“I don’t trust the test you did, Lana White,” Linford hissed, “Who knows what kind of dirty tricks you played this time.”
“What an absolute eye-opener,” Mrs. White took a step forward, the look on her face was harsh and sarcastic, “I’ve never seen any young gentleman from our class try to deny their babies without even casting a look at the DNA report. Are you questioning the essence of my Lana right now, Linford? Do you need me to remind you how you brought your Cody and Candace to this world years ago?”
Linford went pale.
Franco knew Mrs. White was accusing Linford right now. But Lana getting pregnant was a fact. He knew he couldn’t say anything.
“As for Cristelle Friesley, I’m not interested in revealing her filthy origin to anyone. But I also don’t know how long the secret can be kept. Guess it completely depends on your proud and noble Bradleys,” Mrs. White sniffed as she stood up from the couch, “Lana, let’s go.”
Franco cleared his throat, “Ann, please allow us some time. We will definitely find a solution to make everyone happy.”
Mrs. White stopped and looked over her shoulder, “Haven’t I made it clear enough? I won’t expose Cristelle’s secret, but my granddaughter’s pregnancy is a fact. I won’t let it slide easily.”
With that, she just walked out of the mansion. Lana cast a rueful look at Linford before following up.
Linford turned around to ask, “Where is Cristelle? Where did you guys keep her?”
“You dare to mention her again!” Darwin thundered, “Do you even know who that girl is? Do you want to bring us down with her?”
Linford snapped back, “The one who was bribed was her father. She has never done anything wrong! Why would the Bradley House get involved after we get married?”
“You are such a fool!” Darwin spat, “Is the prosperity of our family a joke to you? Have you ever thought about Enzo? How’s he gonna get promoted after you marry a corrupt politician’s daughter? The White family also didn’t want to have any connections with Cristelle! That case had too many parties involved!”
“Too many parties? Does it also have something to do with Clyde’s death?” Linford narrowed his eyes, “The Friesley family’s corruption was found out through the collapse of a substandard building. Why are you guys so nervous right now? Does our family also have something to do with the collapsed building?”
“Stop asking anything, Linford!” Franco struggled to stand up. “Those things have passed. You don’t need to worry about it anymore. We’ve lost Clyde. We don’t want anything to happen to you or Enzo.”
Franco was basically admitting that the case had something to do with Clyde’s death.
Linford swallowed.
“Linford, come with me to the study room. I have something to tell you,” Franco ordered calmly.
Franco brought Linford to the study room, his tone harsh and serious, “Linford, I want you to explain everything. Is Lana really pregnant with your child?”
Linford poured his grandpa a couple of tea before taking his seat, “It’s definitely not mine.”
“Then how did she get the DHA test?” Franco was suspicious.
“She could fake the result. I swear that I’ve never touched her,” Linford’s attitude remained solid.
“Do you really think Lana would fake something like this?” Pop kept asking.
“She definitely wants to marry me. I also didn’t expect her to sink so low,” Linford clenched his teeth.
Even at the moment like this, Linford was still composed and self-assured. Franco couldn’t detect a tinge of panic in his eyes.
Franco looked at Linford steadily. This boy was his proudest grandson. He would never let anyone frame him so randomly.
“Fine. Let’s put this issue aside. What do you think about Cristelle?” Franco sounded a bit tired.
Linford answered directly, “I don’t mind who she is. I want to spend the rest of my life with her and our babies.”
“Do you still think you guys can be together?” Franco “The rise of the Bradley family is based on power. The people above gave us a lot of benefits when we started our business. Your father and brother are also working in the government and military. If we get involved with the daughter of a corrupt politician, they will definitely give your father and brother a hard time. They would probably designate Enzo to a more dangerous area. Do you really want to put your brother in danger?” Franco sighed, “You’re the most reliable son in this family. You can’t do something recklessly and put the fate of the whole family in danger.”
Big houses valued the union of two families. Usually, the union was more than the combination of a man and a woman. It was about the benefits the two families shared.
Since Cristelle had a corrupt father, her tainted reputation might bring disaster to the family that will accept her.
Women like that would never be able to marry into a big house unless they had values to be used.
“Pop, I know what you’re worried about,” Linford’s voice was gentle yet assuring, “To be honest with you, Pop, our encounter was never a coincidence. Someone designed this.”
Designed?
Franco looked up as he heard the word, “Why is that?”
“Just think about it, Pop. I’m a Bradley member, while Cristelle is the youngest daughter of the Friesley family. She has been living abroad until she was 18. There are not so many people knowing who she really is. So how did we just spend a night 6 years ago and have babies?”
Franco pondered for a second, “Continue.”
“It proved that somebody already had his eyes on me when I showed up in her town 6 years ago. That person designed our encounter and wiped off my memories. You guys have nothing to do with my memory loss, have you?”
Franco’s jaw clenched at that question.
Linford was right. The boy acted like a madman when he returned from Cristelle’s town 6 years ago. He had spent 6 months in the hospital before he got better.
His memory loss had never been Franco’s plan.
Pop had known that Linford’s situation was a warning. Someone had warned them that they should stop investigating the cause of Clyde’s death. Or the same tragedy would also happen to other sons of the Bradley family.