Chapter 579 Not Biological Child
Chapter 579 Not Biological Child
Isabella wasted no time turning down Joseph's offer once she heard the terms he was laying out.
It was clear to everyone that those medical products were a goldmine.
Isabella wasn't about to just hand over that fortune.
"I'm willing to collaborate with you, involve you in my future plans, but there's no way I'm giving you these research materials," Isabella stated firmly.
Upon her direct refusal, Joseph nodded in understanding, explaining that the idea came from his father Richard, not himself.
"My old man thinks that once our families are united, it's worth the price, and you won't have to deal with finding the head of the Larson Family. He probably feels the same way," Joseph shrugged, sounding somewhat resigned.
Avery, who was listening nearby, though naive, grasped the upcoming dilemma Isabella faced.
"Isabella, are you having a falling out with the Williams Family? Don't both your families back the same person? How did this happen? Isn't Mason really fond of you?" Avery blurted out before realizing her mistake and playfully slapping her own mouth. She had just remembered that Mason was seriously ill in the hospital.
Besides Mason, it seemed like no one in the Williams Family cared for Isabella.
Isabella was on the verge of revealing to them the news that Owen had confined Mason. Through them, the news could spread to the other two families, exposing the turmoil within the Williams Family.
But as Isabella thought of Mason's current condition, she decided to stay silent. She didn't want Mason to be unhappy in his final days. And even if these two families found out, it wouldn't change the current situation.
Owen was too controlling, and Mason was too frail. Even in turmoil, it was evident to everyone that Mason would be on the losing end.
"Sorry for the commotion today. Please tell your father. I'm standing my ground on this issue," Isabella stood up from her chair, bidding farewell to the two.
Avery wanted to see them off but was halted by Joseph.
"Hold on. Let's keep our distance from Isabella for now. We don't want to attract any unwanted attention from the media, affecting the family's decisions," Joseph said, watching Isabella walk away with a sigh.
Isabella's current predicament was that the Williams Family was bound to clash with the Taylor Family. The other two families wouldn't miss the chance to swoop in and seize the assets belonging to both families.
Joseph grasped this. The Davis Family and the Larson Family were playing the waiting game. They knew they couldn't snatch all of Isabella's research materials. They purposely set forth these tough conditions, waiting for the opportune moment.
After leaving the restaurant, Isabella headed straight to the company.
The company's day-to-day operations continued as usual, but aside from the top brass, the rest of the employees were oblivious to the storm brewing.
Isabella bumped into Carol in the elevator.
"Weren't you meeting with the Davis Family's connections? What went down?" Carol asked eagerly.
Isabella shrugged and recounted Joseph's demands, anticipating Carol's outrage.
"Damn, are these guys out of their minds? Why don't they just ask us to hand over all the company's shares?" Carol cursed angrily at Richard, the head of the Davis Family.
But suddenly, Carol fell silent. Frowning, she rubbed her chin thoughtfully.
"No way, the head of the Davis Family can't be that dumb. He knows how crucial those research materials are to us. He wouldn't make such crazy demands. He's doing this on purpose, basically giving us the cold shoulder. He's got ulterior motives; this guy is waiting for the right moment," Carol concluded.
Isabella nodded in agreement, saying somewhat resignedly, "You're spot on. He must be playing that game. The Davises and the Larsons have essentially merged into a single power bloc with shared interests. Now we've got the Williams family backing Henry, our group supporting Jeremy, and two families still on the fence. We've created a three-way balance of power—like my math teacher used to say, triangles are inherently stable structures."
"It's a rough time, and you're still cracking jokes?" Carol scowled at Isabella disapprovingly.
Isabella shrugged.
"The tougher the situation, the more we need to tackle it logically, think calmly, and analyze it coolly. We're waiting for a chance to sway those two families to our side. Only then do we stand a shot against the Williams Family and Henry."
As the elevator doors opened to their floor, Isabella asked Carol, "By the way, do you have a pad? My period just started, and I forgot mine at home."
Carol handed Isabella a pad from her bag, teasing, "Ms. Taylor, you better come up with a solution soon. Otherwise, we won't even have money to buy pads."
Isabella chuckled and headed into the restroom.
Carol shook her head and made her way to her office.
Shortly after Isabella left the restroom, a janitor entered to clean.
A few minutes later, the janitor arrived at the underground parking lot and handed a transparent bag containing a blood-stained pad to another person.
"Are you sure this is Isabella's pad?" the driver asked, looking disgusted.
The janitor nodded confidently.
"That restroom had no one else. I'm sure this is Isabella's pad, and the bloodstains are fresh."
"Enough, stop talking," the driver said, tossing the bag onto the passenger seat and handing some cash to the janitor.
The janitor happily left with the money.
The driver then started the car and made a phone call.
"Mr. Williams, I've successfully obtained Isabella's DNA and am heading to the lab location."
A few hours later, as Isabella was getting ready to leave for the day, she heard hurried footsteps and her office door burst open.
Juliet looked at Isabella with a panicked expression.
"Ms. Taylor, it's bad! There's a rumor going around online that you're not Jasper and Mia's biological child, that you have no Taylor Family bloodline and are not qualified to inherit the Taylor Family. They even produced a DNA test report."
Shocked, Isabella stood up from her chair.