LM
CHAPTERS 993 - 1000
993
In front of many cameras, Griffin continued to say, “I would like to thank the people who are still loyal to the country at such a critical moment. It is because of you that our country can be rich and powerful.”
Griffin gave a deep bow to everyone who was watching… In short, he had to put on a full act to keep the show going.
He saluted. Of course, the audience returned the salute too. At this time, a person rushed over and handed the report to Griffin. “Sir, this is the data on the country’s opinions on the Internet. It shows that the people support Mr. Dominic to be elected as the next President.”
Griffin flipped through the chart and checked the data. He nodded with satisfaction and then looked at Dominic. “Dominic, besides the audience we have here, there’s 80% of voters’ approval on the Internet that supports you as President. The people’s expectations of you are high. Do you have any reason to decline the job?”
Dominic pretended to be in a dilemma. He clenched his fists and said hesitantly, “Uncle, it’s not that I don’t want to. It’s because …”
Among the audience, someone immediately took the lead and said, “Mr. Dominic, you must become the President. Please don’t refuse this.”
These scenes were rehearsed in advance. They just needed one person to voice an opinion out and the rest will follow suit. This would create the illusion that many people supported him.
As the saying goes, the country could never be without its leader. Since Nathaniel was in trouble, the most urgent thing to do now was to choose a new President to stabilize the country’s political situation.
As soon as something happened to Nathaniel, Dominic was the most senior member of the younger generation of the Cooper family. He was also the most probable candidate to succeed as the President.
At this time, it might be the best opportunity to recommend Dominic as a candidate. No matter if it was Griffin, Hannah Elliot, or even Dominic himself, they would not miss this opportunity.
The crowd cheered, “Mr. Dominic, you must be the President. Please take charge. Don’t turn this down.”
Everyone shouted in unison, and their voices were loud enough to shake the heavens.
While everyone was cheering and shouting, Griffin whispered in Dominic’s ear, “Dominic, no one can stop you from becoming the President now. Boy, try your best. The future of the country will be in your hands.”
Dominic nodded with a smile. “My Uncle, don’t worry. The future will belong to me, and to you.”
Griffin indicated that he was very satisfied with what Dominic said, but he still sounded sad. “Sigh, if only my son could be half as filial as you.”
At the thought of his own son, Griffin felt somewhat saddened and regretful.
Especially at such an old age, his three sons were either dead or exiled. However, he was more afraid of losing his power than losing his sons. Therefore, in the balance of power and family, Griffin was inclined towards power, so he automatically gave up family.
He added, “When you are in position, whatever you want, not to mention the little girl of the Carter family, or whichever girl you choose, how hard could that be now?”
“The little girl of the Carter family? Uncle, do you think I really want her?” Dominic chuckled. Griffin really thought that he had a crush on the little girl of the Carter family.
In his mind, power was more important than anything else. Janell Joy Carter was nothing to him.
Dominic had to admit that she had good qualities. She was smart and talented, had a good figure and she was very pretty. She had a great personality and plenty of great traits.
But just because she was excellent and beautiful, must Dominic choose to fancy her?
Perhaps, he did fancy her, but the reason why he liked her was not that she was excellent and beautiful. It was solely because she was Nathaniel’s one true love.
As long as it was something that belonged to Nathaniel, he wanted to snatch it all for himself. He had to get it all, just like how Nathaniel’s mother robbed everything that should have belonged to his mother.
Perhaps he wanted the little girl only because she had the Shengtian empire backing her and she was related to the genius of the business world, Edwin Carter.
After he takes his place as the President of Country A, if he could get the little girl and the support of Edwin Carter of Shengtian, he would be able to make Country A rich and prosperous.
Everyone was still cheering, even influencing the audience in front of the TV to cheer too. At this moment, all the people in the country were looking forward to his election, hoping that Dominic would nod and agree too.
Finally, Dominic slowly raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet. Just as the noises calmed down, he opened his mouth slowly and said, “Since everyone is so confident in my capabilities, then why should I turn this down? As long as my people need me, I will try my best to serve them in the future.”
Standing next to Griffin, Hannah looked quietly at Dominic. As she looked, her lips curled up slightly and she smiled gently.
She had endured the humiliation for 30 years and schemed for so long. Today, everything was finally done and she could finally breathe well.
That dead woman and her dead son could no longer stop this mother and son from moving forward.
Hmm..
Thinking of the dead woman, Hannah felt very relieved. That woman looked down on Hannah ever since she had been married into the Cooper family.
But what happened in the end?
In the end, she died tragically, but Hannah was instead living well as she watched her son ascend to the highest throne of Country A
“Son..”
Hannah called out to him silently. He was the son she had sent away under someone else’s care since he was born. He was in his twenties now, but he had never been in her arms.
If that woman hadn’t robbed everything that belonged to her, how could she live without dignity for 30 years?
Not only was she living so humbly without a proper identity, but she was also separated from her child. When they first met, Dominic didn’t even know that she was his biological mother.
From now on, she finally didn’t have to wait any longer. Finally, she could reconcile with her son and for him to call her as his mother openly.
“Who gave you the courage to spread rumors everywhere and disrupt the country’s harmony?”
Suddenly, a cold and familiar voice came from behind, forcing Hannah back to reality.
She looked back and saw something unbelievable. Nathaniel was slowly walking toward her with graceful steps.
“Nathaniel Cooper?”
Many people at the scene shouted his name at the same time. All of them widened their eyes and looked at the tall figure coming toward them.
Was it really Nathaniel?
Why was he still alive?
What was going on?
Many people at the scene were extremely confused.
994
Nathaniel Cooper’s sudden appearance shocked everyone on the scene so much that their eyes almost fell to the ground.
Obviously, they had completely believed that the death of the President yesterday was a fact, and no one had ever thought that it would be a rumor. After all, since the rumors spread, no one in North Palace officially stood out to clarify the situation.
