Chapter 286 The Mysterious and Dangerous Owens Family

Chapter 286 The Mysterious and Dangerous Owens Family

Making peace with James, Caspian finally felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

He had to acknowledge his family and thatblood ties couldn't be severed.

But that was one thing, and his lover was another matter entirely, he wouldn't let go.

When the two conflicted, Caspian had already prepared himself for the worst.

Fortunately, James finally came around, and the family was at peace.

Back at their apartment, Caspian had prepared a therapeutic foot bath. During this trip to Crystalbrook, he had specifically consulted a naturopathic doctor and gotten a foot bath therapy plan designed for pregnancy.

Gloria had gotten cold in the bathtub that night. Without proper recovery care, her knees might develop chronic pain later when the air pressure changed or during cold, damp weather.

Whether she was his wife or not, Caspian cherished her deeply.

Gloria looked down at the man kneeling on the floor massaging her feet. She felt a bit uncomfortable. "Caspian, I can soak my feet myself, you don't need to..."

He was such an outstanding man, yet when it came to her, he always seemed so humble.

"I'm washing my own wife's feet, isn't that what a husband should do? Gloria, don't feel any burden. I've told you before, I love you and I'm willing to take care of you."

Just as Gloria was about to speak, she felt movement in her belly. Her face lit up with joy. "Oscar's swimming around again."

Caspian chuckled softly. "In a while, he'll be kicking around in your belly."

As he spoke, Caspian dried her feet with a towel.

He noticed her toenails had grown a bit long, so he got the nail clippers.

He sat on the edge of the bed, placed Gloria's feet on his lap, without the slightest hint of disgust.

Watching him bend down to trim her toenails, Gloria thought of James, who had done these things for her countless times too.

They both clawed their way up from the bottom. She wasn't about to feel guilty now.

The time with Caspian had been too short, and Caspian's status was so deeply rooted that Gloria had never completely let her guard down around him.

When Caspian looked up, he saw Gloria staring at him blankly, looking a bit dazed.

He cleaned up the nail clippings, put away the foot bath, washed his hands clean, and returned to bed, pulling Gloria into his arms. "What are you thinking about?"

Gloria closed her eyes against his neck. "I'm thinking about how lucky I am to have met such a good husband."

James had hurt her, that was true, but he had also been good to her. After him came Caspian.

Caspian stroked her soft hair. "Because Gloria deserves it."

"But besides acting, I'm pretty much useless. I..."

"Don't put yourself down. If you weren't good, how could James and I be so crazy about you? Good girl, just rest and don't think about anything else."

Gloria bit her lip. Thinking about how she and James had reached this point, the biggest reason was that he had been too busy all these years, leading to less and less communication between them.

So learning from the problems in her failed marriage, Gloria didn't keep it inside but spoke her mind.

"Caspian, I want to know if Tobias is really my father."

She had never thought about finding her parents before, but now that Nova had appeared in the Taylor family, Gloria couldn't just ignore it.

If it wasn't Tobias, her biological father might not even know she existed.

Whether she acknowledged him or not, she wanted to find him.

"Gloria, I've already had someone look into it. Speaking of this Tobias, we have to mention the Owens Family."

"The Owens Family?"

"The Owens Family has quite a background. Like the Rivers family, they left Silverlake Springs during the civil war a hundred years ago. The Rivers family came to Crystalbrook back then, while the Owens Family went to Marigoldia. Both our families accumulated substantial wealth from our ancestors."

"After the Owens Family members went abroad, the patriarch married a royal princess, a political-business alliance. Their business flourished, including but not limited to traditional industries like oil, real estate, mining, shipping, port operations, healthcare, and so on. Besides these legitimate businesses, there are also some shady ones."

Gloria was stunned. These were secrets she would never have heard otherwise.

"Like what?"

"Every profitable industry you can imagine, the Owens Family has a hand in it."

Gloria was shocked. "So the Owens Family is even richer than the Rivers family?"

After all, the Rivers family only did clean business and never touched dirty money.

"You could say that. Although the Owens Family isn't on the Forbes list and most people don't even know this family exists, those in our circle know the Owens Family is truly a top-tier elite family."

"Is Tobias the head of the Owens Family?"

"The Owens Family is even more low-key than the Rivers family. You might know that behind all luxury brands, the Owens Family holds shares. The world's largest casino's actual controlling shareholder is also the Owens Family. The Owens Family operates in the shadows, their influence has already penetrated globally. They're extremely secretive and dangerous. Since they're not in the same country, I don't know much about the Owens Family either. The real head has never appeared in public. As for Tobias, he's just a branch member of the Owens family."

Gloria had thought the Rivers family was already a top-tier elite family, but she didn't expect there were even more powerful people out there. Just how formidable was the Owens Family?

How did Nova get involved with the Owens Family?

"With such dangerous people, it must be hard to get his DNA sample, right?"

Caspian shook his head. "Forget getting a sample from him, it's hard to even meet him face to face. People from this family mostly operate in the shadows, usually having representatives appear for them. You might meet the head of the Owens Family someday and not even know it's him."

Sensing Gloria's disappointment, Caspian patiently patted her shoulder. "Don't worry, the Rivers family still has some connections in this circle. It'll just take some time. Be patient and wait."

Gloria nodded. "Okay, I understand."

"I'll start investigating from Nova's side. We might find some leads."

"With you here, I feel at ease."

Caspian kissed her forehead. "Good girl, sleep now. After the rain comes clear skies, and the truth will come to light."

"Good night."

After Gloria fell asleep, Caspian carefully pulled his arm out from under her pillow.

He tiptoed out and closed the door, then went downstairs.

In the coffee room, James had already brewed coffee and was drinking alone. He'd clearly been there for a while.

When Caspian came over, he still carried a hint of rose fragrance, Gloria's signature scent.

James's hand tightened around his coffee cup.

Both being men, Caspian knew what he was thinking.

James's voice was bitter. "She's asleep?"

"Yeah, she just fell asleep. She's been thinking about her background these past few days, so her sleep hasn't been great. But don't worry, the baby's fine. All the test results are healthy. In another month or so we can do the 4D ultrasound, and then we'll see whether the baby looks more like you or her."

Mentioning the baby, James's expression softened for a moment. "Better if it looks like her, so it won't raise suspicion."

After talking for a while, he realized Caspian was using the baby to comfort him.

A helpless, bitter smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. "No wonder Gloria fell for you so quickly. As an opponent, you're terrifying."

Even he himself had been influenced by Caspian without realizing it.

Caspian took the coffee James handed him. "But now, we're not opponents,we're brothers fighting side by side, aren't we?"

He didn't ask questions. James visiting late at night must mean something. He waited for James to speak.

James took a sip of the bitter coffee and said seriously, "In Crystalbrook, I found some leads."