Chapter 639
Cindy never dreamed her brother would go so far, sacrificing everything for Claire.
Her jealousy and bitterness toward Claire swelled to a whole new level.
Thank God York didn’t have feelings for Claire—if he did, Cindy couldn’t even imagine what her own life would have turned into.
“Don’t talk about throwing away your name and legacy,” Latham said, his tone even. “You’re only saying these things out of anger.”
“The James family is in real trouble right now. That’s the only reason I want you to make this sacrifice for us to help us through with a marriage alliance.”
“If none of this had happened, and you’d wanted to marry Claire, I’d have given you my blessing without hesitation.”
“Lance, I’m not forcing you. The situation gives us no choice.”
Latham’s words took a bit of the fight out of Lance. The family was in crisis, and as their heir-their biggest beneficiary-if he refused to step up and make sacrifices, who would help the James family pull through?
“I understand. I’ll reach out to Mabel.”
“Lance, I always knew you were a sensible kid.” Latham looked at him, visibly relieved.
Lance just gave a noncommittal shrug.
Kid. He was long past that. The word felt almost insulting, considering everything expected of him now.
To be told to let go of the girl he loved, just to marry someone who left him utterly cold-what a farce.
He had worked for years, doing all he could to be with Claire, only to discover it meant nothing in the end. Now he had to swallow his pride and beg another girl for help-how humiliating.
That night, Lance’s mood hit rock bottom. He retreated to his room and started nursing a bottle of whiskey.
After a few glasses, drunk and dejected, he called Claire.
Claire had spent the whole day running herself ragged at the lab, desperate to get some early results. She’d barely managed to fall asleep before her phone jarred her awake. Groggy and irritable, she answered.
“Hello?” she grumbled, her voice thick with sleep and annoyance.
But to Lance, that familiar voice was a balm he hadn’t realized he missed. It tugged at something deep inside him.
“Did I wake you?” After a pause, he caught the barely concealed irritation in her voice.
“What do you think? You expect me to just lie around all night waiting for your call?” Claire snapped back.
“I haven’t even congratulated you
yet. Top of your class-city valedictorian.” Ever since he’d
confessed his feelings to
Sonly
to be turned down, Lance hadn’t
spoken to Claire this calmly.
Claire had no idea what was wrong with him tonight.
She pinched the bridge of her nose in the darkness. “Thanks. If you have something
to say, spill it. If not, I’m going back to sleep.”
“There’s trouble at the James family. Have you heard?”
She could hear he meant business, so Claire answered honestly. “Yeah, I heard. Somebody died during the site clearance. Has it been sorted out yet?”
Claire wasn’t sitting around hoping for the James family to go down in flames.
No matter what Octavia had done to her, the Jameses had still raised her for eighteen years. That counted for something.
Now that they were in crisis, she didn’t feel a hint of schadenfreude-only a nagging worry.
“They got to the bottom of it. The demolition crew hired by the company got into a tussle with an elderly resident. It wasn’t even a real fight, just a bit of pushing around But the old man collapsed
The crew chief thought the guy was faking it to pin a lawsuit on them.
Truth be told, the James family was getting dragged through the mud for something out of their control.
How could they have known the man would suddenly have a medical emergency at that moment?
They missed their window to get him medical help. He never even made it to the hospital, and after he died… Well, that was it. The whole redevelopment was put on indefinite hold.
Hoping for a fat payout, the family of the deceased refused to bury him or allow a funeral.
While the Jameses were still trying to calm things down, someone—a so-called “friend”-whispered a rotten idea to the grieving family.
They staged a grotesque protest, bringing the man’s body right to the steps of the James Group headquarters. It was a PR nightmare that went viral in minutes.
The James family’s reputation was
everything in the business world, and this protest was a PR disaster Suppliers and clients panicked, contract after contract pulled. Suddenly, even the partners who had always given them some leeway on payments wanted their money now.