CChapter 177: His return. 

“Stella is still my wife,” he said, and Janet’s eyes went round. 

“You contort with enem 

ies to erase my memory of my wife? I will never forgive this.” James 

said. 

His words made eyes turn to Hannali and Janet. All these years, witches have been getting bolder. Was it because they knew that James was unconscious? They might have even guessed that he was dead, and the family was hiding it to look strong 

“The Black Hand!” James called out suddenly. His voice echoed throughout the room. 

The Black Hand were his personal guards. He was sure that even if he was gone, the protocol for transferring to the next generation would remain. And he was right. 

The black hand dashed across the territory no matter where they were and burst into the room. The older guards who knew him quickly knelt. And then you get followed. 

“We greet the master!” 

James looked around; there were much more of them than he remembered. 

“Prepare. I am leaving the family.” He ordered, and they accepted their order and dispersed, leaving three who had followed him all his life behind. 

Liam and Gregor had a bad feeling about James‘ reaction since walking in. For some reason, he was calm. This bothered them.. 

Their intuition was confirmed when James walked over to the family stone, where he saw that Stella’s name had been stroked off, and Hannah added and struck out his name. 

“James!” Janet and Samuel shouted in unison. 

James on the other hand looked around. 

“I am no longer part of your family, if you use my name again conside, to gain anything, I will have it taken away. 

His words were like a hammer crashing into the hearts of the entire family and branches 

He turned to leave, but Gregor and Liam stepped forward. 

“Brother. Don’t do this. Since you are back, we will find Stella together,” Liam said. 

“Yes. You just woke up. A lot has changed in the past decade,” Gregor said. 

“Gregor. You do not need to worry. I will only take my properties. Besides, I had properties that the family did not know about, so I will be fine. Knowing the managers I left behind, I am sure they are still in good condition,” James said, and Gregor went pale. It seems James had seen his ambition to be family head long ago and kept things from him. 

What properties? He suddenly recalled that the Black Hand and James mercenaries tocked themselves away the moment he went unconscious. They moved around under the radar all these years, leaving some of them in the family. It seems they were protecting his things. And it seems they never left the family completely because he was still here. 

“You can’t! You can’t leave us for that bitch!” Janet screamed. 

James turned sharply and looked at her with absolute rage. 

James stared at his mother so coldly, she could not help shivering. 

“Father was supposed to be married to someone else, but he mistakenly became your husband. You were an orphan coming into a large family. So, you felt inferior. Over the years the family declined compared to others, and many thought if Father had just taken the daughter of a large family as a wife, the family would be in a better state. All my brother’s wives were of prominent houses, but I brought back an orphan thrown out by her family. You hate my wife because she was just like you. Just because you hate yourself, my wife has to pay the price.” James asked Janet, who went stiff at his words. 

He looked around the family with cold eyes. “Our family laws put family over all else. But when something happened to me, my family was left to fend for themselves,” he said, and many looked away. 

They were anxious at this point. If he really left, they would fall in standing. They were a strong family, just like the rest of the great houses. 

‘But only James Grey and Daniel Shaw had evolved to pure bloods, making the Grey and Shaw Houses the leaders of the great houses. If we lost our own pure blood, we would lose our standing, some elders discussed. 

They all understood this, but were not sure what to do. That is why he had hidden his condition for years. 

“There is no need to do this. You are back, so you are the head. How can you leave the family?” Gregor begged. 

“Uncle, Please.” 

James saw these nephews and nieces he had just met and frowned. 

“While your children were protected, my wife and daughters were out there fending for themselves. From this moment, I have cut ties with the Grey family. You two are no brothers 

of mine,” James said, and his brothers went pale 

His children? They did try to find them, but Janet was faster. She paid a lot of money to erase all trace of them, and he was sure Hannah’s family helped too. 

In the hospital, Stella opened her eyes. When Anya saw her mother wake up, tears filled her 

eyes. 

“Mom!” she cried. 

“Don’t cry,” Stella consoled her daughter. As Anya cried, Stella looked up to find another. person in the hospital room. 

She could recognize a dangerous man when she saw one. She frowned instantly, and Daniel froze. He was not sure what to say to this mother–in–law. Even though he had married Anyal for a few years, he had never met her. 

“Who is this?” Stella asked Anya, and her crying seized. She suddenly recalled that Daniel was 

there. 

“Um, mom, this is…” Anya was not sure where to start. 

“Hello, Ma’am. I am Daniel, your son–in–law, Daniel said, and Anya sent his death glare. 

“Don’t mind him, mother; he likes to joke!” Anya tried to salvage the situation. She knew her mother did not like Daniel. 

“I am your daughter’s husband. My name is Daniel Shaw,” Daniel greeted. 

“Mr. Shaw, please step outside. I want to speak with my daughter,” Stella said. When Anya saw her mother’s reactions, she paused. 

Daniel nodded and left the room to give them space. 

“Mom, you don’t like him?” Anya asked. 

“You do?” Stella returned with a question, and Anya went red. She understood why his mother reacted this way. Her last memory was of how Daniel had treated her. But she was still uncomfortable with her mother’s reaction to him. 

“You asked me to bring you a son–in–law and I did. But you are being picky?” Anya asked. 

“I asked you for some who love you and treat you well. I was stupid to have let you marry someone from the rich circle; could you bring him here?” Stella scolded her. 

Daniel, who was just outside, decided to walk away at that moment. It seems his mother–in- law did not like him and their family. 

Inside the room, Anya was angry too. Tears spilled from her eyes. 

“You did not tell me a lot too. You were suddenly gone, and I was alone. In fact, you did not tell me anything. You let me believe Dad was dead all these years!” Anya exploded, and Stella paused, then sighed. 

heart. 

“You are right. I had thought you did not need to know. Your father went missing, and you were sick for some reason. I was already weak, but now I was even weaker because of my I could not protect you. You could not remember your grandfather, and he did not come to see you because your grandmother said not. It was best to say they were dead,” Stella explained. 

“Then what about dad? You say he went missing. For all my life, I had thought he was dead. I had thought Grandpa Jackson was dad’s father. Now I am hearing about a gray family. What is going on?” Anya asked.