The staff from North Palace staff did not clarify anything, so it indirectly confirmed the fact that the President was killed.
Unexpectedly, when everyone had accepted the fact that the President had been killed and were ready to welcome the new President, the President appeared in front of them again.
The President stood straight, with his signature gentle and elegant smile that everyone was familiar with. Just like the kind and approachable Mr. President in their mind!
“Is it really Mr. President?”
“Am I seeing something wrong?”
Someone tried to question him, because he couldn’t even figure out whether this was a dream or a reality.
Some people were so surprised that they thought they were hallucinating. They rubbed their eyes hard and then opened their eyes to see if he was really the President.
Some people even thought that the President resurrected because he missed his citizens. Everyone looked at each other. For a moment, no one broke the silence.
After a long while, while the crowd was still silent, Griffin finally uttered, “Nathaniel?”
Compared to the surprise of the people, Griffin’s surprise was no less than theirs. Hence, he was dumbstruck for a long time. Griffin never took a liking to his son, Nathaniel. He didn’t even want to admit that Nathaniel was his son.
There were many reasons why he didn’t like Nathaniel, so much so that he couldn’t even state them clearly.
Perhaps it was because Nathaniel’s personality was completely different from his, or perhaps it was because he couldn’t control this unwavering and independent son of his.
Nathaniel, as his son, disobeyed him, and he would go against him all the time. Nathaniel even arranged for the assassination of his most beloved oldest son. There were so many grudges between them. In any case, it was impossible for Griffin to love Nathaniel like a normal father would.
Today, he also received the news of Nathaniel’s death, so he rushed to take charge of the overall situation despite the heavy snow, but he never imagined that Nathaniel was in actual fact, completely unharmed.
Seeing that Nathaniel was standing in front of him, Griffin had a myriad of thoughts in his mind. He had all kinds of feelings that he couldn’t voice out. Perhaps, when he saw that Nathaniel was still alive, he was a little happy.
After all, no matter how much he disliked his son Nathaniel, he was still his flesh and blood.
Although he hated Nathaniel, hated that he was out of his control, and hated that he always went against him, he never thought about really getting rid of Nathaniel.
Now, seeing that Nathaniel came back alive, Griffin didn’t feel as annoyed as he thought he would.
In a very short period of time, not only did Griffin have a lot of thoughts in his mind, Hannah Elliott had more thoughts than he did.
Hannah was a very calm person, and also a person who was good at disguising herself. Otherwise, she could not have endured for 30 years.
When she saw Nathaniel, she first thought that it was unbelievable and she was not willing to believe it, but it only took her a very short time to hide her true feelings.
She stood calmly beside Griffin, but both her hands had clenched into fists, which betrayed what she was trying to hide.
In just a short period of time, Nathaniel’s gaze swept across the stage and the audience and he studied everyone’s expressions well. Then, he spoke again, “Secretary Lesley, who was the one who spread the news of my death on the Internet?”
Jason Lesley rushed forward with the information in his hands and answered respectfully, “Mr. President, we’ve found out who spread the rumors and arrested them.”
Nathaniel nodded. “Very well.”
Jason continued, “Whoever spread the rumors, we will check one by one. We will find out why they did this.”
Nathaniel nodded again.
“How could it be? How could you be alive? Nathaniel, why can’t you just die?” Dominic lost his cool after seeing him out of the blue.
Seeing that the position of the President was about to be taken away from him again, he didn’t want to pretend anymore. He didn’t want to pretend to be a cowardly fool anymore. He shouted out loud regardless of the circumstances.
“I’m sorry! Sorry to disappoint all of you, I am not dead.” Nathaniel glanced at Dominic, and then looked at Griffin. The smile on his face became wider.
These people, including his biological father, had all been looking forward to his death. Now he was in front of them and saw their surprised and panicky expressions, he felt very satisfied.
Dominic was shouting like a madman, “Nathaniel, I’ve ordered my men to tamper with your helicopter. My men saw you get on the helicopter and confirmed that it crashed at Misty Mountain. How can you still be alive? No, no.. You can’t be alive. It’s absolutely impossible. You’re a fake. You’re not Nathaniel, you’re just an impostor who is wearing Nathaniel’s face as a mask.”
“Dominic!” Standing on the side, Hannah, who had been concealing her true emotions and keeping silent the whole time, couldn’t help to rebuke him.
She gritted her teeth and had endured it all for 30 years. She was not afraid of waiting for another few years. She had always believed that as long as they lived well, anything could still happen in their living years.
So what if Nathaniel came back alive?
This time, she didn’t kill him. There was still a lot of time left. There would always be a chance when she would have Nathaniel disappear from this world.
There would always be another chance…
She could think of a way to put an end to the woman who was blocking her way, how could she not do that with Nathaniel?
It was not that she couldn’t do it, but she needed some time. As long as she had enough time, she could wait for another ten or twenty years. She would definitely get the right opportunity.
“Why are you shouting at me? You know this too, Nathaniel got on the helicopter, he can’t be alive. This Nathaniel must be a fake.”
Hannah had suffered for 30 years with grit, and she didn’t mind waiting longer to achieve her goal. But not Dominic, he didn’t want to wait even for another minute.
He had lost the chance to sit on the President’s seat once, he didn’t want to lose it again, because this might be his only chance in his lifetime.
Dominic knew clearly that if he failed to grab the position of President again this time, he probably couldn’t do so in the future.
995
It was because he knew that this was his last chance to seize the position as President, thus Dominic Cooper was so anxious.
Once someone became anxious, they would behave impulsively. Once they were impulsive, they wouldn’t care about anything else. That was why he was so stupid to blurt out his plan. Now that he wasn’t listening, Hannah Elliott didn’t want to waste anymore time on him. If he continued to talk about it, he would drag her down too.
Slap!
Hannah swung her arm and slapped Dominic’s face, and a bright red mark appeared on his face.
