Chapter 21
"Dad, stop hitting me! I had no choice!"
"No choice? Fine, then give me a reason right now. If you can't convince me, you won't be leaving this house again!"
"Dad, Layla is pregnant! Olivia and I had already agreed. I'd give her money to get rid of the baby. I didn't force her."
My father looked hesitant. "But I heard you forced Olivia to abort the baby, and that's why she ran away from the hospital?"
"Dad, how can you believe what a woman like that says? She just changed her mind and wanted more money, so she ran away."
"Really?"
"Of course it's true. Dad, you know I only have eyes for Layla. That woman completely tricked me. She's a designer at our company. That night at the company party, I had too much to drink, and she took advantage and slept with me."
My father's questioning look made me feel guilty.
After all, only a man himself knew whether he could really lose control after drinking.
I swallowed hard and said apologetically, "Dad, I know I was wrong too. But that night, I really did drink too much. Olivia helped me into the hotel, and I thought it was Layla taking me home. So I mistook her for Layla, and then... Who knew that just that one time, she'd get pregnant."
After I finished speaking nervously, the study fell silent.
My father's scrutinizing gaze felt like a thousand-pound weight on my shoulders, making me unable to lift my head.
After a long while, just as I was about to suffocate, my father finally spoke slowly, "Is everything you said true?"
"Dad, I know I'm not as capable as Matthew, but I'm still your son. You watched me grow up. Don't you know what kind of person I am?" I looked at my father with the most sincere eyes.
As our eyes met, I saw some emotion in his.
I knew I'd won this gamble.
"Get up first." My father's tone softened as he sat down in the main seat.
I endured the burning pain in my back and struggled to stand, then carefully sat down beside him.
"So what are you thinking now?" He asked.
My father and I were finally sitting together calmly. Although he believed my story, there were too many lies mixed in, which still made me feel uncertain.
For instance, the first time with Olivia was when I was drunk, but after that, it was all consensual, and we'd been secretly together for over a year.
For instance, I forced Olivia to abort the baby and nearly caused her to lose it myself.
But it was true that Olivia ran away, and I still haven't found her.
As for my biggest lie, Layla being pregnant.
Not to mention she had always been afraid of pain and didn't want to have children.
With time being so tight now, there was no way I could get her pregnant immediately.
If my father found out about these lies, forget about being heir or being confined - those would be nothing. What I feared most was being kicked out of the family completely!
The more I thought about it, the more anxious I became, though I had to keep a calm appearance.
"Dad, Layla and I are true love. Olivia was just an accident. And if she hadn't schemed and calculated, I wouldn't be in such a difficult position. So I've decided - this time I'll negotiate a price with Olivia, have her abort the baby, and leave Emerald City."
"As for Layla, after ten years together, she's just upset right now. After a while, when she calms down, I'll sweet-talk her, and we'll be like before."
My father nodded, his eyes gradually softening. "Good that you've thought it through. What I hate most are cheating men and mistresses. You can't be like your grandfather, bringing a mistress to bully the legitimate wife and her children!"
Whenever he mentioned his difficult childhood and that broken family, my father's eyes would always get moist.
I knew he was thinking of my grandmother.
"Alright, go back. Today's beating is a lesson for you to remember; don't do anything that betrays your family!"
"William, remember, harmony at home leads to success in everything. If you can't even maintain your own small family, how can you manage the company?"
I bowed my head in a show of remorse, but my heart was panicking.
What should I do?
With how much Layla hates me now, forget about having her bear my child; it would be hard to even get her to see me.
"William, your shares and inheritance rights, I'm still taking them back as I said before. When you've managed your family well and stopped causing these scandals, I'll consider giving them back."
"Yes, Dad." I bowed respectfully and had the driver take me back.
After a whole night of trouble, it was already dawn. I had the family doctor come over to treat my wounds.
The burning pain in my back and the torn flesh made my mind clearer and calmer than usual.
I had to sit down with Layla and have a serious talk.
For the company shares and our marriage, having her give me a child was now urgent.
After thinking it over, I decided to be a despicable villain one last time.
After the family doctor left, I laid on the bed and made a call.
"Hello, how's Ethan doing lately? Has he been in contact with Layla?"
"Mr. Brown, we're so sorry, it's our fault. Ethan is now severely injured and unconscious. The doctor says it's uncertain whether he'll survive."
My heart tightened. I sat up abruptly, ignoring the tearing pain in my back, and immediately asked, "What happened? Didn't I tell you to take care of him? How did he end up severely injured and unconscious!"
"It's like this, Mr. Brown. Yesterday, Ethan didn't come home and stayed at a local woman's house all night. Today we wanted to find him and ask about the situation, but when he saw us, he ran like a mouse seeing a cat. We chased after him, and he... he wasn't watching the road and got hit by an oncoming car."
The person on the other end was clearly downplaying it, trying to reduce their own guilt.
I wanted to fly over there and punch these idiots.
The Scott family suffered a tragedy years ago. Layla's parents died early, leaving only Ethan and Layla to depend on each other.
Imagine how heartbroken Layla would be if she found out about this.
Given our current relationship, she'd probably even think I had someone do it.
After all, I'd threatened her with Ethan before.
"I don't care how much it costs; you must find a way to save Ethan! If anything happens to him, don't bother coming back!"
"Yes, Mr. Brown."
"Send me a video of Ethan now, and send his medical records too. I need to know his exact condition."
"Yes."
After hanging up, my phone quickly received the video and photos of the medical records from there.
Watching Ethan in the video, covered in tubes and unconscious, my feelings were mixed.
After watching it several times, I turned off my phone screen.
Somehow, I felt this video could be of great help to me.