Chapter 149 Desires Are Limitless
“After the incident, Alex brought Jordan home and looked him all over, but he didn’t find anything. They found out that the nanny had skipped work that day. It wasn’t her first time, but Jordan was always obedient so nothing ever happened. During the day before the incident, however, Jordan happened to catch a cold and develop a high fever, then one thing led to another.”
Gale remembered what happened that year very clearly. Of all the years he knew Alexander, he had never seen him that angry before. Jordan was his biological son. Scott wanted him to settle down, so he gave him a grandson to deal with. Even though Alexander acted like he did not care, when something happened to Jordan, he was more worried than anyone else.
“What happened to the nanny?” Oliver asked.
“Of course, she got fired. After Alex brought Jordan home, he handpicked every housekeeper they hired. He brought Jordan along on his business trips whenever he could. If he wasn’t around, then Britney would look after Jordan. She was not the only one who wanted to be Jordan’s stepmother, but she was the only one who could reach him. How would she dare to neglect him?”
“That might not be entirely true.” Oliver looked calm. “If Britney could only reach Jordan after the incident, and get to Alexander through him, then she is obviously the biggest beneficiary here.”
“She is.” Gale failed to notice the implication of his words. “Isn’t that what I meant?”
Courtney, however, picked up on it. “Are you saying that what happened to Jordan has something to do with Britney?”
They were stunned.
Oliver’s face was still hard to read, and he spoke in an unhurried manner. “I’m just speculating. Besides, Alexander is famous for his disinterest in women. Britney was the only one who appeared next to him from time to time, but he didn’t treat her any differently. If all of this happened so she could use Jordan for personal gains, then it actually makes sense.”
They felt chills all over from hearing his explanation.
What could someone do by using a child?
Courtney quickly thought of clinical cases where childhood trauma resulted in mental illnesses.
Some children who suffered severe psychological distress ended up becoming traumatized and refused to interact with people.
“She wouldn’t go that far to do that.” Gale looked baffled. “Don’t you think you’re going overboard with your conspiracy theory? Even if you give Britney all the courage in the world, she still wouldn’t dare to pull this stunt in front of Alex. Two years ago, she was just a small-time actress who was not well-known; who did not have much of a background; and who knew her place. It was only because of those reasons that Alex let her pretend to be his girlfriend to fool Scott.”
“There is no limit to desire. I believe Alexander played a big part in helping her become who she is today over the past two years,” Oliver commented, then abruptly changed the topic. “Let’s eat. It’s cooked now.”
After dinner, Gale and Oliver were in the kitchen doing the dishes when Gale asked bluntly, “How do you know so much?”
“Is it that hard to find out?” Oliver glanced at him. “You just have to search on the internet. It’s the 21st century, Gale.”
“What was your intention for looking up those things?” Gale had his guard up now.
“I wanted to find my memories.” Oliver shrugged. “Maybe I was a police officer in training; I seem naturally sensitive to my surroundings. But, I was just saying. Why are you so tense?”
Gale pulled his brows together. “I would advise you not to pry any further.”
“Oh?” Oliver shot him a questioning look. “I think I hear various implications in that.”
“It’s nothing like that. If you don’t want trouble, then don’t bring this up again. Do you think people are fools who don’t know anything? It involves tremendous financial benefits and isn’t as simple as you think it is.”
Oliver raised his eyebrows but did not exhibit any intention to reply.
He was well aware that huge financial benefits could drive a person mad.
Gale assumed that his warning was enough to stop Oliver from talking, but before Oliver left, he told Courtney everything without missing a beat.
After closing the door behind her, Courtney did not even know how she made it back to her room. It just felt like her mind was a tangled ball of mess that could not be undone.
Does that mean Alex knew about what happened all along? But, why did he act like he had no clue? He keeps telling people that Jordan lost his ability to speak because of the high fever he developed from being neglected by his nanny.
Could someone really use a child as bait and a bargaining chip for financial gains?
Oliver’s words kept replaying in her mind.
“Two years ago, not long after Jordan’s incident, Alexander’s cousin stepped down from his position as the chief financial officer of Sunhill Enterprise. Scott also legally acquired all the shares he had on hand. When the board of directors was dismissed, the only entity that was capable of going up against Alexander in the Duncan Family was also gone. That was how Alexander secured his position as president at Sunhill Enterprise.”
Alexander was the only child in the Duncan Family in his generation, but he had numerous cousins. That year, a number of his cousins were on the board of directors at the company, and many also held important positions in each department.
At the time, Scott said he would not let Alexander be the successor if he did not get married. For the sake of the inheritance, Alexander even gave him a grandchild through surrogacy. During that time, Jordan was only a trivial living being of little importance to Alexander.
The more Courtney thought about it, the more she felt chills in her bones and she dared not to think any further.
Perhaps I’m overthinking this.
Late at night, at an obscure jazz bar, the sounds of chatter in booths blended with the slow music. A woman with a slender body moved through the public space to a private room on the second floor. When she pushed open the door, her face tensed up under her sunglasses.
A lone young man was inside the room, leaning against the window as he looked down at the jazz performance below. A single glass of whisky sat on the industrial-styled table before him.
Looking at his side profile, the woman tightened her grip on her handbag and walked in.
“Are you Benjamin Ford?”
“You’re here, aren’t you? Why bother asking when you already know?” He scorned. “Sit down. You can order anything you want. Even though I’m going to press charges against you for attempted murder, we still have time for this.”
Britney’s face went white. Looking around nervously, she mumbled, “I told you. I’ll give you as much as you want. This issue ends here.”
“I do like money, but I want to change things up a bit this time.” He smirked and a menacing look grew in his eyes. “I want to take back what’s mine. If you help me, I can pretend like you never inflicted harm on me before or that you cost someone their life.”
“What do you want me to help you with?”
“Alexander’s son. He’s a real eyesore to me—get rid of him.”
The expression on her face shifted. “Are you telling me to kill someone?”
“It’s not like you’ve never done it before.” He shot her a sidelong glance.
Britney felt an intense shudder.
“Haven’t you always yearned to be the Duncans’ daughter-in-law? If you get rid of that nuisance, you’ll have that chance. As for me, I just happen to have some bad blood with Alexander. It’s that simple.”
