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Billionaire Gave His Gardener $8,000 as a Joke — A Year Later, He Couldn't Believe His Eyes

Billionaire Gave His Gardener $8,000 as a Joke — A Year Later, He Couldn't Believe His Eyes

Chapter 28

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The coordinator smiled. "One of the fastest-growing restoration firms in California."Richard barely heard him, because his attention had shifted elsewhere: toward the flowers. White roses.His heartbeat slowed. For a moment, he thought he was imagining things. Then he stepped closer. The blooms were unmistakable: Whitmore White. His mother's roses. His eyes narrowed. Impossible. No one had authentic specimens. No one.He moved through the crowd—closer, then closer still. Questions flooded his mind: Where had they come from? How had they survived? Who possessed them?The crowd finally parted, and Richard Whitmore stopped walking completely. Because standing beside the display was a man he recognized immediately—a man he hadn't seen in almost a year: Elijah Brooks.For several seconds, Richard genuinely believed he must be mistaken. The convention center noise faded, the crowd disappeared, and the entire room seemed to narrow.Elijah stood speaking with a hotel owner: confident, professional, calm. Not wearing work clothes, not carrying gardening tools, not trimming hedges. He wore a simple charcoal suit—nothing extravagant, nothing flashy. Yet somehow, Richard barely recognized him, because context changes perception, and for the first time, he was seeing Elijah outside the role he had assigned him.The old gardener finished his conversation, and the hotel owner shook his hand enthusiastically. Then another client approached, and another, and another.Richard watched in stunned silence. Someone beside him noticed. "You know him?"The question broke his concentration. "What?"The man smiled. "Brooks Restoration." He pointed toward Elijah. "Everyone's talking about him."Richard stared. "Talking about what?"The answer arrived immediately: "The restoration projects."Another voice joined: "And the community gardens."A third: "And those roses." The first man laughed. "Especially those roses."Richard looked back toward the display. The Whitmore Whites seemed almost unreal: healthier than any specimens remaining at his estate, healthier than they had looked in years. His stomach tightened. A difficult realization began forming, one he wasn't ready to face.Nearby, Marcus spotted him first. The teenager froze, a complicated mix of emotions crossing his face. Tyler followed his gaze. "Who's that?"Marcus didn't answer immediately, then quietly said, "Richard Whitmore."Tyler blinked. "The billionaire?"Marcus nodded; the boy's eyes widened. Neither said another word, because Elijah had just noticed him, too.
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Billionaire Gave His Gardener $8,000 as a Joke — A Year Later, He Couldn't Believe His Eyes

35 Part