Samuel looked at Tony.
His sallow eyes flashed with a stern light.
âYes, Alexander is not at fault.
But what about you and Layla? Since you brought him to this world, you should know that there are some things he canât have.â Tony argued, âEven the law stipulates that children, whether legitimate or illegitimate, have the same inheritance rights.â Samuel became even sterner.
âSo? Is that why you went wild and did such an immoral thing, giving birth to an illegitimate child?
Inheritance? What does âinheritanceâ mean? According to the law, inheritance is only applicable once I die.
As long as Iâm alive, I have absolute authority.â Samuel glared at Tony.
He asked, âDuring Annaliseâs competition last year, Abigail poisoned me.
Did you not know anything about that?â Hearing Samuelâs question, Tony was fuming with anger.
âDad, Iâve been your son for fifty years.
Donât you believe me? Can I do such a sadistic thing? Huh?â Samuel looked at Tony and said calmly, âNo matter what, youâd better keep your family in line.â Abigail would be sentenced soon, but was Abigail the mastermind behind everything? He believed that Abigail did not have the guts to do so.
Who was the mastermind? Alexander might be somewhat extreme, but he was not a vicious person.
And Tony had a bad temper.
Sometimes, he could be maddening, but he would not do such a thing.
In that case, it was clear who the person behind the scenes was.
âAbigail was the one who did it.â Just thinking of that incident made Tony feel frustrated.
Back then, Abigail was the Barton familyâs only daughter.
Her social status was higher than Annaliseâs, but in the end, Annalise turned out to be a dark horse.
Abigail became a criminal instead.
âAlright.
It doesnât matter who did it.
Itâs in the past.â âBut you refused to give Alexander the company shares because of this.
This is unfair to Alexander.â Tony still wanted to fight for it.
Samuel looked at Tony sternly.
He reprimanded Tony, âThe greatest injustice to him was that you gave birth to him.
If the law stated that an illegitimate child had no right to inherit a familyâs property, would you still give birth to him? If the law stipulated that a kept woman must be punished, would Layla still be your mistress? âWhat was love? Why didnât those kept women ever fall in love with a poor man? âItâs disgusting, using love as an excuse to hide oneâs greed and filthy thoughts.â At first, Samuel could have given everything to Julian and supported Julian in taking over the company.
He had two reasons for letting Julian and Alexander compete.
Firstly, it would appease the second and third branches of the Parks family.
Secondly, he wanted to make Alexander admit defeat.
That grandson of his was radical and prideful.
His mother was Layla, too.
Despite that, he was not a terrible person.
âDad, your prejudice against Layla is too deep.â Tony frowned.
He was annoyed.
âIâm not prejudiced against her.
All women are the same.
Tend to your overseas project and bring her along.
Just like before, donât come back if thereâs nothing else.
Donât be an eyesore.
I still want to live for a while longer.â Samuel chased him away without hesitation.
Tony frowned even more deeply.
He felt increasingly frustrated.
He wanted to roll up his sleeves and leave.
Thinking that Leeâs family was coming over the day after tomorrow, he said, âWeâre having dinner with the in-laws the day after tomorrow.
Afterward, Iâll go overseas and handle that project.â If not for the Xander familyâs prestigious status, he would not have taken them seriously.
âYes, the Xander family is coming over for dinner.
Tell Layla she doesnât have to come,â Samuel said.
Tony was full of rage again.
He argued, âDad, no matter what mistakes I made in the past, Layla is now officially married to me.
I only married her after Chantal passed away.
Whether you and Julian accept her or not, sheâs still Julianâs stepmother.â âI only have one mother.â
Julianâs indifferent voice.
sounded.
He looked at Tony with bloodshot eyes.
At first, Julian did not hate him this much.
He only felt disgusted by Tony.
However, seeing Tony being so shameless, the hatred in his heart became even stronger.
Had it been too long? Had Tony forgotten how his mother had died? When Julianâs mother found out about Layla, she was so depressed that she jumped off the second floor.
She committed suicide.
Julian could still remember the horrifying bloodstains.
âItâs the new year.
I donât want to argue with you,â Tony said irritably.
When Julian was young, Tony doted on him very much.
He had a deep affection for Julian.
However, after Chantal committed suicide, there was an emotional barrier between the father and the son.
As Julian grew up, he hated Tony more and more.
It wasnât that Julian had not thought of mending their father-son relationship, but they were always on bad terms: Julian always hated Tony.
As time passed, he naturally hated Julian as well.
He had placed all his hopes and feelings on Alexander because of this.
âMy father-in-law will come over the day after tomorrow.
You donât have to come, either,â Julian said coldly.
âJulian, you disloyal and ungrateful bastard.
Do you think you can be arrogant and act as you please because youâre all grown up?â Tony was so angry that his breaths quickened.
The weather was cold, and he was breathing rapidly.
White fog rose in front of him.
âGrandpa, itâs cold outside.
Letâs go back to the house.â Julian ignored Tony and helped Samuel into the house.
Tony frowned as he watched them enter the house.
He held his chest.
He was close to dying from anger.
On the seventeenth day of the first month⦠The Xander family came to the Parks residence for dinner.
Because Lee had found Heather, in just half a month, he became much more energetic.
He seemed to be in high spirits.
Heather had suffered from kinds of deficiencies.
Annalise refined some medicine for her.
Coupled with the fact that Heather had regained her memories, her family was overjoyed.
Heather was also happy.
Oneâs condition would improve significantly when one was happy.
Heather was much more energetic than before.
With simple makeup, she looked very elegant.
Old Mr. Xander also brought Sybil over for dinner.
The Xander family came bearing gifts.
Samuel went out to welcome them.
Julian greeted them politely and helped them carry their things.
Trevor patted Annaliseâs head as soon as he came over.
âCouldâve just waited in the house.
Has your appetite gotten better?â Annalise nodded.
âYeah, Iâm much better.
I still feel nauseous when I wake up in the morning.
But Iâm fine otherwise.â âThatâs good.â Trevor was relieved.
Annalise wanted to help carry something, but Trevor immediately stopped her.
âDonât move.â Tony followed Samuel.
He greeted Lee and Heather politely, âMr. and Mrs. Xander, welcome.â Lee nodded and replied, âThanks.â When he acknowledged Annalise as his daughter, she had already been legally married to Julian.
Otherwise, he would not have agreed to her getting married so young.
Indeed, Julian was outstanding, but girls did not need to get married so early.
They only had a few years of youth, so they should spend more time enjoying life.
But now that she was married, as her father, he naturally had to come and officially meet her husband.
Lee had too many things to do last year.
This year, he finally caught a break.
It just so happened that he wanted to ask the Parks family what they planned to do for the wedding.