At the same time, Dominic obediently shut his mouth and stared at Hannah in confusion. He wanted to retort, but he didn’t know what to say.
This slap hit Dominic’s face, but it was really painful in Hannah’s heart. After all, he was her son, and any blow she inflicted on him hurt her twice as much internally.
He was her biological child, and she had never been willing to hurt even a strand of his hair. However, presently, she had to give him a hard slap in front of everyone.
Deep down, Hannah was deeply furious about Nathaniel Cooper’s appearance.
But soon, Hannah hid her true emotions again. She turned her head to look at the man beside her and said, “Clarence, Mr. Dominic has been in poor health recently and has been talking nonsense. Please escort him back to rest first, and then request for a doctor to check on him.”
Hannah was quite smart and cunning. In such a short time, she had already thought of a way to save Dominic. She wanted to suggest that there was something wrong with Dominic’s mental health, which was to say that he was just spewing nonsense. Then, this would mean that his words earlier about tampering with the helicopter were neither credible or reliable.
“Yes, I’ll send Mr. Dominic back right away.” The burly man, Clarence Davis, listened for the order and immediately came forward to grab Dominic.
Hannah reacted quickly, and so did Jason Lesley. He stepped forward and stood in front of Dominic. “This is the news conference hall of North Palace, not a shopping mall. It’s not a place where you can come and go as you wish.”
Clarence was a little anxious. “What do you want?”
"What do I want?” Jason sneered and blocked Clarence and Dominic’s way.
He waved his hand and a guard immediately came forward. He ordered, “Dominic just admitted that he ordered his men to do something to Mr. President’s helicopter, so we have to bring him back for an investigation.”
“Yes, it’s me. I asked someone to do something to Nathaniel’s helicopter, but so what? Where is the evidence? Bring out the evidence and prove that I am the mastermind behind the scenes.” After that, Dominic laughed loudly.
“Mr. Dominic, I think you may have forgotten that there are a lot of cameras on you. All the people in the country have heard what you just said. They might be witnesses to your case of attempted murder.” Jason said unhurriedly and then he smiled. He stepped back and said, “Mr. Dominic, please comply with protocols and give your statement."
“How dare you! Try and touch me if you dare!” Dominic thought that the guards did not dare to touch him. He stepped forward and said, “Let me tell you this, this position should have been mine. I’m your President. You’d better obey my orders and I'll spare your lives.”
The guards were loyal to Nathaniel, so they would not care about Dominic. As long as their master gave them a look, they would know what to do.
The two police officers rushed forward. Each of them grabbed hold of Dominic’s arms and twisted it backward. Immediately, he heard Dominic’s shrill scream, “Let go! Let go of me!”
“Take him away.” Jason spoke for Nathaniel. The guard received the order and did not delay for a second. He dragged Dominic away and left.
“Mom, Mom.. Save me! Save me! You can’t let these people take me away. No, absolutely not! If they take me away, you won’t see me again!” Dominic struggled and roared, but he still couldn’t escape his fate of being taken away by the guards.
Hannah opened her mouth, but in the end, she did not utter any words. She could only watch helplessly as Dominic was taken away by the guards. She could do nothing about it.
She wanted to stand out to save Dominic and reveal his background, but she knew that it was not the right time. She had to wait for the right moment. Therefore, she forcibly pulled herself back.
At this time, she had probably guessed that Nathaniel was trying to lure snakes out of the hole by playing their own tricks. He wanted to catch them all.
She knew clearly about Nathaniel’s plan and knew that she couldn’t stop him by herself, so she couldn’t be too anxious. She gritted her teeth and swallowed her pain.
Nathaniel just stood there without saying a word. His subordinate has already done what is needed to be done.
After Dominic was taken away, Jason continued to speak for the President. “Dear citizens, don’t worry, We won’t leave anyone who wants to murder the President behind. We can’t tolerate anyone who wants to destroy the stability and prosperity of our country. Now, everyone could leave. Carry on with your tasks.”
After Jason said those words, the reporters and audiences in the room dispersed.
At this time, only four people were left in the news conference hall. They were Nathaniel, Jason, Hannah, and Griffin.
Nathaniel turned around and left, but Hannah stopped him and said, “Mr. President, please hold on.”
Nathaniel stopped. He looked back at Hannah and asked, “What can I do for you, Ms. Elliot?”
Hannah said, “I’ll make a deal with you.”
Nathaniel stared at her and asked, “What do you have that you can make a deal with me?”
Hannah added, “If you return Dominic to me, I'll give you what you want.”
Nathaniel smiled and responded, “Madam Elliot, you are just a stray dog here, with no proper status or identity. What do you think you have that can make me exchange Dominic’s life with you?”
“That little girl from the Carter family,” Hannah said slowly. She knew very well how important Janell Joy Carter was to Nathaniel, so she had already made prior arrangements.
Hearing that Hannah used Janell Joy to threaten him, Nathaniel smiled gently, but there was a strong murderous intent in his eyes. He ignored Hannah and immediately dialed Janell Joy Carter's phone.
He called her. Almost immediately, Janell Joy answered the phone. Her anxious voice came from the phone, “Brother Lucas...”
Janell Joy was holding back tears and couldn’t say anything besides his name.
“Janell, are you at home? Is Blake there? Is Captain James there?” Nathaniel asked Janell Joy a few questions without caring for her emotions.
“Brother Lucas, I am at home, and they are also here. I will be fine. You can focus on your work. I will wait for you at home.” Janell Joy said thoughtfully,
Janell Joy was worried about Nathaniel’s safety for an entire day and night already. When she saw him appearing on the TV, she was so excited that she wanted to fly to him immediately. But she had restrained herself because Brother Lucas had something very important to deal with.
996
Janell Joy Carter knew Brother Lucas's intentions behind his current plan, and this was related to the country’s current stability and his future safety.
