Chapter 267 Familial Love in the Cracks
Wanted to act, but it also depended on whether they agreed or not.
Kingston’s reaction was unexpected, causing Horace’s face to slightly change. “Dad, I had previously made an agreement with Seraphina. It was a promise I made to her. Forcing us to marry like this won’t make us happy.”
“She might not necessarily be happy, but you will definitely be joyful,” Kingston looked at him deeply, “If you didn’t truly like her, how could you agree to such an unreasonable request, Horace? I know you, you’re not a person who acts rashly, unless you’re truly moved.”
“After all, Edmond is already dead, and their past love is just that – in the past. After you marry Seraphina, live a good life. Wait for her to give birth to a few more children for our family, and in the future, you will also be a loving family. As for the child in her belly…” Kingston squinted his eyes, “As long as Seraphina’s heart is with our family, raising one more child won’t cost much.”
“Horace, if you like a woman, you should keep her close to you. It’s okay to use some tactics in the early stages, over time, all will be forgotten. What’s important is what you truly think in your heart.”
Kingston’s words left Horace speechless.
Of course, he didn’t want to let go either, but Edmond was still alive, could he compete?
Just as he was hesitating, Kingston made the decision for him: “You
just stay at home and think about it for a couple of days, you don’t need to worry about the engagement for now.”
After speaking, he gave his wife a look.
Horace’s mother understood intuitively and nodded at him.
Upon hearing this, Horace knew that the matter was settled, his father intended to get fully involved.
He knew his father’s methods, that he would stop at nothing set his mind to do something.
Horace frowned, tightly closing his mouth.
once
he
After Kingston left, he sent a message to Claudia: My father knows about us, he might not let it go easily. Tell your family and take precautions in advance.
Upon seeing the message, Claudia’s brows furrowed slightly.
She didn’t know Kingston, but once her affair with Horace involved their parents, it would become more troublesome.
“What’s wrong?” Dalton looked at her with concern, “You said there was something you wanted to tell us, what is it?”
Arianna and the others also looked at her.
Claudia chuckled, finally voicing the words she had been brewing in her heart for a long time: “I plan to cancel my engagement with Horace.”
The atmosphere froze.
Melanie immediately became restless and hurriedly asked, “What happened? Why do you suddenly want to cancel the engagement? Isn’t this guy pretty good to you? I also think highly of him, did he do something to hurt you?”
Claudia shook her head repeatedly, “I did something that wronged him.”
“Our engagement was merely a transaction, I’m sorry for giving false hope.”
She knew that these people were all hoping for her to find happiness soon, but happiness was not so easy to find.
Her deal with Horace was all about forcing Edmond to show up.
Upon hearing her words, Dalton was the first to react, “It’s okay, if you don’t want to get engaged, then don’t. It’s just an engagement, many people get married and then immediately divorce, it’s not a big deal. If you want to cancel, then cancel. Your uncle will take care of everything for you, don’t be afraid!”
Without asking her the reason, Dalton chose to believe directly.
Although he didn’t have much contact with this niece, she satisfied him in every aspect, especially since she was a member of the Enigma organization, which made him believe that she would never act recklessly.
“Yeah! If it’s cancelled, it’s cancelled. The next one might be even better.” Sienna winked at her, her smile full of implications. “I know quite a few good men. Would you like me to introduce you to some?”
Claudia gave a bitter smile, the attitude of the Johnson family warmed her heart, what she worried about the most was that the Johnson family would be implicated because of her.
Thinking of the text message Horace had sent, she quickly warned, “Kingston might not let it go easily. If he comes to you, push me forward, I’ll handle it.”
“What’s being pushed out, isn’t it just a Kingston? Your uncle will take care of it.” Dalton’s voice was low, “With me around, no one can bully you.”
“Yeah, let the adults handle adult matters. Don’t worry, even though my dad looks rough and tough, he’s actually quite cunning. He’s very shrewd and would never let himself be taken advantage of,” Sienna explained with a giggle, completely oblivious to the fact that her father’s face was getting darker and darker.
Surrounded by so many people, Claudia’s eyes welled up with tears.
Suddenly, a wave of warmth enveloped her entire body.
