Chapter 236: Gemma Was Mr. Cassius‘ First Choice
“As long as you want to, you can.”
Cassius‘ tone was flat.
Like the Dolton family didn’t even matter to him.
Gemma rubbed her temples.
“I don’t know what kind of relationship my birth mother had with that family, but… I need to see how they react before I decide whether to acknowledge them.”
Cassius nodded.
“That’s fine. Until you make your decision, I promise–no one can force you.”
Gemma still looked uneasy.
The Doltons were powerful, and if Cassius wanted to help her, he’d be under immense pressure.
She really didn’t want to drag him into this.
“By the way, how do they even know I’m their kid? And why are they suddenly coming to N.L. City now?”
Cassius gave a simple, indifferent answer.
“The village case. It was only a matter of time before someone caught on.”
Gemma blinked in realization.
Right. The Doltons had connections everywhere.
Finding out the truth was probably as easy as snapping their fingers.
She’d really underestimated their reach.
“When are they arriving?”
“Tomorrow,”
Cassius paused, then added.
“But they won’t see you until the day after.”
Gemma, “???”
Cassius continued.
“The Jennings family will be meeting with them first.”
Gemma suddenly thought of Bradley.
So… he wasn’t just messing with her.
He actually recognized her identity.
But still…
They were already coming to N.L. City, yet instead of rushing to see her, they were making social calls first?
Well.
That said a lot.
It felt like finding her was more about tying up loose ends for her long–lost mother rather than them truly wanting to reunite with her.
She lowered her head…
Suddenly feeling deflated./
Cassius stood up and walked over to her, then, unexpectedly, ruffled her hair.
Brooke, who had just walked in to report something, froze mid–step.
Wait.
Was Mr. Cassius… and Ms. Kelestine…?
Brooke instantly spun around. Geez! Did he really need this job?
He stared at the wall, questioning his life choices. Was this job really worth it?
But Gemma didn’t mind at all. In fact, Cassius‘ small gesture calmed her down.
Honestly, she had stopped expecting anything from family a long time ago.
There was nothing to be upset about.
After a while…
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Setting
Chapter 236: Gemma Was Mr. Cassius‘ First Choice
She collected herself and looked up at him.
‘I’m fine. See? All good.”
She forced a smile, trying to blink away the tears welling in her eyes.
Cassius ruffled her hair again and threw her own words back at her.
“Their approval doesn’t matter that much.”
Gemma froze.
And just like that, the tears spilled over.
The frustration buried deep inside her cracked open and poured out.
Yeah. He was right.
Even if they were related by blood, they were strangers. Why should she care what strangers thought of her?
If they accepted her, great.
If not–whatever.
She took a deep breath, feeling much lighter.
“I’m really fine,” she said, shaking it off. “Oh! Noah’s riding today, right? I wanna go watch!”
“Mm.”
Cassius nodded.
Gemma quickly wiped away her tears, jumped up, and ran outside.
Brooke opened the door for her, watching as she dashed off to the backyard.
Then he shut the door, his expression turning serious.
“Marcus is demanding to see Dr. Kelestine immediately. Otherwise, he’s refusing to cooperate with the police.”
“The Wilsons‘ lawyers are already negotiating with the station. Marcus hasn’t committed any crimes. He’ll be out soon.”
Cassius moved the chair Gemma had just been sitting in to the side, making sure no one else would touch it.
“Then let him out.”
Brooke, “???”
“If he gets out, he’ll go straight after Dr. Kelestine.”
Cassius‘ expression didn’t change.
“The Doltons are coming in two days. It wouldn’t hurt to have a few more…
players on the board.”
Brooke’s eyes widened for a second.
Mr. Cassius wasn’t just setting a trap–he was making sure there’d be no loose ends.
Marcus never got to see Gemma. Instead, he was greeted by his lawyer.
“The police agreed to let you go,” the lawyer informed him.
Marcus immediately wanted to see Gemma, but the lawyer blocked him.
“Mr. Wilson, the company is in chaos. You can’t afford to make things worse.”
“The media is watching your every move. If this spirals further, I won’t be able to clean up the mess.”
“Also, the executives are waiting for you outside.”
Marcus‘ face darkened.
“Am I the boss, or are you?”
The lawyer sighed.
‘You are. But you can’t just burn everything down with you.”
Disappearing into that village had already caused enough damage.
Even though the Raven family scandal had been contained, the company was still bleeding from it.
And now, someone had stirred up new rumors–claiming that Mabel had used pregnancy to climb her way up. The internet was ripping the Wilsons apart. Their stock had been plummeting from the moment the market opened.
The executives wished their phones could disappear so they didn’t have to check the stock price.
At this rate, if Marcus didn’t step in, things would only get worse.
The lawyer laid out the whole situation in detail, finally convincing Marcus to stay put.
“This thing with Ms. Mabel–it came out of nowhere, but the evidence against her is airtight.”
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Chapter 236: Gemma Was Mr. Cassius‘ First Choice
“Also, people have been circulating ‘intimate‘ photos of you two online. It’s adding fuel to the fire.”
He pulled out his phone.
“Madame Margaret has been trying to call you all day. She’s losing it. You need to listen to her.”
Only then did Marcus notice that the lawyer’s phone had been on the whole time–Margaret had been eavesdropping.
Sure enough, the moment he took the call, she went off on him.
“Do you even have a sense of responsibility?!”
“Did I raise you to be this reckless?!”
“You’re carrying an entire corporation on your back, not some spoiled trust fund brat who can just run off whenever he wants!”
Listen to me—I will handle Mabel. You fix the PR disaster at the company.”
And with that, she hung up.
Marcus rubbed his temples, his voice hoarse.
“Fine. I’ll go to the office.”
The lawyer finally let out a breath of relief.
As soon as they stepped out of the station, several executives were outside, smoking in silence. The tension was suffocating.
Marcus‘ chest tightened.
He’d let them down. These people had fought beside him to protect the Wilsons, and he’d left them stranded. Taking a deep breath, he apologized.
“Mr. Wilson, you’re finally out. The Merricks are here. They want to discuss a partnership. We need to go back–now.”
The Merricks.
One of the families Margaret had once suggested as a marriage prospect.
Right now, with the Wilsons barely keeping it together, everyone else was keeping their distance.
Except for the Merricks.
But….
“What’s their condition?”
Chow, the VP, replied. “Mr. Wilson, beggars can’t be choosers.”
The others nodded in agreement.
If the Merricks hadn’t insisted on meeting Marcus in person, the deal would’ve been signed already.
At this point, they were so desperate that if the Merricks asked them to kneel and shine their fucking shoes, they’d probably do it without
hesitation.
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