Cody was a bit relieved after realizing the situation.
That was right. The investigation was still going, and the result hadn’t come out yet. Why was he so nervous?
“You also think he was the one who did it, don’t you?” Linford suddenly threw a question.
Cody was silent. This was exactly what he thought. The possibility that Jasper was the culprit.
Linford reclined in his chair, “You’ve already had an answer. You just refuse to believe it. You still want to believe that Jasper is a good person.”
Cody dropped his gaze, getting even more silent.
Linford sighed, “People’s minds are hard to predict. I know the bond between you and Jasper is special. That man loves your Mom, and he would even go against his family just to win your Mom. But he won’t be with Cristelle no matter how hard he tries.”
“Why?” Cody huffed, “Because you won’t allow it?”
Linford shook his head, “The truth is, your Mom doesn’t love that man at all. Or they would have been together a long time ago. The second reason is that your Mom already has you and your sister. She didn’t want you guys to endure hardship because of her marriage. Jasper is the oldest son of his family. He probably has been temporarily removed from the Johnson House, but he won’t stay like that forever. One day, he will return to his family and take over their business. But his family will never accept Cristelle and her children.”
Cody was unhappy upon hearing the sad truth, “Are you telling me that Mom can’t pursue her happiness because of us?”
“Not entirely. I am your father. I will never let Cristelle take away my children from me. Moreover, Cristelle will never leave you guys behind and be with another man. That’s merely the reason why Jasper is out of his mind, thinking he could get your mother,” Linford had nothing to hide. He only wanted to make himself clear.
Cody quickly asked his father, “So, without my sister and me, you and Mom will naturally drift apart. Jasper, thus will have a bigger chance to be with her.”
Linford nodded deliberately, seriously looking at his son.
Cody was a smart kid. He instantly understood a lot of things after learning this theory, “Then… Candace’s leg….”
Linford nodded again, “Yes, Jasper’s also a part of that. But he’s really sneaky. He didn’t leave any evidence behind.”
So, not only did that man try to murder him, but he also tried to break Candace’s leg.
Cody’s hands clenched into little fists, “Does Mom know any of this information?”
“She doesn’t know yet. I never told her, as I don’t want to upset her.” Linford sighed, “Don’t be too sad, Cody. At least you finally understood who that guy really is.”
“I was wrong,” Cody’s head bowed, “I shouldn’t have given him any hope.”
“He came back sooner for your Mom. He already had his plan. He would still play his little tricks even if you didn’t give him any hope,” Linford shook his head, and then he suddenly realized something, “Wait… Did you give him hope? When did that happen?”
Cody didn’t say anything as he jumped off the chair.
“Boy, don’t blame yourself too much. There are all sorts of people in this world. But you will learn to distinguish those who genuinely care about you from those who only want to use you eventually.”
Cody’s head bowed as he held the door open.
“I know you don’t trust me for now. But Pop, Mom, and Candace are the ones who truly care about you. Are you gonna let them get worried by approaching those dangerous people?” Linford added more remarkable words.
Those words finally brought a reaction out of the boy, “I won’t let them down again. I will remember your words, Dad.”
With that, he opened the door and left.
****
Cristelle held Candace in her arms and swiftly went back to her room. Candace couldn’t understand the conversation between her brother and her dad. But Cristelle had almost heard everything.
Jasper had tried to use Julia to harm Candace. And he had even sent those people to kill Cody? Cristelle’s mind was in chaos.
Cody had never trusted anyone like he trusted Jasper. How could he do this to her son?
Cristelle could only blame herself for these problems that occurred to them. Things wouldn’t have turned out worse if she had never given that man any hope.
She should haven’t been soft in front of Jasper Johnson and given him any chance to harm her children.
It was all her fault.
****
The board members of Diego’s company were sitting in the meeting room at the moment. Most of them wanted to halt the ongoing plan. The stock price of Linford’s company recovered overnight. If the plan didn’t stop right now, none of them would end up well.
However, Diego appeared to be extremely stubborn this time. Sitting on the main chair of the meeting room, Diego looked one by one to these people heatedly, “The plan won’t be halted. We’ve taken the mainstream audiences during this period. And we will soon win the battle. The victory is waiving us. How can we just back out and let the Bradley House dominate?”
One of the shareholders looked worried, saying, “I would have supported you if Linford Bradley didn’t come back. Since his return, their stock price has surged up overnight; after a couple of days, it dived down when Linford was away. We’ve taken our chance and made our money. It’s time to back off.”
Other shareholders also agreed. Pissing off Linford Bradley was not wise. Sam also had the same thought. He’d been a businessman all his life, and he knew how to avoid risks. Before he could say anything to persuade his son, however, Diego suddenly laughed coldly, “Linford Bradley came back, and all of you suddenly decided to quit? You’re all scared of him that much?”
The way Diego spilled out these remarks was too blunt, making everyone in the room embarrassed.
Sam cleared his throat, “Son, they’re just worried about the company’s welfare.”
“I don’t understand all your worries. We’re in a good position right now. So why should we quit the market? If we quit right now, we will never have any chance as good as this one in the future. Don’t you guys want to make our company big?” Diego sounded pretty excited, “If any of you want to quit the project because you’re scared, you probably should fuck off because I don’t want to hire cowards.”