The Enigmatic Return (Neera and Jean) novel Chapter 1335

“Who knows what they're up to! In any case, you can't trust what the Jagger family says!”

“Exactly! Can they produce any evidence? Without evidence, it's nothing but slander. It's defamation!”

Rio gave a meaningful smile. “There's no need for you all to get so worked up. I didn't say that what they said is necessarily true. I'm just reporting to Mr. Lozano what the Jagger family has said.”

At this moment, Matthew piped up, “Everyone, please sit down. Did you hear what Rio said? He's not accusing you, just stating facts. There's no need for you to be so sensitive. Whether it's true or false, the guild will look into it. If you didn't do it, you won't be blamed.”

They reluctantly sat down, looking grim.

At this moment, Rio spoke again. “Mr. Lozano, I understand what you're saying. You're a fair and just person. I'm completely at ease. I believe you will definitely give an explanation to the Cox family, as well as to the Quigley family, the Hoffman family, and the Watson family, right?”

Matthew gave him a sidelong glance, his tone neither cold nor warm as he said, “You're right.”

Seeing that the matter was settled so easily, Rio then brought up the accusations from these three families against the Cox family.

“By the same token, you three families accuse us, the Cox family, of being responsible for your misfortunes. Do you have any evidence?”

Evidence? Of course, there isn't any.

But who doesn't know it in their heart?

Just as the representative of the Quigley family was about to speak, Rio didn't give him the chance and said, “If you all insist on believing it was the Cox family's doing, there must be a reasonable motive, right? Why do you think the Cox family would treat your three families like this?”

Lucas immediately responded indignantly, “For retaliation, of course!”

No sooner had he finished speaking than Keith suddenly scolded in a stern voice, “Everyone, hold your tongues!”

Lucas was initially displeased. However, after meeting Keith's gaze, he was stunned for two seconds before he realized that he had misspoken.

Rio smiled contentedly, much like a sly old fox.

“Retaliation? That's strange. Currently, the head of my family holds the position of the second elder, while your three families are respectively ranked third, fifth, and seventh. In any aspect, you are far from reaching the height of the Cox family. That's one thing. The Hoffman family and the Quigley family have a pretty good relationship with the Cox family, even conducting business together. Where does this idea of retaliation come from? I'm curious. What exactly have your three families done to make us hold such a grudge, even going so far as to use so many means to retaliate?”

The question he posed was destined to remain unanswered.

Rio patiently waited for a while, then calmly continued, “If you can't articulate it, then it just shows that these are all your speculations. There's no evidence, no reasonable motive, yet you accuse the Cox family and want the guild to punish us. Isn't this extremely unreasonable? Compared to earlier, isn't this a bit hypocritical?”

“You—” Lucas finally realized that he had fallen into his trap and was filled with rage.

He slapped the table so hard it echoed thunderously, yet he couldn't utter a single word in rebuttal.

The representatives of the Quigley family and the Watson family were seething with resentment as well, yet they had no words to express it.

After a long while, Matthew let out a deep sigh, stood up, and took on the role of the mediator.

“We're all long-standing members of the guild, having worked together for many years. Why let things escalate to this point? In my opinion, let's all calm down first. Let's wait until everything is thoroughly investigated. Give the guild some time. We will provide an explanation for everyone, all right?”

At this point, the representatives of the Hoffman family, the Quigley family, and the Watson family all understood that there were no other paths to take.

Rio was quite pleased with the outcome. He stood up and straightened his clothes.

“Since you have spoken, Mr. Lozano, I'll set these matters aside for now out of respect for you. Once the head of my family is fully awake, I'll report everything to him in detail. He can then decide how to handle it.”

He didn't linger any longer. Ignoring the angry expressions of the others, he calmly and leisurely departed.

Once he got into the car, his expression finally changed, his eyes turning cold.

In truth, he had evidence concerning the actions of the three families, but he had deliberately chosen not to reveal it.

He understood the guild's intentions all too well. They aimed to use these few families to suppress the Cox family. If things didn't go as planned, they would simply smooth things over.

That was why he had chosen not to hand over the evidence to Matthew.

The Cox family would never tolerate being bullied without reason, and the head of the Cox family was not someone who could be easily manipulated by others.

The Cox family would settle this debt in their own way.

The representatives of the Quigley family, the Hoffman family, and the Watson family left together. Before parting ways, each of them had a grim expression on their faces.

“The Cox family is simply too outrageous!”

“We absolutely cannot let this matter rest as it is!”

Even the always silent representative of the Watson family had now spoken up, his expression gloomy.

“Indeed, we can't just let it be. The Cox family thinks they can dominate the Bartitsu Guild? They're dreaming! We've been battling for so many years. It's about time we determine a winner...”