Chapter 278 Protecting One's Own
A bunch of bright flames flickered to life.
Magnus glanced down, lit a cigarette, and took a drag. He pulled another one from the pack and tossed it to Ronald.
Ronald caught it but didn't light up. "I don't usually smoke."
Magnus chuckled. "Besides not getting Juniper, you probably don't have much to worry about."
His smile was faint but not mocking.
"Are you showing off?" Ronald asked.
"I'm actually jealous of you." Magnus leaned against the car, exhaling a puff of smoke. His features were hidden by the thin smoke, his emotions unclear, but his voice was calm.
Ronald was taken aback for a moment, then scoffed, "Jealous of me? You have everything. What could you possibly be jealous of?"
Magnus gave him a half-smile. "I'm jealous that you still have time to chase what you want. Even if you don't get Juniper, you can still be by her side for a lifetime if you want."
It sounded like a joke, but there was a serious undertone.
Ronald frowned. "What do you mean? Even if I wanted to take Juniper and Jenny to Solara, they might not want to go."
Magnus lowered his head slightly. "She'll go with you. I'll make sure of it."
If she really didn't want to, he could always force her.
Ronald was skeptical. "Are you convincing her or tricking her?"
"If tricking her means she can live safely, I don't mind." Magnus sneered.
Ronald was even more confused. "In Southern City, with the Abbotts' protection, who would dare harm her?"
"Shadow Syndicate." Magnus looked up, a dangerous glint in his eyes.
When Ronald heard the name, he paused.
Shadow Syndicate had approached Windsor Group too, but Christopher was a patriot and wouldn't deal with shady characters.
Magnus said, "The fire at the Southern City Grand Theater might be linked to Shadow Syndicate. I don't know how Juniper got involved with them, but now both she and I are their targets. Solara is neutral, so they won't follow us there."
"Then why don't you take Juniper and Jenny to Solara yourself?" Ronald was puzzled.
"I have more important things to do." Besides, even if he went to Solara with Juniper, he wouldn't have much time left.
Staying behind to deal with Shadow Syndicate might give him a chance to find the antidote for Venomshade.
Ronald thought for a moment and said, "With Christopher in a coma and the cause of his heart failure unknown, the group might change leadership. I can't leave Southern City now."
"Christopher might have been poisoned," Magnus said.
Just like him, poisoned by Venomshade.
Ronald's eyes widened. "Poisoned? Could Christopher's coma be linked to Shadow Syndicate too? But how did they get to him? A few years ago, Christopher had stomach issues and hired workers to grow vegetables and raise poultry and fish. All the food at Christopher's Mansion is sourced by Jerry from the Abbotts' farm every morning. Jerry's been with Christopher for decades, he can't be the problem. Besides, we all eat and live with Christopher, and none of us are poisoned. How is it that only Christopher is poisoned?"
Just as Ronald finished speaking, Karen called.
As soon as he answered, Karen started yelling, "Who the hell spread the news about Dad's coma? Now a bunch of major clients are calling me to verify, and my phone's about to explode!"
Ronald's brow furrowed. "What did you say?"
Karen, on the other end, was frantic. "If we don't do some crisis management, we'll be drowned in spit at tomorrow's shareholders' meeting! I'm heading back to Christopher's Mansion. Where are you?"
"I'm coming back right now," Ronald said.
Back at Christopher's Mansion, the atmosphere was tense.
The news of Christopher's coma had already trended on major platforms.
Rumors were flying that Windsor Group would change leadership.
If strong public relations measures weren't taken, the stock price would surely tank tomorrow.
Karen slammed her phone, displaying the trending news, onto the table. "Who did it? Dad collapsed last night, and today only a few of us were at the hospital. Even if an outsider leaked the news, it couldn't have spread this fast."
Her sharp gaze scanned those present.
Finally, her fierce gaze landed on Jenny, who was munching on chocolate in the corner.
Jenny bared her chocolate-stained teeth at her, her big eyes innocent and pure. "Miss, it wasn't me."
Karen snorted, "You don't have the capability."
Jenny defended. "It wasn't my mom either. I've been with her all day, and she barely touched her phone this afternoon."
Juniper felt this scene was not suitable for a child, so she coaxed Jenny to go upstairs to sleep.
Downstairs, the adults were scheming against each other.
Sophie hinted. "Releasing the news of my dad's coma doesn't benefit the Abbotts, but whether it benefits outsiders is hard to say."
This directly pointed the finger at Magnus.
Magnus was about to say something when Juniper stepped in. "Magnus is here because of me. I told him about Christopher's coma last night. If he wanted to do something, he could have had people investigate and confirm Christopher's condition last night and released the news overnight. He wouldn't have sent me to Southern City, giving others a handle against him. After all, releasing news to the opposition doesn't require being on-site."
Her tone was light, but her few words cleared Magnus of suspicion.
Sophie said, "Juniper, Mr. Blackwood is your husband. I understand you want to protect him, but Mr. Blackwood's identity is sensitive and special. It's not appropriate for him to be here during our family meeting, right?"
Ronald said, "I invited Mr. Blackwood to Christopher's Mansion tonight. If we're talking about suspects, everyone here could be a suspect. But since the news of Dad's coma has already leaked, the urgent matter now is not to find out who leaked it, but how to handle the negative news. Do you have any ideas?"
Juniper stood up and said, "I'm not a shareholder of Windsor Group, nor am I an executive. Ronald, I'll head upstairs."
Ronald nodded, not wanting to drag Juniper into unnecessary disputes.
Juniper took a few steps upstairs, then turned to Magnus, frowning. "The outsider, what are you still sitting there for?"
Magnus was stunned.
She called him an outsider?
He was about to leave when Juniper stopped him again. "I have something to say to you. Come upstairs."
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