At this moment, even though Janell Joy had a thousand words in her heart that she wanted to say to Nathaniel Cooper, she held them all back. At such a critical moment, she couldn’t afford for Brother Lucas to be distracted.
“Janell..”
The more considerate Janell Joy was and the quieter she became, the more Nathaniel blamed himself. He just called out her name, but he didn’t know what to say to her.
During the period when he faked his death, he could not see how much she was worried about him. Judging from the time she called Jason Lesley, and then Serene, he could see that she must be very anxious.
He always said that he wanted to protect her well and not let her suffer anymore, but yet he would always make her worry about him.
“Brother Lucas, I’m doing fine. You don’t have to worry about me. As long as you come back to me safe and sound!” She would not blame him for hiding this from her, nor would she blame him for making her worry. She only wanted him to return to her side safely.
The first time she heard about Brother Lucas's helicopter crash, Janell Joy felt that the sky was falling. That kind of despair was not something Janell Joy wanted to experience again.
“Okay,” Nathaniel nodded heavily. “Janell, stay put at home. I will come to you later.” After telling her this, Nathaniel reluctantly hung up the phone.
As soon as he hung up the phone, he heard Hannah Elliot immediately say, “Nathaniel, your little lover is still fine, isn’t she?"
Nathaniel stared at Hannah coldly. “Of course she is fine.”
He had sent so many people to be at Janell Joy’s side, Blake White and Victor James were with her too. Of course, she would be okay.. The fact that Nathaniel still called Janell Joy immediately proved that he cared too much about the little girl.
Hannah suddenly laughed and said, “Ha, ha, ha.. Then let’s wait and see. If I don’t teach you a lesson, you would still think that I’m just fooling with you.”
Nathaniel raised his eyebrows and said, “Hannah, if you want to save your son, show a better attitude and I may let him go. But…” He smiled. “Now I’ve made up my mind. For a prick who’s playing tricks behind my back, I will make him die a terrible death.”
Hannah was confident that she was able to make Nathaniel surrender, that was why she was very arrogant. “Nathaniel, you may not believe me, so I will do something to show it to you.”
“Then I will wait for your show.” Nathaniel was also laughing, but his smile was different from Hannah’s. His smile made Hannah Elliot feel like he was just looking at a clown.
А smile like this provoked Hannah greatly, and she had a strong sense of dignity. She glanced mercilessly at Nathaniel and spoke to the mini microphone hanging on her body, “Our Mr. President doesn’t believe me. Let’s blow the first explosive up and show it to him.”
However, the other party did not answer Hannah in time. After waiting for a few seconds, there was a voice from the other side, “Madam, something bad has happened. Our hideouts have been spotted, the bomb we have loaded has been deactivated..”
“What?” Hannah had always been able to confront Nathaniel because she thought she still had a trump card in her hand which could absolutely suppress Nathaniel’s power.
Unexpectedly, when she was ready to attack with her trump card, her people told her that it had been destroyed.
The man on the other side repeated, “Madam, our hidden bombs have been deactivated, and our strongholds have also been searched. Now, only Number 19 and I have escaped…
Before he was done speaking, another voice came from the other side of the phone. “Chase those who ran away, we must get them all.”
The men behind them chased so fast, and the man on the phone no longer cared about Hannah. He threw the phone and ran away
“Hey, hey…” No matter how Hannah shouted, no one answered her. She guessed what had happened.
The last trump card in her hand that could contain Nathaniel had been destroyed. Now she had nothing left. She was even more pathetic than a stray dog.
Crack!
She was so angry that she smashed the phone on the ground and said angrily, “Such useless men! They are just scaring you but you’re already frightened out of your wits."
She turned back to look at Griffin Cooper like an evil ghost and said, “This is what your good son did. It’s not enough for the mother and son to destroy me. Do you still want them to destroy our son too?”
Griffin listened throughout the conversation, and he also watched them attentively. He slowly opened his mouth and said, “Who on earth is Dominic to you?”
“Who is Dominic to me?” Hannah stared at him with hatred, anger, and deep helplessness in her eyes. “He’s not just anybody. He’s our son, our biological son.”
“Our son?” Griffin was extremely shocked. “He’s our son! But why.. Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”
“Why didn’t I tell you earlier? Haha… Hannah laughed, but she burst into tears. “Griffin, I've been by your side all the time. You don’t even know that I gave birth to a son for you. How dare you ask me why didn’t I tell you? If you care about me a little, you will definitely know.”
Griffin had always admitted that he had let Hannah down. So when Hannah said these words, he couldn’t say anything to refute. However, he knew he needed to say something.
After thinking for a while, he said, “I admit that I have neglected you… But when you gave birth to the child, why didn’t you let me know?”
After all, he had never known that he still had a son. He had watched him grow up, but that child had always called him Uncle.
Hannah sneered and said, “If I had told you, can you guarantee that you would not have told anyone? If your wife had discovered it, not only would I have died, my son would surely have been killed too. That woman is cruel and vicious, in order to have her son be the President, she would have used any means to make that happen.”
“Because you are afraid that she will get rid of you and your son, so you have to get rid of her before she could take any action against you." This time, Jackie Leves came up and spoke. He was questioning this woman on behalf of Nathaniel.
“Yes!” Perhaps she felt that she had already come to a dead end, so Hannah admitted frankly, “She could not get rid of me, so I had to get rid of her first. We could not have lived in this world together. That woman… Actually, she was so stupid. She was so stupid that she didn’t even know how she died.”
997
Hannah Elliot had finally admitted to it! She had admitted that she was the murderer who killed Nathaniel Cooper’s mother! Hannah’s confession was a little provocative, as if she was saying, ‘I killed that woman, but what can you do about it?’
Her words were like a knife, stabbing on Nathaniel’s wound once again.
She looked at Nathaniel and noticed that there was a calm look on his face. She could even vaguely see that there was a faint smile on the corner of Nathaniel’s lips.
