Playing the role of the host, rewrite this for me to avoid repetition: The old man is grumpy, not allowing his children and grandchildren to light incense for his family…
💍 THE COLOR STAINS ON OAK: THE SECRET BEHIND THE IRON GATE
Chapter 1: A Dream Wedding in the Hudson Valley
The Hudson Valley in June is as beautiful as an oil painting. The Vanderbilt-Smith mansion is resplendent with thousands of white roses and sparkling crystal lights. Today is the big day for Claire, the only daughter of the wealthiest family in the region. She will marry Julian Thorne, a promising young politician.
However, amidst that opulent atmosphere, there is an out-of-place figure. Caleb, a young carpenter with rough hands and clothes stained with wood dust, was hastily finishing the intricately carved oak archway at the entrance to the wedding hall. Caleb was a poor carpenter who had worked tirelessly in the mansion for the past three months, renovating the library and interior details for the wedding.
Claire and Caleb shared a secret. They had talked during the late afternoons he worked in the library. Caleb didn't see Claire as a “treasure” to be seized like Julian; he saw her as a soul yearning for freedom.
Chapter 2: The Fateful Evening
The night before the wedding, Harrison Vanderbilt-Smith, Claire's father, was found slumped on the library floor, his breathing ragged and his face turning purple. He had been poisoned – a slow-acting nerve-paralyzing toxin.
Immediately, all eyes turned to Caleb. Why? Because security cameras showed that at around 11 p.m. – the time Mr. Harrison was presumed to have ingested the poison – Caleb was the last person to leave the library.
“What was he doing there so late?” Julian Thorne roared at the local police. “A lowly carpenter sneaking into my father-in-law's library late at night? He was certainly planning to steal or extort, and when he was caught, he resorted to violence!”
Caleb stood there, among the police officers, his face calm but his eyes reflecting deep sadness. He offered no explanation. He simply gazed toward Claire's window.
Chapter 3: Accusation and Humiliation
The wedding day turned into an interrogation. Mr. Harrison lay in the hospital, in a deep coma. The police found a small glass vial containing remnants of poison in Caleb's tool bag.
“Traitor!” Claire's mother shrieked, slapping Caleb across the face in front of the distinguished guests. “We paid you, gave you a job, and this is how you repay us?”
Caleb was handcuffed. As he was led past Claire, he whispered only one sentence: “Look in the secret drawer of the oak desk.”
Claire stood there, her pristine white wedding dress but her heart broken. She couldn't believe Caleb was the culprit. She knew the hands of an artist who loved wood as much as he did couldn't possibly be the hands of a murderer.
Chapter 4: The Drawer of Truth
That night, instead of relaxing at a luxurious hotel with Julian, Claire sneaked into the old library. She found the oak desk that Caleb had spent weeks restoring.
She found it – a hidden drawer that Caleb had designed, which could only be opened by a special button he had inadvertently shown her. Inside wasn't gold or silver. It was a small tape recorder and a file.
Claire pressed the play button.
Her father's voice rang out, angry: “Julian, you can't force me to sign this document transferring the rights to exploit this forest. It's a family legacy.”
Then, Julian Thorne's cold voice: “Mr. Harrison, you're getting old. Claire needs a husband with power, not a conservative father. If you don't sign, I'll publicly expose the Vanderbilt-Smith tax evasion records. Or… you can choose a more peaceful death.”
The soft clinking of glasses. Footsteps. And Caleb's voice entering: “Mr. Harrison, I came to retrieve my forgotten tape measure…”
Caleb had witnessed it all. That night, he hadn't gone in to kill anyone. He had gone in to try and save Mr. Harrison after Julian left, but he was too late. He managed to take the tape recorder that Mr. Harrison had secretly turned on earlier, but Julian had returned and seen him. He had set a trap for Caleb, placing the vial of poison in his tool bag before calling the police.
Chapter 5: The Hospital Uprising
The next morning, Julian Thorne was standing in the hospital hallway, feigning concern for his future father-in-law. He was preparing to sign legal documents to manage the corporation on behalf of the family while Harrison was in a coma.
Claire approached, accompanied by the family lawyer and the police chief.
“Julian,” Claire said, her voice icy. “You look tired. Perhaps you need some tea… or a glass of wine like the one you offered my father?”
Julian's face turned pale. “Claire, what are you saying? You're already shocked by that carpenter…”
“Caleb isn't the murderer, Julian. He's a security guard,” Claire held up her phone.
“The police searched your apartment and found the real vial of poison with your fingerprints on it. Caleb only kept the ‘fake' vial that you planted to mislead you, to make you believe you had won.”
It turned out that Caleb knew he would be caught. He deliberately let Julian see him “hiding” something so that Julian wouldn't destroy the real recording device. He endured humiliation and beatings to protect the final piece of evidence.
Chapter 6: Justice and a New Beginning
Julian Thorne was arrested right at the hospital. The scandal rocked New England. Caleb was released with a public apology from the Vanderbilt-Smith family.
Two months later, Mr. Harrison regained consciousness and gradually recovered. The first thing he did was summon Caleb to the library.
“Young man,” Mr. Harrison said, taking Caleb's rough hand. “You saved my life and my daughter's from a demon. I owe you more than a carpenter's wages.”
Caleb smiled, his eyes glancing toward Claire standing by the window. “I only work with oak, sir. Oak doesn't lie, and neither do I.”
Caleb didn't become a millionaire overnight, nor did he marry Claire the very next day for an easy fairytale ending. He refused the huge bonus. Instead, he asked Mr. Harrison for a small loan to open his own carpentry workshop on the edge of the woods.
On the workshop's opening day, Claire was the first customer. She wasn't wearing a silk dress; she wore simple jeans and a shirt.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
Caleb looked up, beads of sweat glistening on his forehead. “I'm making an armchair for your father. He needs a sturdy seat in the library.”
“And for me?” Claire smiled.
Caleb took out a small piece of wood, carved with the image of a wild rose – the only flower that could grow among the barren rocks. “For you, this is the heart of this carpenter. It doesn't sparkle like a diamond, but it will never break.”
In the frigid New England, a true love was kindled, not from glamorous parties, but from the courage and integrity of a man considered “the bottom of society.”
The truth, like wood grain, may be obscured by a layer of splendid paint, but time and perseverance will always bring it to light.
💡 Lesson from the story
Social status or wealth never define a person's character. A genuine heart can be hidden behind dirty clothes, and a devilish soul can wear the finest suit. Never judge a book by its cover, and always trust your intuition for kindness.