Seeing Jaime kneel down without hesitation, Grandpa’s expression softened a little and he said:
-Do you know why?
Jaime lowered his head and his face was pale, he had a feeling that grandfather must know something. Maybe the Santangel family had said something to grandfather.
But he couldn’t recognize it. Once he recognized, it would leave a bad impression on grandfather.
Jaime hesitated for a moment and chose to gamble this time. He lowered his head, said meekly:
-Grandpa, I don’t know what mistake I made. But if Grandpa says I made some mistake, then I must be wrong about some things. I will correct…
Before he finished speaking, Grandpa slapped him straight across the face.
There was a resounding slapping sound that echoed noticeably in such a quiet room.
Jaime’s face twisted after the loud slap and his bangs fell slightly covering his eyes, making his warm face look grim.
Grandpa looked at him with a sullen face and gazed at him dissatisfied:
-Jaime, how many resources I have invested to train you since I was a child. If you recognize what you have done today, I can still say that you are a man, but you don’t even dare to admit it.
-Grandfather, I… -Jaime wanted to explain anxiously after hearing what he said.
His grandfather looked at him and threw the photos left by the Santangel family in the morning in his face:
-Look, the Santangel family has obtained evidence that you tried to murder Umberto. In addition to the photos, there are also audio recordings. The evidence is conclusive. You can’t deny it.
Jaime looked at these photos and the place where he was hit in the face became more painful.
He always thought that the Santangel family had not found any trace of them. Who would have thought that they not only found them, but also photographed them as evidence.
Silently they reacted strongly against him.
Jaime held up these photos, his fingers trembling slightly.
Grandfather looked at him and said:
-Luckily, Umberto is okay this time. If something really happened, do you think the Santangel family will give up? It won’t be enough if you pay with your life. Maybe even our family can’t escape.
When Serio left the leadership of the Santangel family, Jaime was still young and did not know the methods of the Santangel family.
What happened this morning testified that the Seco Family was no match for the Santangel family. Mr. Santangel was a scheming man, no matter what, he could handle everything with ease. Even the Alfredo was inferior to him in this respect, much less Jaime.
Even Jaime was inferior to his grandson Umberto.
When Jaime heard the news that Umberto was not dead, he panicked for a moment. He lowered his head so that his grandfather would not discover his expression. And he apologized:
-Grandfather, it’s my fault. I lost my mind. Umberto has been against me these days, ruining a lot of my business. I am so angry. Besides, under Yolanda’s spell, I came up with this bad idea. I did wrong, I’m immature and irrational.
Grandpa was more disappointed when he heard this.
In front of him, Jaime was not honest. He apologized, but he blamed Yolanda.
He himself pushed the blame on Yolanda in front of the Santangel family to protect Jaime. He already knew very well the process of the whole thing. But in front of his grandfather, Jaime used the words he taught him, this feeling was really indescribably uncomfortable and disappointing.
Grandpa looked at him with deep eyes, without a word.
Jaime, hearing that Grandpa did not speak, raised his head and met Grandpa’s complex eyes, and was stunned for a moment.
-Grandfather?
-Don’t call me grandfather,” Alfredo stopped looking at his grandson and said with anger in his voice, “You are not the smartest, nor are you the most talented in business. But I feel that, under my teaching, you are a truly gentle child with kindness. It doesn’t matter if you have intentions or tricks in business. But I didn’t expect you to use them on me.
-Grandfather! -Jaime shouted in panic, and took two steps on his knees, full of fear.
He was really panicking. From childhood to adulthood, even if he made mistakes and failed in business, Grandpa never looked at him like that.
When Jaime thought of his cousins he had just found downstairs, his heart became a mess, he was afraid and hateful.
-Grandpa, I know what I did wrong. I really know I made a big mistake. Yes, I came up with the idea of settling Umberto. We have had conflicts for a long time and there have always been frictions in business. So I joined Yolanda to get rid of Umberto and his girlfriend. I was wrong.
Jaime quickly revealed everything he had thought before, very anxious.
