“Why? What are you gonna do? Asking your billionaire husband to kill me?” Melody leaned against the frame of the door, “It’s not like the Bradley family is still as powerful as before. People are boycotting their brand. He’s gonna get bankrupt soon.”
“I don’t know what my husband will do,” Cristelle hissed, “But he will definitely make you pay for what you’ve done to my poor mother.”
“What have I ever done to her?” Melody sneered, “She was just too weak to keep her man around. It wasn’t my fault that she was old and miserable. It would help if you thanked me. At least your dad got to live a couple of happy days when he was in my bed.”
“Candace, Cody,” Claire suddenly snapped loud and clear, “Turn around!”
Cody frowned a bit, but he still brought his sister to turn around with him as his aunt told them to, still covering Candace’s ear.
“What are you gonna do?” Melody was confused.
Claire dashed forward and slapped her face.
“YOU SLUT!” Melody snarled, covering her swollen face.
“If you dare to say that shit about my parents or my sister, I swear to cut your tongue off!” Claire hissed, “Cristelle might get a family, but I’m a runaway. I might cut your limbs off before returning to Africa, and those policemen are going to do shit.”
Claire’s stare was cutting. Melody flinched.
Cristelle was surprised to see this side of her older sister. She swallowed and pulled the babies in.
Melody didn’t dare to say anything horrible again before they left.
Cristelle went to Linford’s office without the babies. The man stood up from his chair as he saw them come back.
“You’re back, honey. I was so worried.”
Drew acted like he was gonna throw up after hearing Linford’s coquetry.
Cristelle ignored him and went forth, “I just saw Melody. I couldn’t tell if there was anything with her.”
Linford walked forth and pulled her into a tight hug before she could finish the sentence, “Sorry for putting you through this. I wouldn’t have sent you to meet that woman if I had another choice.”
“I know,” Cristelle nodded, “I paid attention to the things she said and didn’t see any sign of threatening. You said she would threaten me that she would expose my identity if Miles had contacted her, right?
“Yes,” Linford said darkly.
He had sent his men to keep an eye on Melody Wilson. Melody hated Cristelle and Claire’s guts, and she was in need of money. Moreover, she would have threatened Cristelle with the exposure of her identity if Miles had found her and used her.
Linford would have gone there himself and interrogated that woman if he didn’t care about making Miles alert.
Sending Cristelle was his best choice.
“So, you think Melody is Miles’s triumph card?” Drew frowned.
“Yes,” Linford said calmly, “The White family would never dare to fall out with us officially. They wouldn’t dare to expose Cristelle’s identity. Melody is a perfect puppet if Miles wants to make a splash.”
“But I don’t get it,” Drew frowned, “It’s not like marrying a corrupt politician’s daughter is illegal. Why are you guys so nervous about Cristelle’s identity being exposed?”
“There are no laws saying marrying a family member of a criminal is illegal, but our enemies will use this,” Linford said grimly.
Big houses like Bradley usually had connections with the government. The relationships between different parties were intricate. Cristelle’s identity was not a bomb but a fuse.
Bradley’s enemies would use the fact as an excuse to sabotage Bradley’s relationship with other parties and stir up wars. They would think Bradley shared some secret interests with Isaac Friesley’s group, and Bradley would have enemies in front and rear.
That was not something Linford would ever want to see, not to mention his Dad and Enzo were still working in the military.
Drew thought it through in a split second, “So, you’ve expected that Miles would use Melody, and you’ve been waiting for him to give his game away?”
Linford smiled.
Drew suddenly shuddered. He had never felt so lucky that he wasn’t Linford’s enemy. This man was godly calculating.
“Actually, I think Miles’s capable more than that,” Linford turned to face the doctor, “I suspect he has a secret group to help him to do dirty jobs.”
Cristelle frowned, “Those people would also help him to kill? Isn’t that illegal?”
Linford nodded with a triumphant smile, “That is exactly what I want to dig out.”
Drew let out a long breath, “So, you’ve been waiting for evidence? Whew! It seems like Miles Johnson will be truly destroyed this time!”
****
Mrs. White was frowning at the pile of files Rachel had just sent her, “It seems like Miles is trying to destroy Linford this time.”
“Indeed,” Rachel shook her head, “The stock of the Bradley House just took a nosedive. I don’t think they will recover any earlier.”
Mrs. White put those files away and took up her tea, “I don’t think so. We both know Linford Bradley is not someone who would just sit there when someone is doing this to his family and company.”
“I know. But their PR team also seems desperate. They act like they don’t know what to do anymore.” Rachel still thought Linford didn’t stand a chance this time, “Linford wouldn’t have any good plans. He would have turned the table by now if he was capable of doing so.”
Mrs. White sniffed, “You underestimated Linford, Rachel. And you also underestimated Miles. Do you think this is just a war in the business field? Miles wants Linford dead this time.”
Miles wanted Linford dead? Rachel’s mouth fell open.
“More than that, White and Weston are Miles’s targets as well. That boy’s determined to push the Johnson House to the throne this time,” Mrs. White was furious whenever she mentioned Johnson.
The most outrageous among all the things was that… As aware as she was of the situation, she could do nothing because of her wayward and stupid granddaughter.
“Pitifully, Lana chose Miles’s side this time,” Rachel dropped her gaze, suddenly feeling extremely desperate. She could tell that Mrs. White still wanted to fix her relationship with the Bradley family.
But now things have become like this. They probably had lost all their chances if they really wanted to.