Chapter 49: The Shield

Matthew's icy tone echoed from behind Nathan, causing Nathan's legs to buckle the moment he stood up.

"Sharon, you've got to save me."

Sharon looked at Nathan, who had collapsed at her feet, clutching her legs tightly, her expression was far from pleased.

But considering he was the only son of the Martinez family, she couldn't really let him go to jail.

Sharon forced a smile as she turned to Matthew, who was approaching, "Matthew, your uncle's..."

Before she could finish her plea, she was interrupted again.

"Mrs. Garcia, you need to think this through. Nathan is suspected of contaminating the water source, which has now caused diseases among nearby villagers. Do you think this is something that can be covered up by just anyone?"

"Under the Garcia family's name, such a thing has been done. If Grandpa knew you were in cahoots with Nathan, I'm afraid even the shares in your hand would be taken back."

As Matthew's cold and heartless words were uttered, each word was like a dagger.

Sharon's face gradually turned pale.

"How... How could it be so serious? I just... I just invested some money. I didn't do anything else."

The living room TV was still reporting on the handling of the wastewater discharge.

Sharon had seen the information online and naturally knew how serious the matter was since Matthew said so.

This matter was about to implicate her.

Nathan couldn't help but roar, "How can you say that? It was you who wanted money, so you instigated me to set up this factory. You've taken a lot from this factory over the years. Don't try to deny it here."

Nathan's eyes were wide with anger, obviously intending to drag Sharon into the water.

Before Sharon could get angry, she saw Nathan sitting on the sofa like a tyrant, looking up at Matthew with a sinister expression.

"Matthew, you are my nephew. If something happens to me, your mother won't be able to escape the blame, and what will happen to the Garcia family then, I'm not sure."

In this way, he obviously felt fearless, planning to use the entire Garcia family as a shield.

Matthew sneered. "The Garcia family will accept the investigation, and the person in charge of the factory has been found. Nathan, do you really think that by dragging my mother down, you can bring down the entire Garcia family?"

The person in charge?

Nathan's eyes narrowed, his confident demeanor giving way to sudden fear.

Watching Matthew's tough stance, Nathan nervously swallowed.

"Matthew, come on. We're family. Can't you help me out, at least for our mother's sake?"

Before Nathan could finish, Matthew cut him off with a ruthless sneer. "Mother, what do you think?"

Sharon gazed at Nathan, her eyes filled with a deep-seated rage.

She took a deep breath, her face resolute. "Call the police."

Initially, Sharon had hoped to preserve some semblance of family dignity, avoiding such drastic measures.

But seeing Nathan's ruthlessness, she saw no reason to hold back herself.

"Sharon, you can't do this to me. Think about Dad. How can you explain to him? If I go to jail for over a decade, I'll lose everything." Nathan pleaded.

His cries didn't linger long in the living room.

With helpers, David quickly escorted him out.

With the matter settled, Matthew, with thoughts on Clara out in the suburbs, had no reason to linger here.

Just as he turned to leave, he was stopped.

Sharon, facing Matthew's icy demeanor, looked awkward. "Matthew, does Nathan really have to go to jail for that long? Can't we get a lawyer to help?"

"No chance."

Matthew's words shattered Sharon's last shred of hope.

She slumped onto the sofa, lost and dejected, watching her son walk away. She picked up her phone, unsure who to call for help.

Just then, a call came through.

Seeing the caller ID, Sharon's eyes lit up with a glimmer of hope.

Sharon: [Lillian, please, you've got to help me.]

On the other end, Lillian read the message in her hands, a faint smile touching her lips, mixed with a hint of resignation.

Lillian: [Mrs. Garcia, it's not that I don't want to help you, but I'm in a difficult position. Why don't you try reaching out to Clara? I heard she's in charge of this project. If she speaks up, there might be some room to maneuver.]

Mentioning Clara filled Sharon with resistance from the depths of her heart. [Is there really no other way?]

Lillian: [Mrs. Garcia, listen to me. If you handle it like this... Even if Clara doesn't agree, you can manipulate things behind the scenes. It will definitely attract public attention, and Clara won't escape being criticized.]

Listening to Lillian's plan, Sharon hesitated deeply.

Eventually, she agreed and prepared to head to the suburbs with her team.

Meanwhile, Clara, after handling the blood samples, handed them over to Christian to take to the designated location where a helicopter would arrive to transport them.

Pollution in the suburbs was severe, and Parker needed the data to research an effective treatment.

After a long day, Julia had no interest in bothering Clara further.

When she saw the boxed meal handed to her, Julia couldn't help but frown.

"Just a drumstick? How unimpressive," Julia muttered aloud. Spoiled by her family, she couldn't stomach such greasy and simple boxed meals.

The others, tired and hungry from the day, didn't care about the food's quality and eagerly devoured it.

Seeing no one paying attention to her, Julia's face showed a hint of grievance.

"If you don't want it, then starve."

Clara coldly glanced at her, then focused on her own urgent need to eat.

Fat was the best source of energy replenishment at this time.

"Fine, I won't eat it. There's stuff in the car anyway. Clara, you're our leader. When we were with Mr. Gilbert, we never had such lousy boxed meals," Julia continued, her tone edged with frustration.

Before Julia could finish, Clara stepped forward, snatched the boxed meal from her hands, and squatted down to eat it herself.

"What are you doing?"

Julia watched as her meal was taken away, suddenly feeling anxious.

As she reached out to shove Clara away, someone grabbed her wrist.

"What are you doing?"

Christian intervened, pulling Julia aside to prevent her from harming Clara.

Christian's action completely overturned the delicate balance of Julia's inner grievances.

"Christian, you promised to look after me when you came here. Now that you see Clara looking good, are you her follower? Have you forgotten the days we spent doing experiments together?"

Julia's questioning left Christian feeling utterly baffled.