Chapter 261 Uncertain Life and Death
Seeing Thomas like this, Claudia was not happy, but rather felt a bit cold.
It was impossible for Thomas to say he didn’t mind after all the outrageous things he had done to her.
After so many years of solitude, she finally found her biological parents. She had expectations deep down, but she never imagined that her father would be such a person.
Watching Thomas with tears in his eyes, Claudia took a few steps back, creating distance between them.
“Mr. Friedan, as I’ve said before, your apology means nothing to me,” she laughed until her nose stung. “Some damage has already been done, and it’s not something that can be fixed with an apology. As a wild child raised outside, the word ‘father‘ has always been distant to me. I once had expectations of you, but you’ve let me down time and time again. Now, I consider my father dead.”
“You didn’t need to apologize, because I would never forgive you.”
Claudia spoke with an indifferent tone, but upon closer inspection, one could see a faint glimmer of tears in her eyes.
If there were only Thomas left in this world, she might have
considered forgiving him. But there were also her brother, Emily, and her grandparents in this world.
Family affection, she lacked not.
Upon hearing Claudia’s words, even though Thomas had long been prepared, his heart still trembled violently.
He knew Claudia wouldn’t forgive him easily.
“Seraphina, I know you won’t forgive me so quickly, but I’ve already changed for the better. For the rest of my life, I will make it up to you, including the shares in the house, I will also give them to you…”
“No need.” Claudia abruptly interrupted him, “I’m not short of money.”
Thomas’s face turned slightly pale.
What he was most proud of was money, yet his daughter was not short of money.
Yeah, how could anyone in the Enigma organization be short of
money.
Claudia no longer looked at his face, she took steps towards the Johnson’s manor.
The words Thomas wanted to say got stuck in his throat, and all he
could do was watch her leave.
Thinking of being deceived recently, his wife leaving him, and his sons ignoring him, Thomas suddenly felt as if his heart was torn into several pieces, followed by a piercing pain that reached his head.
He slowly crouched down, and when he looked up again, all that was left was confusion.
The streets of Vencumfield were still bustling at night, with a cacophony of noises.
Thomas walked to the edge of a bridge and stood there.
Under the bridge, there were a few young lads nonchalantly smoking cigarettes.
“Boss, the New Year is almost here, and I haven’t made any money this year. It’s going to be a tough year,” a skinny man complained to the muscular man next to him about the difficulties of the year.
“The crackdown on illegal activities was severe up there, there was no way out for people like us anymore.“|
The strong man extinguished the cigarette and forcefully spat out a mouthful of smoke.
He stared at Thomas on the bridge, squinting slightly, “Who said there’s no way out? See that? That man is about to jump off the bridge.
Do you see the silver Rolex on his hand? I’ve seen it in the luxury store, this vintage model is already out of production, even second- hand can sell for millions.”
Several million…
The thin man gasped, millions, enough for them to live for several
years.
“Did he really know how to jump off a bridge?”
Skinny’s eyes were shining, staring intently at Thomas.
As soon as this man jumped off the bridge, they would jump down to “save” him, conveniently stripping him of everything he had on him!
In the dark second–hand market, watches were the best things to resell.
“Most likely.” The muscular man lit another cigarette, a hint of ferocity in his eyes as he stared at him, “If he doesn’t jump, then we’ll make him jump.”
In the midst of chaos, who still remembered that watch.
If this man had drowned, it would have been even more impossible to prove anything.
Watches were the best representation of status. Those who could
afford watches worth millions wouldn’t have a bad social status.
However, as the New Year was approaching, the impoverished could only resort to desperate measures.
They didn’t want anything else, they just wanted that watch.
Thomas didn’t know he was being watched, and as he walked, his gaze became increasingly bewildered.
He stood by the bridge, staring at the pitch–black river, trapped in a predicament.
An hour had pa**ed, and the man waiting nearby began to grow impatient.
“Boss, did he jump or not!”
The skinny man stared intently at the watch, his heart itching with impatience.
The sturdy man couldn’t wait either, he strode over, pausing slightly as he approached Thomas.
“Hey, what are you doing standing here? Planning to commit suicide?”
Suddenly hearing this voice, Thomas was startled, looking bewilderedly at the man in front of him: “I… I don’t know either…”
He seemed to have suddenly become mute, his lips moving slightly, a hint of timidity on his face.
“I couldn’t find the way home.”
Couldn’t find the way home?
The burly man looked him up and down, curling his lip.
“Boss, he…”
“Alzheimer’s disease,” the man chuckled softly, “This guy, he had dementia.”
“Alzheimer’s!” The skinny man was shocked, “He’s still so young…‘
“1
“Who said being young is so great?” Thinking of his own father, he sneered, “Some people do bad things, and old age diseases easily catch up with them. Retribution doesn’t care about age.”
With a cocked eye, he glanced at Thomas, “Sir, shall I take you
home?”
Thomas was speechless, his body somewhat rigid, but he had already forgotten everything, only allowing the man to lead him away.
***
Claudia returned to the Johnson family and sent a message to Pedro:
“Check what has happened to Thomas recently.”
The change in Thomas was too abrupt. Even knowing the truth about Elva’s parents, he shouldn’t have felt such guilt towards himself.
It was said that Emily had been suffering from insomnia recently. Although Emily didn’t say anything, Claudia knew that she hadn’t let go of her feelings for Thomas deep down.
After all, he was the man she had loved for so many years. Compared to infidelity, what was probably harder to accept was that he had changed.
Claudia walked to Emily’s room, her hand raised in the air, just about to knock, when Emily hurriedly came out from inside the door.
“Thomas had an accident!”
Emily held her phone, her face full of anxiety.
Claudia’s heart suddenly jolted.
Emily hurried out, her steps faltering, clearly a bit weak in the knees.
Thinking of the pain and confusion on Thomas’s face when he apologized to her, Claudia’s palms started to sweat slightly.
She didn’t know what was wrong with Thomas that made Emily so
flustered.
She quickly went over and supported Emily, “Mom, don’t panic, whatever it is, we can solve it properly.”
Recently, Emily’s spirits had been somewhat low, she didn’t want her condition to worsen any further.
She glanced at Emily’s phone and her heart sank hard when she saw the message on it.
“The president of the Friedan Group jumped into the river, his life and death uncertain, and is currently being rescued.”
Thomas jumped into the river?!
Claudia never imagined that Thomas would actually lose hope.
“No way, given his personality, he wouldn’t be so desperate. Something must have happened!”
Emily panicked, throwing herself onto Claudia, her face deathly pale.
