Hayden stared at William with wide eyes and a look of disbelief on his face.
“You’re threatening me for her? Did you threaten your father for a woman? You b*stard!”
Hayden was so angry that he was gasping for breath. “Alright, I’ll see what you can do! Even if you die, I’ll never let you be with her!”
William sneered and the words he said were harsh. “A real father? Ha!! You left me and ignored me. What makes you think you have the right to control my happiness now? Is just because I’m your son?”
William knew that he couldn’t shrink back at all. Now, he was arguing with Hayden. If he showed even the slightest hesitation or reluctance, Hayden would take advantage of it.
A decision was not always certain. For the sake of Valeria and his happiness, he couldn’t change his mind, and he had to be callous as well to force his father into submission.
He wouldn’t give Hayden the slightest chance to catch his breath. Indeed, when he brought up the topic of himself overseas, a trace of panic flashed across Hayden’s face. “I’m not… I…”
“You don’t have to explain. I know why you’re treating me like that. I knew it!” William once again interrupted Hayden.
“Thirteen years ago, I entered the best university in the world. I thought that what was waiting for me was a bright future, but do you know what I have gone through? When I got my first scholarship, I was kidnapped!”
“What… Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I remember everything that happened that day. They tied me up to a stone and prepared to drown me in the lake. Do you know how I escaped from that disaster?”
As a father, Hayden did not even know that his beloved son had experienced such tragedy. He did not dare to ask William as he was embarrassed to sit in front of him.
William did not feel even the slightest bit of pity as Hayden lowered his head. Then, he calmly continued.
“I always knew that someone wanted to kill me! Hence, I always hid a dagger inside my shirt. I’m sure that they thought I was just some kid who was easy to get rid of, but I cut the rope inside the water. When I emerged, the men were talking and smoking by the lake as they waited for me to die. Do you know what I did to them?”
Hayden’s voice was dry and powerless. “Did you kill them?”
“No, why would I kill them? It’s all over when a person dies. Wouldn’t it be too easy on them if I killed them?”
William said calmly, “They didn’t notice at all when I went up. Then, I just blinded their eyes.”
“You! How did you do that?”
“In order to survive, there’s nothing you can’t do! I’m just luckier than others,” William replied calmly.
“What happened after that?” Hayden’s voice was trembling.
“Afterwards? That day was the turning point of my life. On the way back, I accidentally saved Bobby. Since I saved him, no one dared to bully me again. This is because he was a grateful person. He told me that his life belonged to me. If someone dared to bully me, they had to get past Bobby first!”
Then, William took out a cigarette and lit it. The smoke swirled in the air. His voice was cold as he said, “To save Bobby, I spent two years hard at work. I’m the son of the Howard family and my father is very rich, but it has nothing to do with me. When I helped Bobby, I needed a large amount of money.”
“Where’s the money I’ve given you? Why didn’t you ask me for it?” Hayden asked agitatedly.
“How dare I expect a person who doesn’t even pay attention to his son to share everything with me? I knew that I could only rely on myself since I left home!”
Then, William spat out a smoke ring. “It proves that I am right. You only thought of me when I became a laughing stock to everyone. Don’t you think it’s too late? How could you expect someone you gave up on to suddenly become an exemplary son?”
“William, I’m sorry!” Hayden spat out a few words seriously. “I’m sorry. It’s not that I don’t like you. I’m just…”
“Well, you don’t have to say anything sentimental. Dad, let’s talk about the present. I hope you don’t force me to hate you as I never wanted to! I am the only one who gets to decide on my happiness and no one can change it! Please don’t mention the good things you have done to me! You weren’t by my side when I was in danger, and I stopped being your son ten years ago!”
Hayden was so angry that he left the presidential suite with his tail between his legs.
After getting back to the car outside, he covered his face as his shoulders trembled. Finally, the mighty Hayden Howard felt helpless.
After Hayden left, William let out an angry sigh. He didn’t want to say those hurtful words to Hayden. If it was possible, he wouldn’t want to mention his past experience abroad ever.
However, in order to be with Valeria, he had no choice but to mention it. He’d originally thought that Valeria’s pregnancy would be enough to impress Hayden.
Nonetheless, when he saw the unmoved expression on Hayden’s face just now, he had no choice but to use his trump card. He hoped that what he said today would make Hayden feel guilty and he wouldn’t continue pestering William.
After that, William got up and went to the study room. He was going to deal with the documents, but suddenly he felt uneasy.
He shouldn’t have worried about it since the preparations for the event later tonight had been done earlier, but he found that he couldn’t calm himself down.
He didn’t believe in heresy, but it was rare for him to see such an abnormal scene. Was something bad going to happen soon?
As William’s thoughts ran wild, Marcus’s call came. “Mr. Howard, the owner of the resort is surnamed Gonzalec, who is the distant cousin of Lucian Barnbook.”
“What?” William’s expression suddenly changed.
On the highway to the resort, a car was speeding.
Meanwhile, Lamont was driving the car and Archer was sitting in the back row. He fiddled with the phone in his hand.
After several phone calls, he finally stopped. On the other hand, Lamont had been driving quietly. When he saw Archer stop calling, he immediately asked, “President, why did you arrange for people to keep an eye on Lucian? What happened?”
Archer sighed. “Lamont, the owner of the resort is Lucian’s distant cousin. Do you know this?”
“How is it possible? Isn’t there no one else in the Lucian family? Moreover, the resort villa is very large in B City. Where did Lucian’s cousin get the money to open such a huge resort villa?”
“Yes, this is also the question I’m thinking about. Lucian and her cousin are not qualified for the job. Then, who are they working with? Who is the person behind them?”