Chapter 488 Doubts!
Anthony's words left Ryder somewhat shocked!
Ryder hadn't been surprised by anything in a long time!
But at this moment, his feelings couldn't simply be described as shock!
See, almost no one knew Ryder's dad was John.
And Anthony had been rotting in that basement for two decades, completely off the grid, yet he knew this bombshell.
It sent a chill down Ryder's spine.
Still, Ryder kept his cool, locking eyes with Anthony as he said, "Yeah, my old man's name is John. You seem to know a lot!"
Anthony smiled faintly, "You must be very curious as to how I know so much, right?"
Ryder calmly said, "I'll admit, I'm a little curious."
Anthony tilted his head back, a nostalgic glint in his eyes. "Because all these years, no matter what went down outside, Heather kept me in the loop. After you tied the knot with Sarah, she'd drop your name a lot, ranting about this and that. Especially these past few months—she's lost it in front of me more than once, trying to figure out why you flipped the script. The master schemer, outplayed by the one she couldn't stand—how ironic!"
Ryder squinted slightly, "But how did you know my father's name?"
Anthony chuckled, "Before I got locked up, I met this guy in Houston. He didn't have much, but he had a killer business sense—he even roped me into a deal. But I got tied up with some other stuff. We didn't cross paths much, but I could tell he had serious hustle. Heather mentioned a guy named John who'd just started something big in Houston, then poof—gone! Today's our first meeting, but for some reason, you reminded me of him the second I saw you. So I took a shot in the dark—hope you don't mind?"
Ryder smiled lightly, "Of course not. You're Sarah's granddad, after all."
But then it hit Ryder. No wonder Anthony made it big in Houston back in the day. Just from this short chat, Ryder could tell he was one shrewd old fox.
At least much smarter than someone as arrogant as Heather!
Anthony's gaze turned to the window, and after a few seconds of contemplation, he spoke softly, "I know all about the grievances between you and the Johnsons. Now that Heather's gone, what's left of their fortune is a shadow of what it was. So, for Sarah's sake—or out of respect for me—I'm asking you to let the Johnsons off the hook. I can't stand to see the family I once knew crumble like this!"
To this, Ryder smiled and replied, "I never start trouble. I understand what you're saying. As long as the Johnsons don't come looking for trouble with Sarah and me, I won't go after them."
"Good!" Anthony nodded."Don't worry, I'll keep them in check. From now on, take good care of Sarah. I love that girl to pieces, and I can't stand to see her hurt."
Ryder nodded.
"Alright, that's all I've got. You can head out now—I need to rest. We'll catch up more when I'm feeling better." With that, Anthony shooed Ryder off with a wave.
"Get some rest. I'm out." Ryder turned and walked out of the hospital room, shutting the door behind him.
Outside, a crowd had already formed.
The Johnsons were all there, eyes locked on Ryder, trying to read his face for any clues.
But Ryder didn't pay them any attention.
He left the hospital with Sarah and Ernest!
On the way, Ernest pressed Sarah about what Anthony had said. After she filled him in, Ernest let out a frustrated sigh. "Sarah, Anthony handed you a golden opportunity. Why didn't you take the reins of the Johnson family? Even if you're not into it, at least think about it for my sake!"
Sarah pouted, "Dad, you're not exactly in your prime, and you just got out of the hospital. Why dive into running the Johnsons? Those guys aren't pushovers. You'd get wrecked if you tried to take the reins."
Ernest dug in his heels. "You're selling me short! Their games are child's play! Besides, your mom and brother are MIA, and they're not coming back anytime soon. You and Ryder are swamped with work, and I can't just sit on my ass all day. Give me something to do. A man with no hustle? That's a turn-off for women these days!"
These words left Ryder and Sarah stunned!
They exchanged a glance!
They could see each other's thoughts. Was he looking to start a new relationship?
Sarah felt conflicted about this!
She valued family and didn't want it to fall apart.
Now they were missing, but what if one day they turned over a new leaf and returned to the family? How great would that be!
So, in response to Ernest's hint, Sarah coughed lightly and said, "I'll see if I can find you some work!"
Then Sarah quickly changed the subject and asked Ryder, "What did my grandpa say to you just now?"
Ryder briefly recounted some things, but he didn't mention anything about John!
After listening, Sarah said to Ryder with some pride, "It seems my grandpa really cares about us. You better treat me well from now on, got it?"
"Got it!" Ryder quickly replied!
However, Ryder was still puzzled about Anthony!
Mainly in two aspects!
First, Anthony had been locked in the basement for nearly twenty years, suffering abuse. That kind of hell would mess with someone's head, maybe even break them. But from their talk, he seemed totally normal—like he hadn't spent a day locked up.
Second, Anthony claimed he'd met John before everything went down, which was nearly twenty years ago. But Ryder and John got kicked out of the Jones in the capital fifteen years back and hadn't left the city before that. So how the hell did they cross paths?
Combining these two pieces of information, Ryder concluded that Anthony was definitely not as simple as he appeared!
He might be hiding some unknown secrets!
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