Nathaniel was so calm that he made Hannah think that the dead woman they were talking about was not his mother or even someone who had nothing to do with him at all.
Just as she was staring at Nathaniel, seeking a trace of pain in his eyes, his eyes then fell on her.
Having attracted Nathaniel’s attention, Hannah was excited. She laughed, almost like a madman, and said, “Nathaniel, not only you couldn’t protect your mother, but you also let the murderer who had killed her to stay free for so long. Do you feel the pain? Do you feel the hatred?” She continued, “You must hate me so much that you can’t wait to kill me. But even if you kill me, your d*mned mother won’t come back to life.”
The proudest thing that Hannah had ever done in her entire life was getting rid of Griffin Cooper’s wife, the official First Lady of Country A.
Who was that damned woman?
She was the daughter of the powerful Collins family in Coast City. She had been doted on since she was a child. When she grew up, it was natural for her to become Griffin’s wife and the First Lady.
In Hannah’s view, that damned woman was not as good looking as she was, and she was not as smart as her too. Moreover, she didn’t even know how to win a man’s heart.
She could become the First Lady only because she was born into a powerful family.
The only thing that Hannah was not proud of was her family background. It was because of her background, which was so poor, that she couldn’t be with Griffin.
She thought that if her family was rich and powerful and was able to be a stepping stone for Griffin at that time, the title of the First Lady would be her and not that woman from the Collins family.
For men to stabilize their status, they would choose a woman who could help them, and a woman who could help his family. In Hannah’s opinion, it was totally understandable. Therefore, she had never hated Griffin but instead, she had put all her hatred for not being able to matry Griffin on that woman from the Collins family.
Over the years, she had consolidated her strengths in secret and searched for a group of talents to work for her. After years of hard work and preparation, she finally was able to kill that damned woman from the Collins family.
“Hate you?” Nathaniel was literally laughing, but his smile was disdainful. “Hannah, you may have thought too highly of yourself. I am a kind and soft-hearted person so I will never kill you. I will let you live well and let you watch how your son dies.”
Hannah knew how to use Nathaniel’s deceased mother to attack him. But Nathaniel was not a kind person too, he knew what Hannah cared about too.
“Nathaniel, do you dare to though? Don’t forget about the image that you have created for yourself in front of the people of this country. Dominic is one of the Cooper family.” Hannah thought that Nathaniel wouldn’t dare to do so, but when she thought of the death of Nathaniel’s elder brother, she couldn’t help but to shudder in her heart with fear.
Nathaniel smiled.
Dare not?
There was no such thing in his world, nothing that he wouldn’t dare to do.
If he couldn’t even get rid of Dominic Cooper, who was always against him, then how could he have the ability to be the President?
Jackie Leves added, “Hannah, since you’ve told us so many things, then let me tell you one thing.”
Jackie was Nathaniel’s best friend. They were not the kindest people so they were especially good at treating others exactly how they were being treated.
“Do you know why your son was so stupid to have told the truth in front of so many cameras? Do you know why our people had managed to find out where the bombs were?”
Hannah was great at playing mind games, so did Jackie. He wasn’t any worse than Hannah in utilizing psychological tactics.
Hannah glared at Jackie and said coldly, “Who the hell are you? What right do you have to stand here and say these words to me?”
Jackie said slowly, “You don’t need to know who I am, I just want to tell you that the reason why your son had said all those is because his food has tampered. Therefore, whenever he is agitated, the drug will take effect, and he will speak out without holding anything back.”
Hannah asked, “Who is that person?”
Jackie ignored her question and continued to say slowly, “Also, we were able to successfully exterminate the bombs that you have planted was because we have our men among yours.
Jackie shook his head and said disappointedly, “Hannah, you are such a smart person. You knew how to place spies among our men so why haven’t you thought that we would use this trick too?”
Hannah gritted her teeth with hatred and asked, “Who are they? Tell me, who are they?” Even if she was going to die, she would drag those who had betrayed her with her.
“It’s me.” A male voice sounded. The door was pushed open, and Aaron Paul stepped in. With a calm look on his face, he walked towards Hannah unhurriedly.
“It’s you!” Judging from Hannah’s eyes and tone, it was not difficult to tell that she really had never thought that the spy would be Aaron.
Because of Janell Joy Carter, Aaron was once not on good terms with Nathaniel, so he was gradually neglected by Nathaniel. Not only was he neglected in their daily lives, but he was also undervalued in his work.
It was for a long time that Aaron had been complaining and badmouthing Nathaniel to Dominic every single day behind Nathaniel’s back.
Just as he was frustrated, Dominic had seized the opportunity and introduced him to Hannah.
Hannah was a very cautious person. After knowing Aaron, she did not immediately make use of Aaron. Instead, she made him go through a long probation period.
After the probation period, Hannah had confirmed that Aaron was cleared of any suspicions. It was only then that she had allowed Aaron, who was full of resentment towards Nathaniel, to officially join their organization.
Aaron, a person who was always in disagreement with Nathaniel, was neglected by him in his daily life and work, and he had always complained about Nathaniel every day.
However, he was actually a spy whom Nathaniel had arranged!!
At the very moment when Hannah saw Aaron, she was not willing to believe that Aaron was actually the spy who Nathaniel had arranged to infiltrate among them.
However, after thinking about it thoroughly, Hannah finally understood.
Aaron, who had been so highly valued and put in an important position by Nathaniel, would never betray Nathaniel just because Nathaniel wanted to be with a little girl.
She should have thought of this, but she did not expect that it was her stupidity and carelessness that had made her fall into Nathaniel and Aaron's nasty trap.
Hannah was so angry that she was thumping her chest and stomping her feet, but there was nothing else that she could do.
998
Hannah Elliott tilted her head and looked at Griffin Cooper who was standing aside and remaining silent. She asked calmly, “Are you going to save our son or not?”
Griffin was her last hope. If even Griffin could not save her son, she would be completely defeated in this white war.