When Grandpa saw that he finally stopped pretending in front of him, his expression softened a little, but his eyes were still serious.
-Jaime, I won’t say any more. You know what you did yourself. The Santangel family people came with this evidence today and forced us to explain. To protect you, I accepted three conditions for them.
Jaime swallowed saliva, raised his head and looked at his grandfather. His voice was hoarse:
-What?
Grandfather didn’t beat around the bush and said directly:
-First, you must apologize to Umberto in person, videotape the whole process and post it on the company’s home page -Alfredo added- -You don’t need to explain the reason for the apology.
Jaime gritted his teeth and looked embarrassed. If he apologized, not only would he show that he was inferior to Umberto, but also people inside and outside the circle would laugh at him. Since then, how would he win a place in the circle in the future?
-Grandfather, no, this cannot be done. If I apologize… It doesn’t matter to me, I can’t make the Seco family be humiliated by the Santangel family.
Jaime said anxiously, showing that he thought of the family’s benefits.
Mr. Seco waved his hand:
-You have to do it in every case. What you committed this time is not a common crime. It was an attempted murder and the object was Umberto. Our family can’t do anything to cover it up. If you don’t, what awaits you is imprisonment, think about it.
Grandfather knew Jaime’s character very well and he could tell which was more important. Indeed, Jaime lowered his head, struggled for a long time and decided to apologize.
-I will go to the Santangel family house to apologize this afternoon -his voice was hoarse, with a helplessness to accept his fate, but his eyes were full of anger and his fingers were clenched tightly.
The first condition was so, and the remaining two should not be simple.
Jaime’s heart was numb and he listened to his grandfather.
-Secondly, we have to break the relationship with the Carballal family and stop being the sponsor of the Carballal family.
These words made Jaime very surprised. Although this condition was not hard, for Jaime, it was equivalent to taking the flesh off his body.
This showed that the Santangel Group would take action against the Carballal Group. Without the help of the Seco Family, the fate of the Carballal Group would only be ruined.
Jaime had been planning for so long and had put so much effort into Yolanda, and he already thought that the Carballal Group would belong to him.
This action by the Santangel family could be considered to have ruined his efforts.
Jaime felt pain in his heart, but under his grandfather’s scorn, he still gritted his teeth and answered:
-And, the third? -Jaime asked in a trembling voice.
Grandfather did not answer for a long time.
For the third condition, much less for Jaime, even Alfredo did not want to accept it. But the matter was a foregone conclusion, he had already promised the Santangel family and could not regret it.
-You have to leave the family and you cannot return to Sogen City for two years. Nor can you interfere in the affairs of the Seco Group headquarters.
Jaime suddenly raised his head, his eyes were red, he looked at Grandfather in disbelief and then shook his head frantically:
-Grandfather, no, I absolutely cannot agree with this, I….
As he spoke, he suddenly thought of Pedro Leoz and other cousins.
It was the reason why grandfather allowed them to come to the Seco family early in the morning. It turned out to be so.
His hands were shaking and he could barely maintain his kneeling position.
It took Jaime so long to cultivate the circle of trust in Sogen City. If he left the power center, in two years, those people could have been controlled by Peter.
He could buy them through benefits. Peter could do the same. Anyway, the people were loyal to no one.
Two years later, when he returned to the Seco Family, he was probably alone and had nothing left.
The Santangel family’s trick was cruel indeed.
Jaime’s eyes were moist, and he almost bit his lower lip until it bled. He looked at his grandfather pleadingly.
He returned to the Seco family at the age of eight, he was almost raised by grandfather. He became an orphan, he was the only grandson of the grandfather. The death of his son and daughter-in-law caused him to devote all his resources and affection to Jaime.
Although he was strict with him since he was a child, he truly loved his grandson.
Grandfather sighed and did not dare to look Jaime in the eyes. He only said:
-You can leave the family quietly. For the last two years, I will manage our company again and wait for you to come back. Don’t worry. Grupo Seco is yours. You are my only grandson.
Jaime breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the front.
After a long time, he said:
-Thank you, grandfather. I agree to all three conditions.