Chapter 159: The Reason

Samuel Ford shook his head, thought for a moment, then nodded. "It’s probably about the company."

He’s already made such a ruthless move, and it was clearly intentional. ’It’s impossible that there’s no animosity.’ After some thought, Samuel Ford made his own conjecture.

He only said one sentence, but Amanda Vance understood.

Conflicts of interest, squabbles among the rich and powerful—they’re hardly uncommon.

As for his so-called "playboy" persona, it was just a smokescreen.

"It seems your father and mother never suspected him. He must have hidden it very well."

She had run into him in the hospital room a few times, and both Mr. Ford and Mrs. Ford were always very good to him. They didn’t seem guarded at all. It was only she, an outsider, who wasn’t looking through rose-tinted glasses and could see things a little more clearly.

"Mm." Samuel Ford rubbed his fingertips together, his expression turning icy. "My uncle is my dad’s only brother. Dad has always been very protective of him. After they grew up, my dad even offered him a job at the company, but he wasn’t interested. He said he preferred to have fun and turned it down."

Of course, Mr. Ford didn’t hold this against his younger brother. On the contrary, he was incredibly good to him, and very generous. He gave him a large allowance every month, which was the money he used to travel and enjoy himself all these years.

Thinking back, Mr. Ford had truly bent over backwards for his brother; there was nothing more he could have done.

"Then why would he do this?"

’An ungrateful wretch? But if it was for personal gain, it still doesn’t make sense. Mr. Ford basically gave him whatever he wanted; it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he was his meal ticket. If something happened to him, Samuel Ford, his nephew, certainly wouldn’t give him that much money. He’d be the one losing out in the end.’

"Do you have some kind of feud with him? Is that why he’s deliberately getting revenge?"

Samuel Ford was more inclined to believe this possibility.

He thought hard. An idea came to mind, one he wasn’t entirely sure about. But if they were talking about a grudge, this was the most likely possibility.

"I heard from my mom that my uncle once brought a girl home. He wanted to marry her, but the family didn’t approve, so they couldn’t be together. My uncle and my dad had a huge fight about it. It got really ugly."

That was the only time the two brothers ever had a major conflict.

Amanda Vance was puzzled by this. "Why didn’t they approve?"

’Considering how much Mr. Ford doted on his younger brother, how could he bring himself to break up a happy couple?’

"We weren’t trying to break them up." Mrs. Ford, who had appeared in the doorway at some unknown moment, said, seemingly guessing Amanda’s thoughts.

She looked exhausted. She was still reeling from the discovery that it was Mr. Ford’s own brother who had provoked him, and she had no idea how she was going to comfort her husband when he woke up.

The thought alone gave her a headache. She had stepped out for a bit when she saw her son arrive and had returned to hear them discussing this very matter.

She wasn’t angry with Amanda Vance for prying into their family’s affairs. In her heart, if Amanda would just say yes, she’d start planning the wedding immediately. She already thought of her as family, so this wasn’t something that had to be hidden from her.

"We weren’t the ones trying to split them up." Mrs. Ford walked in and sighed. "It was the girl herself who was unwilling."

She was being forced.

No matter how much Mr. Ford spoiled his brother, he would never agree to ruining someone else’s life. Naturally, he refused.

"We just never imagined his obsession ran so deep that he’d hold onto it for all this time."

’So that’s what happened.’

Amanda Vance wasn’t surprised he was capable of something like this. After all, from the moment she first met him, she knew he wasn’t as cheerful and harmless as he seemed.

Naturally, it all fell apart after that. The girl disappeared—no one knew how—and Mr. Ford never brought it up again. They all thought he had moved on.

"So what are you going to do?" Amanda Vance asked.

Mrs. Ford shook her head, as this was what was troubling her as well. Her husband doted on his younger brother more than anyone. After that incident years ago, he felt he had wronged him and was twice as good to him. Who would have thought his kindness would be treated like poison, that they had raised such an ungrateful wretch.

It wasn’t that they expected anything in return, but his actions were truly heartbreaking.

Mr. Ford was the one most hurt by this. Even though he’s been saved, he’ll be heartbroken when he wakes up.

Alas.

Family matters were the hardest to solve, so Amanda said no more.

She had expended too much energy saving him, so the hospital director gave her half a day off without a second thought. It was a rare chance for Amanda to go pick up her child herself.

"President Ford, would you like to come with me?"

Both children went to the same school, so Amanda asked casually before she left.

Samuel Ford, however, shook his head. "Colt hasn’t been to school these past few days."

"Hm?" Amanda looked at him quizzically, a little nervous. "Is he sick?"

’It would be better if he were sick. At least that would be a legitimate reason.’

"No, he’s been skipping school."

Amanda never expected that to be the reason. After a long moment of thought, she remarked, "He’s quite the character, isn’t he?"

Perhaps because Jean often did the same, she wasn’t particularly bothered by it.

Jean was a bright child and had already taught himself the high school curriculum. Forcing him to sit obediently in class with other children would be a trial for him. That’s why she usually turned a blind eye when he secretly had Jobs pick him up early from kindergarten.

She just hadn’t expected Felix Ford to be the same way.

’Then again, kids are kids. None of them like school.’

’It’s no big deal.’

"In that case, President Ford, you’ll have your hands full."

"Mm." Samuel Ford thought of her son with a twinge of envy. ’If only Colt were as well-behaved as Jean.’

At that very moment, Jean Vance—the paragon of a well-behaved child in that father’s mind—was sitting on his sofa with a laptop, his little brow deeply furrowed.

He had been keeping an eye on the Vance family even before returning to the country. The family was already at the end of its rope, and now it was on the brink of bankruptcy.

But yesterday, a mysterious injection of capital had been made into the Vance Group, and the amount was large enough to solve their current cash flow problems.

Jean narrowed his eyes, his fingers tapping lightly on his laptop. ’Who on earth did Holly Vance get to know? Why would someone be willing to give him money?’

’Rather than someone seeing potential in the Vance family and wanting to partner with them, I’m more inclined to believe they’ve struck some kind of shady deal.’

He had traced the account, but it was a virtual account from overseas, and the registered owner’s name was incredibly common, clearly a fake.

’Whoever could come up with this much money at once was definitely no ordinary person.’

’So what was their purpose in helping the Vance family?’

He pondered for a moment, and a determined look slowly settled on his small face. ’Whatever their motive, the Vance family bullied my mom and was responsible for my grandmother’s death. They have to pay the price.’

’It doesn’t matter who’s helping Holly Vance. It’s useless.’

「At the Vance residence.」

Holly Vance respectfully offered a teacup with both hands to the man on the sofa, his eyes gleaming with sycophantic praise. "Mr. Ford, please, have some tea."

Mr. Ford took it and placed it casually on the coffee table. "The money... I trust you’ve seen it, Mr. Vance?"

At the mention of this, Holly Vance’s eyes lit up, his excitement unconcealed. "I saw it, I saw it! Thank you so much, Mr. Ford! Just tell me what you need. I’d walk through fire for you, I’d be your beast of burden—I won’t hesitate for a second!"

Mr. Ford looked at the fawning man before him, a flash of contempt in his eyes.

’So this is the man you chose? He’s nothing special.’