Supreme Heir Son-in-law

Chapter 803: Negotiating Terms

"The last time I entered your study was eight or nine years ago. I thought I would have to wait another ten years for the opportunity, but I didn’t expect it to come so soon." Claude spoke with a smile, sitting across from Bart without any hesitation.

Bart’s already sullen face turned darker with Claude’s words.

Fortunately, Claude knew when to stop and didn’t go too far. Otherwise, it seemed possible he could anger Bart into fainting right in the study.

"What do you really want? Even though you were raised by your grandfather for a few years and lived in the Manson house, you still have Calvin Family blood in you. I’ve never shorted you on anything, and I’ve never been stingy with what should be yours. You’re not a child anymore, and I believe you can judge for yourself how the Manson family truly feels about you. You’re so smart; I can’t believe you don’t know. Do you really intend to ruin the Calvin Family for the Manson family?" Bart said with bitter disappointment.

"Do you think I did all this for the Manson family?" Claude looked at Bart with some surprise.

"Do you think the Manson family is worth my dedication? Are they worthy?" Claude raised his voice, his eyes full of mockery as he looked at Bart, though it was unclear at whom the mockery was truly directed.

"Things have reached this point, so I’m not afraid to tell you the truth. I want both the Calvin Family and the Manson family." Claude said each word clearly, successfully witnessing Bart’s momentary expression of shock and disbelief.

"You actually!" Bart couldn’t believe his son harbored such wild ambition. "Swallowing the Calvin Family isn’t enough; you want the Manson family, too? Aren’t you afraid you can’t handle it?" Bart said, looking at his son with a complex expression.

"How could I possibly encounter a situation where I can’t handle it? Since I’ve decided to take down both families, I’m fully prepared. I’ve never lost a battle before." Claude, at some point, had taken out his lighter and was playing with it in front of Bart.

"I imagine you called me here today because you intend to hand over the Calvin Family to me, right? After all, I, Claude, rarely offer a third chance. If I hear a refusal again, I think the consequences are something you definitely don’t want to see."

The situation had come to such a point, and yet Bart found himself threatened by his own son. If he hadn’t been prepared, he might have been overwhelmed with anger and fainted right on the spot.

"I’m old and can’t compete with you young people anymore. You’ve always been my most outstanding child. Handing over the Calvin Family to you gives me peace of mind, but there’s still one thing I can’t let go of. I only have you children left, and no matter what happened before, I hope that in the future you can truly get along as siblings. They won’t be a threat to you, so I hope you can treat them well. I probably don’t have much longer to live, and I hope that after I’m gone, you can really support each other." Bart said, lowering his head halfway, sighing.

"Siblings? My mother didn’t have the fortune to give me so many siblings." Claude stopped his actions, with only a tuft of flame burning at his fingertips.

Bart was momentarily stung by Claude’s words. Thankfully, he had already mentally prepared himself, though he was unhappy with what Claude said. He quickly adjusted his mindset.

"I know I wronged your mother and you. I was young and impetuous, and my mind was muddled back then. But what’s done is done; the conclusions are made, and they can’t be changed. If I could, I’d want your mother to be alive and give me a chance to make amends, but that’s no longer possible." Bart said with a tone of melancholy.

"We living ones should look forward. Dwelling in the past only brings more pain and torture. I think your mother in Heaven wouldn’t want to see the relationship between my son and me being so strained and ugly." Bart looked at Claude with eyes filled with love and guilt.

"You want to use my mother to change my mind? Do you know how nauseating it is to hear you mention my mother? It’s almost been twenty years since she passed away, hasn’t it? Have you forgotten how she died? If she knew I treated your illegitimate children as family, she might just want to die all over again in Heaven." Claude said with a mocking smile on his lips.

"If you’ve forgotten how my mother died, let me remind you. After she gave birth to me, she suffered from postpartum depression. From as early as I can remember, she was always on antidepressants and frequently in and out of the hospital. The process was painful and long, yet you, as a husband, never gave her any comfort or love. You spent that time with your mistresses outside, maybe one, maybe two, or more. Who knows?" Claude said with a tone of contempt.

"You never thought of helping my mother out of her depression. You were indifferent to everything about her and even allowed your mistress to visit frequently and make trouble. I remember once when that mistress named Hannah came with a child half a year older than me and slapped my mother in the face, damaging both her pride and soul. My mother tried to fight back but was stopped by your most trusted butler."

As Claude said this, his eyes glanced at the butler standing behind Bart, the coldness in his eyes making it feel almost as if one was being plunged into ice water. The old butler’s naturally resting hand twitched involuntarily.

"Of course, that was only the beginning. Somehow, the incident got leaked, making my mother’s life never peaceful again. She had hoped to recover, but due to that reason, her slightly improved mental state worsened again, leading to her death. I remember there were just a few people constantly causing trouble, but now they have no opportunity to disturb my mother anymore. People as vile as them have no chance of reaching Heaven." Claude said with a faint smile.

Bart’s facade of loving kindness shattered stiffly on his face.

"Was it you... who did it?" Bart asked, his heart trembling and eyes fixed on Xu Ke.

"Yes, what’s so strange about that?" Claude said, smiling easily.