Chapter 478 Have a Falling Out
Owen leaned back, smirking. "I've been tight with the Jones family for ages; we're practically BFFs. Ms. Jones, you really think Edward's been squeaky clean all these years in business?"
Susanna's eyes flashed cold. She knew Edward wasn't exactly a saint.
Edward busted his butt to get the company where it was now. He faced a ton of crap, and she knew he probably pulled some shady moves back in the day.
Business is a battlefield, a war without blood.
But she didn't expect Owen to use that dirt to threaten her. Then again, she just used his rep to threaten him. Fair game, right?
Susanna quickly chilled out. She flashed a smile at Owen. "What Edward did has nothing to do with me."
"Ms. Jones, can you really not care about Edward's rep? We could make a deal and avoid all this drama."
"I’m not interested in your deal."
"Ms. Jones, don't be so quick to shut me down. Remember, Vivian did screw you over back then, almost costing your kid's treatment. But no one got hurt in the end, so there's still room to make up, right?"
Susanna had to admit, Owen was smooth.
She glanced at Vivian, who looked all smug, not a hint of guilt.
Seeing Vivian's face, Susanna's anger flared.
She took a deep breath. "Let's see who pays the price in the end."
"Ms. Jones, if you're cutting ties with us, this won't end well."
Susanna noticed the bodyguard at the door. She turned to Owen. "My secretary knows I'm here. If something happens to me, my brothers won't let it slide. You know they can do. And if a scandal breaks out now, it'll mess up your election next year. But the Jones family? We’ve got enough cash to last forever."
Vivian sneered, "What good is money if you're dead?"
Just then, Aaron stepped up, grabbing Susanna's wrist. He looked at Owen. "She's my girl. Think twice before you mess with her. Going against both the Abbott and Jones families? You’re toast."
Vivian shot back, "Aaron, you really gonna back Susanna now? If this blows up, the Abbott family won't come out clean. Maud could end up back in prison. You want her to rot there?"
Owen chimed in, "If Maud goes to jail, you want your kid to have a grandma in prison? When she goes to school, how will the other kids treat her?"
Susanna was fuming. How dare they threaten her?
It was Vivian's nasty schemes that caused all this. Why should she back down?
If she were the old Susanna, with no one to lean on, she might've caved for Lillian's sake.
But now? She had nothing to fear.
Running into Vivian today was a shock.
Even more shocking? Vivian was Owen's illegitimate daughter.
Things were getting real messy. With Owen backing Vivian and using Edward's dirt to threaten her, any rash move could blow this whole thing up.
But Susanna? She wasn't about to back down.
Her voice was ice-cold. "You think I give a damn about the Abbott family? You don't know me at all."
"Ms. Jones, I wouldn't dare underestimate you. But there's no need for our families to go to war over this. It's bad for everyone."
"So, what's your big plan to fix this?"
Owen leaned in. "I know my daughter messed up. To make it right, I can hand you this project. Heck, I can even prioritize the Jones family for future deals. How's that for a win-win?"
"You think I care about that?"
"Ms. Jones, if you've got other demands, lay 'em on me. I'll do my best to meet them."
"My demand is simple: Vivian has to pay for what she did."
She turned to the bodyguard. "If you won't let me leave, I'll call Edward right now. Since you've got dirt on him, let him come and deal with you. Sound good?"
She was sure Owen wouldn't dare face Edward.
"Ms. Jones, I was just kidding. No need to get serious."
Owen waved off the bodyguard. He was just trying to scare Susanna, but he didn't expect her to have such guts. No way was he letting her call Edward. Edward was a beast, especially when it came to protecting his sister.
Vivian looked at Owen, panicked. "You're just gonna let her go? She hasn't agreed to anything yet."
Owen stayed silent. Aaron shot Vivian a look. "You better watch your back from now on."
With that, Aaron walked out.
Susanna stood by the elevator, hearing footsteps behind her. She turned to Aaron. "Why'd you come out? Not gonna catch up with your old pals?"
"I had no clue about Vivian's situation. I was in Philly, didn't know what went down in Lindwell. Just found out today she got released."
"Aaron, you think I'll buy that? You say you didn't know, so why'd you bring Vivian and Ramond back to the Abbott family and make people think Ramond was your kid?"
"I wasn't planning on getting married or having kids, so I figured I'd raise Ramond as my heir."
"So, whose kid is Ramond?"
She knew Aaron wouldn't just pick any kid to groom as his heir. Aaron paused before saying, "Vivian's boyfriend was my dad's illegitimate son."
Susanna took a moment to process that.
Vivian's boyfriend was Aaron's dad's illegitimate son, so the kid in Vivian's belly was part of the Abbott family.
"So Ramond isn't your son; he's your nephew."
"Exactly. Four years ago, Vivian showed up out of nowhere. That's when I found out my dad had an illegitimate son who died in a car crash. Vivian was alone and about to have Ramond, so I took her in."
"Did Maud know about this?"
