Chapter 138: Two Foxes
Overnight, the Johnson family's empire had collapsed. Elijah Johnson disappeared from Novaria along with all of his relatives and his now-disabled son, while Andrew Johnson was reported to be crippled with his legs useless.
Jayden Wilson and Gabrie were in a hotel when word got out. It took them a few minutes to recover from the shock before they could move at all.
It was absurd that they believed Andrew Johnson would get revenge on Ethan. But in an instant, their most powerful ally had disappeared completely from Novaria, not even able to be reached by phone.
"Sharon, we need to decide what to do now that Andrew Johnson is no longer valuable. Is it possible for us to stay at this hotel?" Feeling absolutely bewildered, Gabrie asked Jayden Ethan.
"Stop panicking and let me think! I think Andrew paid for a month in advance, and we've only stayed for three days, so we should be fine. However, we most definitely can't rely on him going forward," Jayden Ethan replied, secretly glad that she didn't date Andrew Johnson.
Little did she know that although Andrew failed to win her, he had spent a night entangled with her mother, Gabrie.
However, Gabrie wouldn't tell Jayden about that right now!
"I hoped he could provide us a comfortable and easy life. Who would've thought he'd be such a failure, though? The Johnsons are a large family. How did it collapse so quickly?"
Gabrie was quite distressed, but it was difficult to tell whether she was disappointed in Andrew Johnson, or regretting that her seductive tactics hadn't resulted in more profits.
"That doesn't matter. I'm not going to let Ethan enjoy a happy life, even without Andrew Johnson. Aren't there any other people in Novaria that want to take on Ethan? I'll create a reason to visit Cloud Group!"
Jayden Wilson had even thought about the Wilson Family at this time, who used Ethan as a pawn in their scheme.
However, she didn't know anything about the Ethan family. The only connection she knew they had, other from Ethan, was Cloud Group!
"Are you thinking of visiting Cloud Group? You're Ethan's ex-wife, right? If they know who you are, wouldn't they tackle you?"
Gabrie seemed anxious after hearing these words.
"Slow down. If we don't try, how will we know? Furthermore, an enemy of my enemy is my friend. Ethan and the Cloud Group are now at odds, so I'll just fan the flames a little bit more." Gritting his teeth, Jayden Ethan said firmly.
It was nearly noon when Ethan and Sarah returned to the city center by car.
While traveling, Sarah gave Clarence a quick call to explain what had happened. Without saying anything, Clarence invited Ethan to join him for lunch at his house.
After accepting the offer, Ethan reluctantly followed Sarah back to the Harris family house, realizing that he'd never be able to avoid what was ahead of him.
As expected, when Clarence arrived, he instructed a servant to show Ethan the way to his study.
"Sir, did you ask for me?" With full knowledge of the pretense, Ethan asked.
"You took my granddaughter away silently, and I'm not supposed to find you for that?"
Clarence was stoic, sighing in frustration.
"What if I told you that this is a big misunderstanding? Would you believe me?"
Unable to resist, Ethan gave a clumsy excuse.
"Am I understanding this correctly? At this point in time, you're talking about a misunderstanding? You listen here, Ethan. Even though I'm getting older, I promise that anyone who mistreats my granddaughter will regret it."
When Clarence heard this, he groaned with rage.
Ethan couldn't express his feelings. This old man was getting close to him; didn't he fear a misunderstanding from his own relative?
It felt like Clarence was encouraging him to stay with Sarah!
"With you here, how could I treat her badly? In any case, I appreciate all you did for me today."
Ethan abruptly shifted the subject.
Clarence's frown softened a little upon hearing his words, but he still scoffed, "Don't assume I was helping you. I just didn't want Sarah sad!"
"Either way, you helped me out, so I'm thanking you as I should."
Ethan smiled bitterly and nodded.
"Why aren't you calling me 'Grandpa' like Sarah does? Or do you not think I'm worthy of that?"
Clarence grinned mischievously.
"Grandpa!"
Having no choice due to his relationship with Sarah, Ethan reluctantly complied.
"All right, let's cut the formalities now that you're my family member. How do you feel about Mr. Walker's situation? You should know why I needed your help."
Clarence finally nodded in satisfaction and got down to business.
"Mr. Walker's case is essentially closed. I'm confident Bennit will ask for my help again soon, even if he refused me today. You must've expected this based on your continuous calmness."
Ethan confidently nodded in agreement.
"So, you're just going to wait for Bennit to get desperate before he comes to you?"
Clarence's question seemed to indicate more as he glanced at Ethan.
"Yes, the ones who should be nervous isn't me, but them," Ethan laughed. "Given Mr. Walker's dire circumstances and Francis's helplessness, it's natural they'll come to me! However, it'll be challenging for Bennit to locate me."
"You're kidding me. It'd be easy for a man like General Walker to contact you if he so chooses. What would be the problem?" Clarence questioned in a dismissive manner.
"It's actually quite easy. I need to disappear, and I may be out of cell for a few days. Therefore, it'd be challenging for him to contact me." Ethan rubbed his nose and explained casually. Truthfully, if he truly wanted to remain hidden, he could ensure that Bennit couldn't find him for a few days, even with all the tools at his disposal.
"You're a clever one!" Glancing proudly, Clarence smiled. "That's the reason Sarah thinks highly of you and why I'm supporting you now. Keep in mind, if you're going to vanish, make sure you do it completely. Thus, I've purchased two plane tickets so that you and Sarah can have a fun-filled trip."
A contented smile lit up Clarence's aged face.
"I didn't know you've already reserved tickets. Let's skip the flight, though. Just get a car for us, please. Bennit could still track us with our personal information, and I'd prefer not to have the military chase us across the nation!"
Ethan silently praised Clarence's cunning. He understood everything; even wondering whether the old man had been waiting for him here, anticipating that today's efforts would be fruitless!
The two men smiled at one other, exchanging ideas. In lunchtime, Sarah was perplexed at first when Clarence brought up the trip.
"Mr. Walker can go comatose at any moment. They won't be able to locate Ethan if we leave right now."
Ethan smiled and reminded her, "That's the whole point—to make them unable to find me."
"You silly girl, don't you see what's happening? If you were Bennit and you couldn't find Ethan, what would you do?" Clarence asked, his chuckles resonating.
"Naturally, I would look everywhere because my father's security is at risk. If I were him, I would come to you first since Ethan is... You guys are really smart, maximizing your advantage at a moment like this!"
A lightbulb lit up in Sarah's head as she gradually understood. Ethan and Clarence looked at one another, a hint of amusement on their faces.
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