Yes! He would! Of course, he would save his son!
In Griffin’s heart, he really wanted to save Dominic Cooper, but it was not up to him to decide what to do here. It would all depend on Nathaniel Cooper.
Under Hannah’s gaze, Griffin quietly looked at Nathaniel and said, “Nathaniel, you have heard it. Dominic is your biological brother. He is young, so he was not mature enough to think things through before doing them. As his elder brother, just don’t take it so seriously.”
Griffin was also there when Hannah confessed that she was the one who had murdered Nathaniel’s mother, but he didn’t mention a word about it at all. What’s more, Griffin even had the audacity to ask Nathaniel to forgive Dominic just because he was his younger brother.
“My younger brother? I am my mother’s only child. I have no impression of her giving birth to a younger brother for me at all.” Nathaniel smiled slightly and gave Griffin a reply. Perhaps, it could be said that his words were like a hard slap on Griffin’s face.
In the past, Nathaniel would always encounter such unfair incidents at home, but his mother had always told him that his father was particularly strict on him because he had the highest expectations for him.
He was young so he wasn’t able to see Griffin’s true nature. He thought that his father had really loved him.
Finally, Nathaniel had a clear look at Griffin’s character. His mother was Griffin’s wife, but Griffin had never loved nor cared about her as his wife. He had only regarded her as a stepping stone for him to climb to the highest levels of politics.
“Nathaniel..” Griffin was embarrassed, trying to use a cough to cover up the embarrassment in his heart. “Just think about it again. We are a family after all. As the saying goes, birds of a different feather don’t flock together .”
“Think about it again? Griffin Cooper, how dare you say that.” Nathaniel interrupted him harshly and even called him by his full name.
Nathaniel never intended to argue with this group of people, but Griffin’s behavior had really made him sick and he couldn’t stand it anymore.
“Your wife, my mother was killed by Hannah. You heard everything but you didn’t even flinch, and now you want me to let go of your illegitimate child. Do you really think that I’m that stupid?”
After listening to Nathaniel’s words, not only Griffin did not repent, he even continued with more shameful words, “Your mother has passed away and she can’t be brought back to life anymore, on the other hand, your brother is still alive… There can’t be any more killing among the Cooper family. Moreover, Hannah is a kind-hearted woman. She didn’t mean to harm your mother. It happened only because she was afraid.”
“Oh… Is that so? Then I will let you have a good look at how I, who is such a kind-hearted person, will accidentally kill Dominic.” Nathaniel sneered.
Griffin’s words had completely cut off the very last trace of the father-son relationship between him and Nathaniel. Nathaniel no longer wanted to look at him so he lifted his long legs and turned around to leave.
“He is leaving already, are you not going to chase after him?” Seeing that Nathaniel had left, Griffin was not in a hurry at all, but Hannah was extremely anxious.
“He had already made it so clear. What else do you want me to do?” It wasn’t that Griffin didn’t want to save his son, but he knew it very well that there was nothing else that he could do after witnessing Nathaniel’s attitude just now.
In the past, when Nathaniel was a teenager, he had thought of training him to be his successor. However, that kid was not ambitious and didn’t know how to act according to his cue. After seeing that Nathaniel had no potential of becoming his successor, he then gave up on him.
He knew that Nathaniel hated him and he definitely wouldn’t let Dominic go so he didn’t want to make a fool of himself. “Griffin, Dominic is our son. He’s our son. Listen here carefully.” Hannah roared.
She thought that she was in control of everything and that she would surely win. But in the end, she found out that she was the one who was being fooled all this while.
When she thought that she might not be able to save Dominic, her body suddenly went limp, as if all of her strength had been drained out.
However, just before her strength was completely drained, she suddenly rushed to Aaron Paul like a madman, she grabbed his arm and bit him fiercely. “What did Dominic and I do to you that you have to frame us like this?”
Aaron shook Hannah off and said, “Since you’re asking, I would like to ask you too. Has our Mr. President ever let you and your son down? How have the two of you treated him then?”
Hannah said eloquently, “He is from the Cooper family, he is the child of the woman from the Collins family, he is the President of Country A… These are the things he had owed us.”
Aaron wanted to continue, but he saw that Jackie Leves was waving his hand at him, he immediately understood what Jackie meant, so he nodded and quickly moved backwards.
Jackie came forward once again and asked, “Are you also involved in the extermination of the Leves family?”
“Me?” Hannah laughed with tears in her eyes. “You are thinking too highly of me. The Leves family was so powerful at that time. How could a powerless woman like me be able to deal with them?”
“Hannah, we have already found the evidence of your collusion with that old man of the Silas family. Don’t try to deny it anymore.” Jackie said as he clenched his fists.
The old man of the Silas family was involved in the extermination of the Leves family and Jackie and his men had already found the conclusive evidence which could prove that.
Most of the time, the truth would be cruel. It was so cruel that people wouldn’t be able to accept it and it was not something that they could accept by choice.
“That’s right. The Silas family was involved in the massacre of the Leves family.” Now that things had come to this point, Hannah had nothing else to hide. “But it’s not easy for them to destroy such a powerful family by themselves.”
Jackie asked again, “Then who else was involved?”
“You really want to know?” Hannah shrugged. “But I don’t want to tell you.”
“Say it.” Jackie clenched his fists again. He wished he could just strangle this old woman in front of him. He wouldn’t pity her just because she was a woman.
Hannah added, “You care so much about the Leves family’s affairs and you can even enter the North Palace as you wish, and on top of that, you were with Serene at the press conference… Are you that Jackie Leves who had gone missing? The son of the Leves family whom we all did not know is dead or alive?”
Through a few guesses, Hannah immediately revealed Jackie’s identity. No one would dare to say that she was not smart. She was smart, but she had used her intelligence in the wrong place. Moreover, the enemy who she was facing right now was even smarter than her.
