“Dad, please think it over!” Jason’s face showed panic. “The Meredith family has sinister intentions; we must be cautious. It used to be you against their old man, now it’s me against Josiah Meredith.”
“Now Jackson can’t come back, and I’m at a crucial turning point in my career. The Meredith family and the Wrightao family are about to form an alliance, complicating matters even further…”
“We have to be careful. If we let Leo give the Meredith family any leverage, we might end up losing more than we gain.”
Nicholas remained silent, his face stern. Jason’s words were reasonable and echoed his own concerns.
The Bloomer family was in a tumultuous period. With Leo’s arrival, the dynamics could change unpredictably.
After all, Jason’s wife, Jacob’s wife, and his two daughters were not easy to deal with.
The Bloomer and Meredith families were like two fierce tigers and hungry wolves, each waiting for the other to expose a weak spot to pounce on.
“I’ve owed Jackson for so many years already. Should I continue to owe him?” Nicholas’s eyes glistened with tears after a long silence.
Among his three sons, Jackson had sacrificed the most, and Nicholas felt he owed him the most.
“Dad, the bigger picture is more important!” Jason bent down to comfort him. “Besides, even if Leo is Jackson’s son, acknowledging him now might not be a good thing.”
“This could affect Jackson’s mindset. You know what mission Jackson is on this time; any mistake could be disastrous…”
“And we’re not even sure if Leo is really part of the Bloomer family. Even if he is, we can acknowledge him later. After all these years, a little more time won’t hurt.”
Nicholas fell silent again before letting out a long sigh, seemingly making up his mind. “You are the head of the family; you decide. Let’s pretend nothing happened today.”
“Thank you for understanding, Father!” Jason sighed in relief. “By the way, Dad, you haven’t told Mom about this, have you? Her health can’t take any shocks…”
“I’m not that senile yet!” Nicholas shot him a stern look. “I heard Leo went back to Langstel?”
“Yes,” Jason replied quickly.
“Invite him to the capital when you have time. Let him meet your mother; she keeps talking about him.” Nicholas sighed.
Nicholas had once led the entire Bloomer family and knew how to balance personal feelings with family interests.
But his wife couldn’t. She constantly wanted to see Leo, despite being told multiple times that Leo wasn’t Jackson’s son. She had placed all her longing for her grandson onto Leo.
“Yes, Dad. I heard Xavier has a good relationship with him; he should be able to invite him over.” Jason quickly agreed.
After leaving Karson Ballard’s house, Leo took Christine and Arlene Dan back to their antique shop.
Spirit Moon Antiques had a layout similar to Nameless Chinese Clinic, with a shop in front and living quarters in the back. The Dan sisters usually lived in the antique shop.
After dropping off the sisters, Leo returned to his room at the clinic, chatted with Sophia Henley on the phone for a while, and then began his training.
The next morning, after breakfast, Leo drove directly to Herbal Magic Cosmetics Company.
It had been a long time since he visited his own cosmetics factory, and he wondered how Curitis Noah and the others were doing.
At the factory, Leo met Curitis Noah, Roy Haggai, Jim Silas, Clark Dorothy, and Jonas Gus but didn’t see Bard Adela.
From Curitis Noah, Leo learned that Bard Adela hadn’t been to work for several days because of gambling debts.
Curitis Noah and the others had looked for Bard Adela but found out he had become an enforcer for a casino due to owing them a million dollars.
After understanding the situation, Leo asked Curitis Noah to take him to the casino.
The casino was located in a private cement plant on the outskirts of town. Officially it produced cement but secretly operated as a casino.
An hour later, guided by Curitis Noah, they arrived at the gate of “Rising Cement Plant.”
The guards were not elderly men but burly young men equipped with walkie-talkies and sharp eyes.
Seeing Leo and Curitis Noah approach, one of the guards squinted and then focused on Curitis Noah. “Here to see Bard Adela again?”
Curitis Noah nodded.
The guard waved them in impatiently.
Inside the plant, Curitis Noah led Leo through the facility until they reached a row of small factories from which sounds could be heard.
“They’re quite blatant about it. Aren’t they afraid of getting raided by the police?” Leo chuckled.
“Leo, the boss here has connections everywhere and is said to have guns,” Curitis Noah explained.
Leo smiled but said nothing.
Entering the factory and passing through a soundproof door, they were greeted by the typical noise of a casino.
Leo scanned the room and quickly spotted Bard Adela.
“Bard Adela!” Curitis Noah called out.
Bard Adela was patrolling the casino. Hearing his name, he looked over and froze momentarily before walking over to Leo and Curitis Noah.
“Leo,” Bard Adela greeted meekly.
“Looks like you’re doing well here. No wonder you don’t want to work at Herbal Magic Cosmetics Company anymore,” Leo said with a half-smile.
A shadow crossed Bard Adela’s face as he forced a smile. “I had no choice…”
“Why do you owe money to the casino?” Leo asked.
Bard Adela hesitated before explaining. “My mother fell seriously ill and needed a lot of money for treatment. The casino boss is an old acquaintance who agreed to lend me money on the condition that I work here for five years.”
“How much did he lend you?” Leo asked again.
“A million dollars.”
“I’ll give you a million dollars to pay off your debt. Then you can return to work at Herbal Magic Cosmetics Company,” Leo said directly.
“Bard Adela, you must be mistaken. You owe us five million now,” a man’s voice suddenly interrupted.
A man in his fifties appeared beside them. He was slightly overweight with a retro mustache and slicked-back hair. Holding a cigar, he looked at Leo with interest.
“Five million?” Leo raised an eyebrow. “What’s going on?”