"I… Excuse me. Does Yakira Mo live here?" Paul didn't expect to be spotted, so he tried to be unobtrusive. He wanted to run away, but he couldn't as he was penniless now.
"Yes. She lives here, but she is not home now. I'm her son. Is there anything I can do for you? If you don't mind, I can pass your message on to her." After learning that the man wanted to visit his mother, Brian opened the car door and got out. He stared at the man's dreadful appearance with sharp eyes, wondering how he knew his mother.
"You're her son? She has never told me she has a son. You're not lying to me, are you?" Paul looked Brian up and down, skeptical about who he was. Yakira had never told him that she had a son around this age, so he didn't believe what Brian said.
"Sir, didn't you see that I came out of the house? Why would I lie to you? Look at you. You're a mess. What could I possibly want from you?" Brian displayed a helpless smile at Paul's scrupulousness. In his opinion, Paul looked like a bad person, but he thought Brian was a liar.
"So you really are her son. What's your name?" Paul still didn't believe Brian. He was detained on Edward's orders earlier, so he became particularly cautious about everything and refused to trust others easily.
"My name is Brian Ouyang. Why are you here? Well, if it's not urgent, you can tell her to her face when she gets back." After stating his piece, Brian opened the car door again, ready to leave at any time.
"Wait! I believe you. My cousin didn't mention you to me, so I wasn't sure. Please don't take it to heart." As Brian was about to leave, Paul panicked. He hadn't had a bite to eat for almost a day and a night. He thought to himself, 'As this guy said, he's Yakira's son, which means he's my nephew. Since I can't find Yakira, I can turn to him.'
"Cousin? You mean my mother is your cousin? Then how should I address you? Uncle? She didn't tell me anything about you either." Brian began to doubt Paul's words. Once again, he stared at Paul in disbelief.
"You weren't born yet when I left the country. I can understand why she doesn't mention me to you. Anyway, she doesn't want to see me again." Paul took a sidelong glance at Brian. He thought, 'So to Yakira, I'm dead. She has never told me she has a son. Basically, I'm screwed. She wants nothing to do with me, and probably doesn't care whether I'm in the country or not. So I can't even hang with my family.'
"What do you mean? Does she have a grudge against you? Or do you have something on her?" Brian was sensitive. He didn't know what Paul meant. In his opinion, the man standing before him was too weird. He had never seen him before, but now he appeared when the Ouyang family was having its hardest time. Did this mean that he had something to do with his mother being arrested?
The answer to that will cost you. So how much money do you have on you?" Seeing that Brian was curious, Paul deliberately kept him guessing, in an attempt to extort some cash from him. The deeds he did for Yakira were no longer a secret. He could tell her son the whole story, frankly.
"It depends on how valuable your info is. I don't have time for games." Brian squinted at Paul. He wanted to call him "uncle" a minute ago, but what he said just now deterred him. Admittedly, sometimes one's family background was really important because it was closely related to his morality and cultivation. As the saying goes, birds of the same feather flock together. Undoubtedly, Paul and Yakira were intent on nothing but profit.
Very astute! How about we discuss this over dinner? I'm starving. First we eat, then we can conclude our business." Paul got excited because Brian was curious about what he had. He rubbed his hands together.
"Get in," Brian sneered. He opened the door and took the seat, wondering what surprises Paul had for him.
"Okay," Paul answered in an oily voice and got in the car. He chuckled to himself at the thought that he would have money to burn even if Yakira didn't help him.
Little did Brian know that he would hear a nasty, brutal fact, and the accomplice Paul would show his hideous features without feeling guilty. At dinner, Paul filled him in.
My God! How can you sleep at night after doing all these things? What kind of monster are you?" Brian thumped the table, his face pale. He finally knew why Daisy went bananas last night and insisted on killing his mother even at the cost of his love. 'If I were Daisy, I would do something even more drastic,' thought Brian.
So what? Living is better than dying. I'm alive, even though I'm hurting for cash. I don't want to die." Paul curled his lip. He didn't give a crap about other people's lives. Saving his own life was the first priority. If he had been kind-hearted, he wouldn't have done such inhuman things.
You're a vicious monster, aren't you? Frankly, I'm sickened by what you told me! Now I wish I hadn't asked you anything!" Brian closed his eyes. A mother never looked ugly to her son, but he wished he didn't have such a heartless mother.
"So what? Hand over the dough!" Paul didn't care about how Brian felt. Instead, he was more concerned with the money that Brian promised to give him.
"There is 500, 000 on this card. Use the original password. Take it and get out of my sight! I don't want to see you again!" Brian didn't want to be around Paul anymore. He took a bank card from his wallet and threw it onto the table. He didn't bother to despise such a man.
What? 500, 000? That's total crap. I need more. Not even a beggar could live on that! I think my info is worth 50 million!" Paul shouted, refusing to receive such a small sum of money. He was dissatisfied with the price Brian offered. As the young master of Ouyang Foreign Trade, he should have offered tens of millions at least. 500, 000 was too little for Paul. He'd probably blow that in one night.
"Beggar? That's insulting to beggars. To me, you're worse than a beast, let alone a beggar. 500, 000 is already a high price for you," Brian sneered at Paul, but soon he turned his gaze. He really wanted to beat this man black and blue, but he didn't want to stain his hands with his blood. He was reluctant to even shoot a glance at this bastard now.
Young man, you wouldn't really want me going to the police, would you? That might be bad for your mom. She's the main culprit, while I'm just an accessory. Even if I'm caught one day, I won't be in the slammer as long as your mom would." Paul didn't think that Brian would react so furiously to what he said. He thought Brian would give him big bucks, but he was wrong. He got so exasperated that he began to threaten Brian.
Do what you want. Then you guys can share a cell, and hatch more evil plans." Since Paul had no intent to leave, Brian turned away. He had difficulty in breathing because this cold-blooded man fouled the air.
"What do you mean?" Paul was shocked by what Brian said. He hurriedly stopped Brian as he got a really bad feeling.
Well, I almost forgot to tell you that my mother was arrested by the police last night. You just missed her. If you really want to visit her, head directly to the police station. Like attracts like. I think she'll be very happy to see you," Brian informed Paul. Then he strode out of the restaurant without looking back. His steps were heavy and ponderous as he saw no hope for the future.
Brian desperately flung himself into the car. Now he had no strength to ask Leo for the truth. To say the least, it wasn't necessary. The truth was so cruel that he could hardly swallow it. Given what happened last night, they must have found it out before he did. The baby in Grace's belly died. It would have been a few years older than Brian if it had lived. However, it wasn't as lucky as Brian. It couldn't live a safe and healthy life.
Nobody knew whether it was a baby boy or a baby girl, but Brian stepped into the role the child would have played if s/he lived. That was why he was so close to Daisy in childhood. However, what happened last night changed everything. After knowing the truth, he felt too ashamed to face Daisy and didn't have the courage to tell her that he would always be her only good sibling. If his mother hadn't killed Grace cruelly, Daisy would have had another good brother or sister who would treat her as a princess. In that case, he would never be the only one on her side.
Before Brian left home, he was still thinking about how to get his mother out of prison and how to plead with Daisy for his mother's life. However, he could do nothing now. To put it bluntly, his mother killed her mother, so he felt too ashamed to ask her to spare his own.
Brian sighed tiredly and slammed his fist down on the steering wheel in anger. Now he went to hysterics. The truth laid bare everything that he had thought impossible. Now everything came crashing down. How could he clear up such a messy situation?