If that wasn’t the case, she could already be the winner. She added, “If you have to blame someone, then blame the Leves family for being too arrogant. They had completely forgotten who was supposed to be the real master here.”
999
Anyone who had heard Hannah Elliot’s words knew that the person she was referring to was Griffin Cooper.
But so what if they knew that she was referring to Griffin?
Who knew if Hannah was just talking nonsense? As long as there was no evidence, it was impossible for Jackie to do anything to Griffin.
When everyone’s eyes were on Griffin, he coughed again and said, “Hannah, is it more important to save your son or to talk nonsense with them now? Do you still want to save your son?”
Hannah looked towards his direction and her eyes were fixed on him. She said while sizing him up. “Griffin, are you threatening me? I have been with you without an official identity for so many years and have even given birth to a son for you. How dare you threaten me?”
“What nonsense are you talking about?” Griffin frowned. He was very dissatisfied with Hannah’s attitude, but he mustn’t lose his temper at this time.
Hannah had been with Griffin for decades. She was involved in all the things that he had done while he had never hidden anything from her too. Therefore, he knew that if he offended Hannah, things would not end well for him.
After thinking for a while, he said, “What do you mean that I’m threatening you? Do you think there is anything more important than saving Dominic now?”
“You are not threatening me? I think that you might even be thinking of how to get rid of me already.” Both of them were cruel people.
The reason why Hannah had thought so was because if she was Griffin, she would immediately find a way to get rid of the people who had been with her for many years if she thought that they will possibly get into any trouble, and the sooner the better.
Griffin’s face darkened. Hannah really knew him very well, he thought. She knew him so well that he would never be able to hide the fleeting thoughts in his mind from her.
In the past, Griffin felt that it was a good thing to have such a considerate woman by his side to help him solve problems.
As he thought about it, Hannah was just a time bomb that could explode at any time, blowing him up and crushing him into pieces.
Therefore, he must tear down this bomb. Otherwise, he would be the one who would be destroyed instead. Griffin thought about it and instantly made a decision in his heart.
He looked at Hannah, and Hannah was also looking at him. In the past, they were both pleasing to each other’s eyes, but now, it was the exact opposite.
At that moment, Griffin felt a deep regret and hatred for Hannah. Hannah had been with him for decades, but he was being fooled by her for the entire time and had never seen her true nature.
As she was looking at Griffin, Hannah suddenly came up with an idea. She immediately looked at Jackie Leves and said, “Jackie, as long as you promise to save my son, I will tell you the truth about the extermination of the Leves family.”
Griffin would never believe in her anymore and she could no longer rely on him. No, to be precise, Griffin was never a reliable man. He was not a man who could give women a sense of security.
Hannah was a clear headed person. In a very short time, she could already see the whole situation clearly. She knew that the person who could save Dominic Cooper now was Jackie.
She had killed the woman from the Collins family, and no other woman had since appeared by Griffin’s side, so she had successfully become Griffin’s one and only woman.
Over the years, she had endured all the humiliation and stayed with him without a clear identity because she wanted
to prove that she was Griffin’s only woman.
Since she had already achieved her goal, Griffin was naturally of no use to her. Hannah would not be so stupid to still have any affection for the man who had already thought of killing her.
If she could save her son’s life just by exposing what had happened that year, she would not hesitate one bit to put
this old man out.
However, Jackie did not answer Hannah’s question. Instead, he gave her an enigmatic smile and left with the people around him.
Both Nathaniel and Jackie knew very well who the murderer of the Leves family was, but it was just that they were short of solid evidence to prove it.
Now that Hannah’s only son, Dominic, was in their hands, how could Jackie allow Hannah to have the upper hand? He had plenty of ways to make Hannah hand over the evidence to them personally.
“Let Hannah go, and send someone to follow after her. Report her every move to me.” Jackie ordered his men as he walked.
“Yes.” After receiving the order, Daryl Leves turned around and left.
Aaron Paul and Jackie were walking side by side. Their families were one of the richest and the most powerful families in Country A, there were no differences in their social statuses.
Along the way, the two of them did not utter a word at all. After a short while, Jackie suddenly stopped and turned to look at Aaron. “Master Paul, have you not blamed on Nathaniel at all?”
Aaron was stunned and then said, “Of course I have. I’ve been with him for so many years, but he had actually neglected me for a little girl. I was really angry. I was so angry that I wanted to betray him so that he could pay attention to me.”
Jackie looked at Aaron with a strange look and said, “Master Paul, you have been single for so many years. Don’t tell me that you actually like men?”
“Master Leves, what are you talking about?” Aaron shook his head and sighed. “Luck is really not on my side. I was not able to meet a gentle and considerate girl like Miss Silas, so I’m destined to be lonely and miserable for my whole life.”
When it came to Serene Silas, the look on Jackie’s face immediately darkened. Although the murder of the Leves family was related to the Silas family but the innocent Serene was put out as a human shield for the Silas family.
All the evidence which was pointing to Serene must be fabricated by the people of the Silas family.
He didn’t know what the Silas family’s mentality was. They had deliberately forged a fake document and pushed the clueless and innocent Serene into this deep mess.
If he continued to be obstinate and unwilling to believe in Serene, something tragic might have already happened to them.
“Master Leves, look, the snow has finally stopped and the sun is coming out.” Aaron looked out of the window and skillfully changed the topic.
Jackie also turned his head to look out of the window. The white snow which was outside the window was shining brightly. Although it was very glaring, he did not look away at all.
After staring at the sun for a while, Jackie said slowly. “When the sun comes out, the mist will soon be gone, and everything will then be fine.”
Yes, everything would be fine!
His words did not only mean that the weather would be getting better, but they were also referring to the current situation.
They had worked together to wipe out those mobs and gave the North Palace, which Nathaniel was in charge of, a bright future. However, there was still one last step to go, which was to get the evidence from Hannah and to find out the real murderer who had exterminated the entire Leves family.