She thought she was abandoned, never daring to expect anything from family ties except for her grandmother. That year, she was hurt in love, but was healed by family affection, warm and happy.
She had to cherish these people, cherish this hard–earned happiness.
The next day, Kingston showed up at the door with his bodyguards, full of aggression.
Dalton had been prepared and talked with Kingston for an hour.
Claudia was upstairs, intending to come down, but remembering Dalton’s words, she ultimately did not show up.
Uncle said he would help her solve it. If she rashly came out, it might upset him.
If anything really happened, she would cover for her uncle.
Not knowing what Uncle had said to Kingston, Kingston finally left in
anger.
Dalton proudly flashed her a “V” from downstairs.
Clearly, repelling Kingston gave him a great sense of accomplishment.
Claudia was both amused and exasperated, but she still made an extra effort to have Pedro closely monitor Kingston’s movements.
I wasn’t afraid of him being aggressive, I was afraid of him being sneaky.
What she worried about the most was also the safety of the Johnson family.
Driving Kingston away all by himself indeed gave Dalton a sense of accomplishment, but soon, the backlash came.
“Mr. Johnson, the company had a problem.”
Suddenly receiving a call from his secretary, Dalton hurriedly rushed. to the company.
“What’s going on?” Dalton’s forehead vein was throbbing.
The secretary looked genuinely frightened, “Several of our company’s partners suddenly want to terminate their contracts with us. We still don’t know why they are doing this. Although they will pay a termination fee, it’s merely symbolic due to our years of cooperation. Mr. Johnson, if the terminations continue, our company’s cash flow might be disrupted.”
Dalton’s heart sank sharply, suddenly recalling the harsh words Kingston had left with. He had said he would make him regret, so this was the means to make him regret.
“Show me all these companies that wanted to terminate the contract.”
The secretary quickly brought the form, and upon seeing the list of companies on it, Dalton understood.
Some of these companies were subsidiaries of the Ferguson family, while others were companies that had strong collaborations with the Ferguson family.
Kingston made a move against his own company.
“I had negotiated the penalty fee with them, they could terminate if they wanted to.”
Since Kingston had already prepared, it would have been useless even if he personally went to talk to these companies.
Upon hearing this, the secretary’s face turned slightly pale.
Half of these collaborations had already been terminated. If it continued, within a month, the company’s capital chain would definitely break.
“Mr. Johnson, the projects we are collaborating on with these people have already been funded and are all underway. If we suddenly suspend them, it may be difficult to estimate our losses.”
The secretary spoke very tactfully.
All of the Johnson family’s focus was on technological research and development. It was time–consuming and required a large investment. If they did not cooperate with other companies, bearing the cost alone would be a high risk.
And these tech products had already consumed a lot of money. If cooperation was cut off at this point, it would mean cutting off funds. Over time, this would cause operational issues for the company.
Dalton had also thought of this.
The business war was not a matter of life and death, he had promised his niece that he would protect her. At this point, the arrow was on the string and had to be released, even if the company collapsed, he could not lose.
However, the situation was even worse than he had imagined. By evening, ninety percent of the orders had encountered problems.
The Johnson Group was not as big as the Ferguson Group. When the two started to clash, other companies immediately took sides.
The senior executives of the Johnson Group flocked to Dalton to complain, “Mr. Johnson, we are just a small company, we can’t compare with the Ferguson Group!”
“Yes, Mr. Johnson, let’s call it quits. We can’t beat Kingston. If we continue like this, the company will go bankrupt.”
“Mr. Johnson, didn’t you have a remarkable niece? I heard she was
going to get engaged to Kingston’s son, why don’t you have her speak to her future father–in–law?”
Everyone was speaking in turn, seeming very flustered.
Looking at these subordinates who had followed him for many years, Dalton’s face was full of fatigue.
He was not afraid of Kingston, but the other people in the company
were.
The marketplace was like a battlefield, he either surrendered or fought.
“You guys go back first, things haven’t reached a dead end yet, there’s no need to be so pessimistic, even if the sky falls, I’ll still be here.”
He waved his hand, driving these people out of his office.
After everyone had left, Dalton relaxed completely.
These words were just to comfort the employees, he knew, once Kingston made a move, he wouldn’t back down.
This was Kingston’s style.
This time, the company was probably in serious trouble.
