Chapter 259 Dealing with Quinlan
"Mr. Lancaster, what are your orders?"
Tristan said coldly, "Remove Quinlan from all her positions. Terminate all business cooperation between Apex Global Group and the Stewart family."
"Tell Griffin that the Lancaster Group also has partnerships with the Stewart family. Tell him to terminate them immediately, or I'll start going after the Lancaster Group."
Ryder nodded, "Alright."
Finnegan raised an eyebrow, "That harsh?"
Tristan blew out a smoke ring, "If I'm not doing well, those who are making my life difficult shouldn't expect to do well either."
That evening, Quinlan rushed over to Cloud Bay, only to be stopped at the door by security guards.
"Ms. Stewart, Mr. Lancaster is not receiving visitors."
"Get out of my way!" Quinlan was furious, "Or don't blame me for what happens!"
The guard showed no fear, "Without Mr. Lancaster's permission, no one can enter."
Quinlan's chest heaved with anger. She shouted toward the house, "Tristan, let me in! Tristan! Why are you doing this to me!"
A voice suddenly came through the guard's earpiece.
He pressed the talk button, "Yes... Ms. Stewart, Mr. Lancaster is asking you to come in."
Quinlan hurried inside.
In the living room, Tristan sat on the sofa with his long legs crossed, smoking.
Quinlan walked up to him, her face breaking into a gentle, charming smile, "Tristan, smoking is bad for your health. You should smoke less."
"Weren't you shouting pretty loudly outside just now?" Tristan raised an eyebrow, "Continue."
Quinlan bit her lip lightly, "Tristan, I lost my composure just now. I was just too anxious. Why are you removing me from my positions? And terminating cooperation with the Stewart family? You're part of the Stewart family too!"
"I can even go after the Lancaster family, what does the Stewart family matter?" Tristan smiled faintly, "As for you, why I'm removing you from your positions—don't you know?"
"Even if I secretly gave birth to Wilder and you're angry, you shouldn't remove me from my positions." Quinlan argued, "Business is business, personal is personal."
"You have the nerve to talk to me about separating business and personal?" Tristan blew out a perfect smoke ring, looking at her beautiful face through the wisps of smoke, "All these years, you've abused your position for personal gain, making so much money for the Stewart family—do you need me to list it all out?"
Quinlan's face went pale, "Tristan, I didn't."
Tristan continued, "The only reason I didn't expose you was out of consideration that the Stewart family is my blood relatives. It's just money—I have plenty of it."
"But your mistake was scheming against me, thinking that secretly giving birth to my child would give you leverage over me."Tristan's eyes turned cold, "Quinlan, you've got some nerve!"
"Tristan, it's not like that." Quinlan quickly explained, "Harriet is your wife, yes, but your marriage was arranged by your grandmother. The one who likes her is your grandmother, not you!"
Tristan smiled, "So are you going to say that the person I actually like is you, but because of our sibling relationship, we couldn't be together openly?"
"Yes!" Quinlan looked determined, "Tristan, we've had feelings for each other all along, we just followed the rules and didn't break through society's constraints."
Tristan laughed softly, "I didn't realize you had such big ambitions. So you've had your eye on the position of Mrs. Lancaster all along."
"Tristan, I've never aspired to the title of Mrs. Lancaster." Quinlan crouched down in front of Tristan, her eyes full of love looking at him sincerely, "As long as I can be by your side, I don't need anything."
"Lark may be despicable, but at least she's honest and doesn't hide her desires." Tristan took a drag of his cigarette, looking down at her coolly, "But you—you're the type who takes the benefits and still plays the victim. No wonder Harriet disliked you so much back then and wanted to transfer you out of Emberfall."
Quinlan's expression changed drastically, "You... what are you saying?"
"You've been trying every way to find out how I got injured in Luminara City and whether it had anything to do with Harriet. I might as well tell you myself." Tristan smiled faintly, "I thought Harriet was buried, so I went to save her. That's how my hand got injured."
Quinlan collapsed to the floor, "You never had amnesia!"
Tristan sneered, "Did I ever tell you I had amnesia?"
Quinlan was speechless.
For the past three years, aside from work, they'd had no private contact alone.
At Apex Global Group, she was no different from any ordinary employee.
Unable to get close to Tristan, there was no way she could know whether he truly had amnesia.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have needed to bring out Wilder, hoping to use him to get close to Tristan."Tristan, then why did you pretend to have amnesia!"
"Do I need to pretend in front of you?" Tristan sneered, "Are you worthy?"
That night three years ago, after Harriet left, he spat out the pill he'd been holding in his mouth.
He did as Harriet wished, pretending to take the medicine, pretending to forget everything.
Even though every night, he was torn apart by the pain of missing her.
Initially, only Finnegan and Ryder knew he didn't have amnesia. Later, when Haven came to see him, he didn't hide it.
He began living in seclusion. Quinlan tried countless times to approach him, but was turned away by the guards each time.
Until over a month ago, when she appeared before him holding a child.
He had never touched Quinlan, and he could more or less guess how that child who looked so much like him came to be.
That day at the Lancaster Manor, hearing the conversation between Haven and Quinlan with his own ears confirmed his suspicions.
Quinlan's tears streamed down her face, "So I've been like a fool all along, kept in the dark by you?"
"Tristan, when I told you before that we'd slept together, you must have found my self-directed drama very amusing, right?"
"What am I to you!"
"You're nothing to me!" Tristan said coldly, "For my mother's sake, I won't take your life."
"Take your child and get out of Apex Global Group. Never appear before me again."
"Otherwise, you'll learn what it means to be utterly destroyed."
"Utterly destroyed?" Quinlan was stunned, "Wilder is your biological son. Would you really go after him?"
"Isn't Owen also blood-related to me? Did you see me spare him? Quinlan, this is what you get for being too clever for your own good!"
Tristan stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray, "Guards."
The guards immediately entered, "Mr. Lancaster."
"Drag her out."
"Yes."
Quinlan desperately grabbed onto Tristan's pant leg, "Tristan, you can't do this to me! You can't do this to your biological son! Tristan!"
Two guards directly pulled Quinlan up from the floor and dragged her out.
Finally quiet, Tristan propped his hand against the sofa armrest, his fingertips pressing against his throbbing temples, eyes closed.
"Mr. Lancaster." Ryder knocked and entered, "Are you really going after Nolan? I'm worried Mrs. Lancaster will hate you for it."
"Doesn't she hate me now?" Tristan smiled bitterly, "Since she already hates me, I don't mind if she hates me a bit more. Hatred is better than being completely forgotten."