novelraw Chapter 1112: The Person Beside Me Is My Enemy
Chapter 1112: The Person Beside Me Is My Enemy
On the road north to the Imperial City, Griffith Squire had envisioned many possibilities. What if Leah didn’t believe him? He had brought Uncle Hao along and even carried the results of the sibling DNA test. But upon entering, he simply said he was her brother, and she broke down in tears, believing him.
The hardships and sufferings of the past decade suddenly felt worth it to Griffith Squire.
Crystal Landon gazed at his handsome but sinister face, reached out to pull apart the t-shirt underneath his white coat, and saw a bandage on his chest, stained with hints of blood. Her eyes reddened again. She wasn’t a fool; Uncle Hao had been by her side for five or six years, and he had even used Eamon Turner, who was such a deeply buried mole. For him to be so badly injured yet come to the Imperial City to see her, coupled with their similar appearance, who else would go to such lengths if not a real relative?
"Who am I?" she asked, choking slightly but restraining the tremor in her voice.
"Your original surname is Cox. We are half-siblings, sharing the same father. Over twenty years ago, our father was one of the first intellectuals to go to the countryside in southern Yunnan, where he met my mother. They fell in love, but later when he returned to the Imperial City, my mother was trafficked to a remote mountain forest," Griffith Squire recounted the past with a hoarse voice. For him and his mother, those memories were unbearable to recall. "Father didn’t know I existed and searched for my mother for years in vain. He later married your mother and had you. After father passed away and the family fell, I only learned years later that you had been adopted by the Landon Family."
"Pearl Landon told me that the year I was adopted, a massive corruption case shook the Imperial City. The entire family involved died, leaving a three-year-old baby girl, and then the Shaw Family took me to the Landon Family. Was that family the Cox Family?" She felt desolate, fingers clenched tightly in her palms, speaking hoarsely, "Tell me, I can handle it."
The truth was that their father, who held a high position, was falsely accused, and died tragically in prison. The Shaw Family reported this, rose to power, and out of guilty conscience, sent her to be fostered by the Landon Family. Fifteen years later, they arranged for Richard Shaw to marry her.
Griffith Squire’s eyes were bloodshot, a fierce glint flashing within them. The people who raised her for fifteen years were her enemies. Her husband was the enemy’s son. The child she carried was also an enemy’s descendant. How was Leah to bear all this?
"Leah, the truth from back then, I’ll tell you in full once you’ve had the baby. Richard Shaw’s methods in the Middle East are overly aggressive and bloody, provoking extreme retaliation. The other party has already infiltrated and is planning a terrorist attack. In the next couple of days, I’ll find a way to get you out of the Imperial City," Griffith Squire said quietly, eyes lowered.
Crystal Landon saw him change the subject, which was as good as confirming the truth of the matter. Her heart felt barren and ice-cold; so, Pearl Landon had been right all along. Her parents had died when she was three, which was why no one had ever told her who she was or who her parents were.
She pressed her fingertips firmly, turning them slightly white, feeling a dull ache in her belly. Enduring the pain, her almond-shaped eyes fixed steadily on Griffith Squire as she spoke each word with emphasis:
"At this point, do you still want to hide from me? I know you’re the infamous warlord leader of the Golden Triangle in recent years. Why didn’t you dare to acknowledge me for over a decade, instead scheming in the Golden Triangle, expanding territories, risking your life to gather military power? What do you want this military power for? Who are you planning to confront?"
Crystal Landon had long guessed his identity. Uncle Hao and Eamon Turner had all but confirmed it. How could an ordinary person spend ten years to plant such a mole beside Richard Shaw?
Griffith Squire’s handsome face was shadowed, gazing at the thick darkness outside. All the blood in his body rushed to one place, forcibly contained and repressed, astonished that she had pieced together the truth from mere clues.
The man was silent for a few seconds, then in a low voice, he spoke of that shocking case from back then, revealing the identity issues buried in his heart for over a decade.
"Yes, that case, which shocked the nation then, was set to bring down none other than our father, and you were the Cox Family’s missing three-year-old baby.
Back then, in the Imperial City, our father was falsely accused of corruption by the Shaw Family. The scandal rocked the nation, and he died in prison within three days. Your mother fell to her death, and with the Cox Family’s fall, the Imperial City was engulfed in a storm of blood and wind, with five or six noble families involved.
Such a large event was fully covered up in less than half a year. Now, no one dares to mention it, and there’s not even a record in the archives."
Griffith Squire’s voice carried a hint of viciousness in the dark night: "After our father died in prison, and mother, heartbroken, passed away after telling me of my origin, I investigated for years and found Uncle Hao. I then learned that the Shaw Family had swapped you out, perhaps out of a guilty conscience, they’ve treated you well over the years.
"I had no power or influence; how could I fight the prestigious Shaw Family of the Imperial City? Only by mingling in the Golden Triangle, with military power that even the military feared, could I overturn father’s case and rescue you from our enemies."
With each word Griffith Squire spoke, Crystal Landon’s body grew colder. She understood every word he said, yet when put together, she couldn’t comprehend the meaning. Had her past decade been nothing but a colossal scam, a giant joke?
Seeing her pallor and severe trembling, Griffith Squire reached out and gripped her arm tightly, lowering his voice as he said heavily, "Leah, don’t be afraid. Your brother can get you out soon; endure just a couple more days."
*
When Richard Shaw drove to Luna Lawrence’s residential complex, night had already fallen.
The man felt uneasy, with a sudden sense of heart palpitations, and frowned briefly, trying to calm his mind. He entered the residential area, went upstairs, and pushed open the ajar door.
Richard Shaw recalled that on Chinese New Year’s Eve, Luna Lawrence’s door was also left open. Was she certain that he would come again this time?
Inside, soft music played, and Luna Lawrence, wearing a floral dress, soaked in the bathtub. Hearing the man enter, she quickly grabbed a fruit knife at her side and slashed it across her wrist. Due to her panic, the cut wasn’t deep but nonetheless, blood flowed out, dripping onto the floor.
Richard Shaw entered the bathroom, his handsome face clouded over with a hint of shadow. Seeing her slit her wrist, for a moment, he felt a chilling coldness.
"You didn’t cut it deep enough; you didn’t hit an artery. At most, you’ll bleed but not die." His thin lips let out indifferent words.
Luna Lawrence trembled all over, looking up incredulously at the man she had known for years. Why was Richard Shaw wearing such an expression, why would he say such things?
Wasn’t he supposed to rush over in a panic, help her stop the bleeding, save her, take her to a hospital?