The corners of Ashton’s mouth twitched. Snidely, he remarked, “Does it matter whether I’ve remembered anything or not? I didn’t even know that you were alive for half my lifetime. Don’t you have your own ways of dealing with things regardless?”
Nicolas’ face had turned crimson with anger, and the veins on his neck were nearly popping out of his taut skin. “That was a matter of expedience!” he retorted.
“The fake accident was a matter of expedience. My kidnapping was a matter of expedience. So was hurting the woman I loved and separating my two children…” Ashton repeated mockingly. “You’ve spent your whole live plotting. What’s the point of even living, then?”
Nicolas’ chest was heaving with rage. Shaking his finger threateningly at Ashton, Nicolas fumed, “Ashton, do you think you can be the CEO of Fuller Corporation without my support?”
The look of tranquility that Ashton maintained throughout Nicolas’ rebuke was almost ridiculous in contrast to Nicolas’ extreme ire.
Ashton’s eyes met Nicolas’ levelly. He then said breezily, “Do you want mutual destruction? Perhaps you could have achieved that six years ago. Let’s see how you try it now. You might manage to do it if I don’t succeed in ruining the entire Hall family first!”
I recalled John telling me that ever since he’d obtained custody of Gregory, Nicolas had recklessly placed all of his eggs in the one basket that was the Fuller Corporation. On the one hand, it would be useful for thoroughly manipulating Ashton. On the other, Ashton was admittedly the most gifted at doing business than anyone else in the Hall family.
After the incident at the island, the Hall family had suffered severe repercussions. It had been impossible for Nicolas to personally intervene, resulting in many complications. The Fuller Corporation had proven to be most useful at the crucial point in time.
Nicolas had allowed himself to be ensnared by his faith in his own hypnosis techniques, never dreaming that Ashton would one day emerge from his stupor.
Nicolas looked at Ashton, utterly aghast. He frantically dismissed Ashton’s claim with a leer, saying, “So what if you succeed in ruining the Hall family? You won’t be able to bring Scarlett back to life. You may despise the Hall family but the blood flowing through your veins is the same as ours. Your fate is irreparably bound with ours. If the Hall family is destroyed, do you think you’ll be able to escape unscathed?”
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