Then that would bring peace to the dozen of lost souls of the Leves family.
1000
The sun was gradually warming up the city which had been snowing heavily for the entire week. However, the sunshine that could warm the city may not be able to warm the people’s hearts, especially those who had never felt the affection of their families.
Nathaniel Cooper stood before his mother’s grave and quietly looked at his mother who was smiling in the picture. His expression looked calm, but there was a surge of emotions in his heart.
Since many years ago, he knew that his father’s love for him was superficial. It seemed like he loved him, but that wasn’t really the case.
In fact, his kindness to Nathaniel was to make Nathaniel become the target of his own political enemy. This was why Nathaniel had been attacked multiple times which had resulted in serious injuries.
If he hadn’t been so lucky and survived, his body might have already been rotting in the ground, let alone to see such bright sunshine today.
Not only had he never treated Nathaniel as his son, he was even being indifferent when he had heard that his lover had killed his own wife. Griffin’s attitude had made Nathaniel doubt more than once that Hannah was the only one who had caused the death of his mother a year ago and that it had nothing to do with Griffin at all.
Thinking of Griffin’s attitude not long ago and looking at his mother’s grave, Nathaniel couldn’t help but feel sad. “Mom, you saw it didn’t you? That man is the man who you have devoted your whole life to. Look at what he had done to you?”
“You knew it clearly that he doesn’t love you, and you know that he had been taking advantage of you. Why were you so stupid to stay by his side? In the end, you had even lost your life because of him.”
“For a man who doesn’t love you, do you think everything you have done was worth it? Just touch your heart and ask, was it really worth it?”
In one go, Nathaniel had spoken a lot. Those words were the words that had been accumulating in his heart throughout the years. He had always wanted to say it to his mother but he couldn’t say it in time, when his mother was still alive. Although he had said so much but still no one answered him. He could no longer listen to his mother’s voice.
At this moment, he had to believe that his mother had really left him and had left this world. He wanted to listen to his mother’s nagging and lectures. He wanted to hear her say to him, “Nathaniel, you are a man, you are the man of the Cooper family. You are born differently from the others. You bear the responsibility to prosper the country.”
In the past, Nathaniel would always feel annoyed whenever his mother would say these words to him. Now, he couldn’t even listen to it anymore even if he wanted to.
“Mom… I’ve found the murderer who had killed you. You can rest in peace now.” These words were extremely painful for Nathaniel to say out loud.
Perhaps these words were not meant to ease the dead, but rather to allow the living to finally be at peace.
After saying what he had wanted to say, Nathaniel remained silent. He stood before his mother’s grave and as he looked at it the whole world seemed to have stopped.
He felt that he was in a cold world and everything around him was cold. It was so cold that there was no warmth nor emotions.
It was so cold as if the coldness could swallow him at any time and make him fall into the deepest hell.
“Brother Lucas..”
After an unknown period of time, just as Nathaniel thought that he could no longer walk out of the world that was so cold and heartless, a warm voice called for him.
He immediately looked back and saw a slender little girl standing by the door. Her smile was as bright as the sunshine which had warmed his cold heart at that instant.
“Janell..”
He opened his mouth and wanted to call her name, but he held back his words. He was so afraid that the little girl who was standing in front of him was just an illusion that he had created, like how it had always happened in the past.
“Brother Lucas!” Janell Joy Carter walked over to him and took the initiative to grab his cold and stiff hand. “Don’t be afraid, I’m here.”
She told him not to be afraid and that she was here. Janell Joy’s words were very simple, but it had really warmed up Nathaniel’s heart. At that instant, the coldness in his body was completely eliminated.
He grinned brightly, revealing his pearly white teeth. He raised his big palm and gently stroked her face. “Yes, as long as you’re here, I will not be afraid of anything.”
He was the one who was supposed to protect her, but at this moment, he really needed her ‘protection’. He didn’t need anything else from her, he only needed her to accompany him and let him listen to her voice.
“Brother Lucas, I’m already here. Don’t you want to introduce me to your mother?” Janell Joy smiled and said.
She knew that he was missing his mother and she knew about the sorrow that was hidden in his heart, but she did not ask him about it. She was using another method to bring him out of the sorrow.
Nathaniel was stunned, but he quickly reacted. “Yes, okay… I should have introduced my Janell to my mother earlier.”
“Auntie is so beautiful. Brother Lucas, you really look like your mother, that is why you look so good too.” Janell Joy looked at the photo and praised him sincerely,
“Really? Why have I never thought that I’m as good-looking as my Mom?” Looking at his mother’s photo, Nathaniel touched his face, acting a little cute and funny.
“Brother Lucas, do you know that being too modest is equivalent to being proud? And let me tell you, people who are good-looking never think that they are good-looking.”
She touched her face and said, “Look, I don’t think I am good looking, but I have always received praises wherever I go. This kind of distress can only be experienced by people who are good-looking.”
Listening to Janell Joy’s pleasant voice and looking at her proud eyes, Nathaniel couldn’t help but laugh softly.
Janell Joy took a look at Nathaniel and turned to look at his mother’s grave. “Auntie, look at Brother Lucas. He always bullies me. I was only speaking the truth. Did he have to laugh at me like this?”
“I’m not laughing at you. I’m just happy.” Before this, he felt that his world was covered with mist, but it was now illuminated by this little sun.
Nathaniel was really happy from the bottom of his heart and definitely not laughing at her. He knew that he would never be lonely again, because this bright and warm little sun will be by his side forever.
Whenever he was sad, she would be there for him. Whenever he was going through all sorts of challenges, she would still stay with him.
“You really weren’t laughing at me?” Janell Joy obviously didn’t believe it. His laugh was so exaggerated that people would think he was laughing at her no matter how they looked at it.
“I'm really not laughing at you.” Nathaniel cleared his throat and suddenly said seriously, “Janell, are you ready? I’m going to officially introduce you to my Mom now.”
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