Old Cody learned about the incident at the company and couldn't understand why the Mercer family had suddenly turned against them.
Suppressing his anger, he contacted Lance. "Mr. Mercer, what do you mean by this? Are you going back on your word?"
"The one going back on their word isn't me, it's you."
Lance was not surprised by Old Cody's call. Without waiting for Old Cody to question him further, he continued in a cold voice, "Old Cody, you shouldn't have forgotten our agreement. I spared Bella, and your Cody family was supposed to leave Cloudmere and keep Bella in check. Am I right?"
Old Cody remained silent. He wasn't a fool; Lance wouldn't say such things without reason.
"What has Bella done this time?"
"Bella allied with a faction opposing me, kidnapped my fiancée, and shot her when she tried to escape. Now my fiancée is missing. I didn't want to involve the Cody family in this. If Bella had honestly told me who was behind her, I would have spared her life. But she refused to reveal her accomplices. You should understand my feelings, Old Cody."
Lance briefly explained what had happened over the past two weeks.
Old Cody's breathing became heavy after hearing this. He never imagined that Bella would do something so significant behind their backs.
Taking several deep breaths to calm himself, he said in a deep voice, "Is Bella with you? Let me talk to her."
"Alright."
Lance handed the phone to Xavier and instructed, "Take this to Bella."
Xavier nodded and left with the phone. He soon reached the deck and had Bella brought over.
When Bella was brought over, she looked extremely disheveled, covered in bloodstains, with cracked lips and a dirty face tinged with an unnatural flush. She was also in a daze but tried to maintain a semblance of rationality.
Seeing Xavier, she assumed Lance had sent him again to question her about the mastermind. She laughed mockingly, "Xavier, go back and tell Lance not to beat a dead horse. I won't reveal who is behind this. If he has the guts, let him kill me. At least I'll have Deanna buried with me. My death will be worth it."
Xavier's face darkened at her deliberate provocation.
At that moment, Bella seemed to remember something and her smile grew more triumphant.
"Oh, right, there's something I haven't told you all, not even Deanna. Do you know that when Deanna jumped into the sea, she was carrying another life inside her? Yes, she was pregnant. Ha! One life for two; it's worth it!"
"What did you just say?"
Xavier was shocked. He couldn't believe it and grabbed Bella's collar angrily.
Bella seemed pleased with his reaction and smiled even more brightly as she continued to provoke him. "I said that bitch Deanna was pregnant. Too bad she didn't know and jumped into the sea with the baby. Neither of them could survive."
"You deserve to die!"
Xavier couldn't contain his rage any longer and slapped Bella hard across the face.
Bella screamed and fell to the ground, spitting out blood.
Even so, Xavier's anger was not appeased. The Missus was such a good person; she shouldn't have suffered like this. And that unborn child...
He couldn't even imagine how Mr. Mercer would react if he found out about this.
Thinking of this, Xavier looked down at the phone he had thrown on the ground earlier. It was still connected.
He picked it up and switched to speaker mode, his face grim. "Old Cody, did you hear all that?"
"I heard it. Tell Lance he can do whatever he wants with Bella. Just spare the Cody Group. I won't interfere with Bella anymore."
Old Cody's voice sounded as if he had aged ten years in an instant, weak and lifeless.
Bella was stunned upon hearing her grandfather's voice, a mix of relief and complexity flashing in her eyes.
Xavier didn't notice her expression and coldly said into the phone, "Old Cody, do you think handing over Bella will settle this? This isn't just any incident; it's about two lives!"
Old Cody remained silent.
Indeed, two lives-Bella alone couldn't compensate for that!
Even so, Old Cody wasn't ready to give up on saving the Cody family. "If I persuade Bella to reveal the mastermind, will Lance spare our family? Of course, excluding Bella. Additionally, all of our family's current assets will be given to him."
"I can't make that decision. I need to report to Mr. Mercer first. You should try to get Bella to talk."
Xavier finished speaking and called over an underling to hold the phone in front of Bella so she could speak with her grandfather.
As for Xavier himself, he returned to the cabin with a heavy heart to find Lance.