearly drove Helen insane.
In his will, he clearly stated that all of his assets would be entrusted to Mason for management. Everyone else would receive monthly dividends—equal shares, by headcount.
This arrangement would continue until the first great-grandson was born. At that time, eighty percent of the assets would be passed to that great-grandson. The remaining twenty percent would then be divided among the rest.
There were only two people eligible to inherit the assets: Mason and Richard.
At the time, Mason was already twenty, while Richard was just thirteen. The age gap between them made the favoritism blindingly obvious.
The will was read, and just after Mason's grandfather's funeral had been concluded, Delilah suddenly collapsed due to severe food poisoning.
It was Mason who found her and rushed her to the hospital in time. If he hadn't, she might've joined her husband in the grave.
After that, Mason was livid. He demanded a full investigation. He was sure someone clearly tampered with Delilah's food.
They all ate the same food from the same dishes; why was it only Delilah who got poisoned? Eventually, it was discovered that the problem wasn't in the food—but in the cup she used to drink water.
And oddly enough, one of the housemaids mysteriously disappeared after that night.
Everyone in the family had their suspicions. They knew who had done it, but without concrete evidence, there was nothing they could do. Worse still, Martin stood firmly behind Helen, convinced of her innocence.
The incident was quietly buried, but from that day on, Mason's disgust toward Helen became impossible to hide.
After graduating from university, Mason took over the family business. Years of being raised at his grandparents's knees had prepared him for this role. He managed the company with confidence, as if it were second nature.
Helen, who had been waiting for Mason to crash and burn, was stunned to see the company flourishing under his leadership. The obvious profits rising finally convinced Helen that Mason was far more capable than Martin. Reluctantly, she accepted the reality and stopped stirring up trouble.
The Knight family entered a rare period of peace. Several years passed without incident—until Mason turned twenty-five. His fiancée got into a car accident, just days before their engagement party.
Katherine came from a family of equal stature—wealthy, respected, a perfect match for the Knights. Delilah adored her. From the moment Mason and Katherine started dating, Delilah had been urging them to get married. She wanted to see a great-grandchild before she died.
That was only Delilah's wish. Helen certainly didn't want it to happen.
Because if Mason had a son, that child would inherit the bulk of the family's fortune just as the will decreed.
Helen had endured eighteen years of playing the dutiful daughter-in-law—swallowing her pride, staying small in front of Delilah. She couldn't sit back and watch everything be handed to Mason.
At that time, Richard was eighteen, and he was just as talented as Mason. The only reason no one noticed Richard was that Mason's brilliance cast a shadow too long.
As Richard grew up, Helen's ambition, which had lain dormant for years, began to stir again. Just at that critical time, Mason announced he was getting married.