Chapter 410
“It’s my parents,” he replied smoothly. “Ever since I was admitted to the hospital, they p>
Just text Mom, will you? Tell her I’m not doing well and that I really need to see her p>
Calvin was impossible to read, and Barnard knew better than to expect straight answers from him. But Laura was a different story entirely.
While he had no clue what endgame his father was playing at, he was absolutely certain his mother still cared for him. As long as he could guilt her into visiting, he was highly confident he could pry the truth out of her.
Davina had been equally unsettled by Calvin and Laura’s extended absence. Following Barnard’s order aligned perfectly with her own anxieties.
Eager to comply, she pulled out her phone and bombarded Laura with a rapid-fire string of texts, painting a tragically pathetic picture of Barnard’s current misery.
This time, her messages didn’t vanish into the void. Almost instantaneously, Laura’s name lit up the screen with an incoming call.
Half an hour later, Laura burst into Barnard’s hospital suite.
It was obvious she had been crying constantly lately; her face was deeply flushed. The second she crossed the threshold, she wailed, “Barnard! My boy, I’ve been worried sick!
Let me see your legs p>
Sobbing hysterically, her tears staining the sterile white blankets, she reached out to pull back his covers.
Barnard swatted her hands away. “Cut the act. If you cared so much, why haven’t you visited once?
Mom, what the hell are you and Dad hiding?
I’m your only son. What could possibly be such a massive secret p>
He locked his dark, probing gaze onto her face, analyzing her every micro-expression.
Laura looked positively devastated. “You’re misunderstanding us! You’re our only child. How could we not care? Please, just let me check your wounds p>
“There’s nothing to check! They were amputated, do you understand? I don’t have legs anymore!” he suddenly roared, the raw ferocity of his voice paralyzing her in her tracks.
Out of the corner of his eye, he monitored her closely. Seeing her crumble under his outburst, he swiftly pivoted his tactic. “Is it because I’m a cripple now? Are you and Dad secretly disgusted by me? Is that why you won’t tell me anything?
If I hadn’t run into him at that summit, I never would have known you two were brokering deals in Valdoria p>
“That’s Laura started, the words practically leaping off her tongue before she abruptly clamped her mouth shut. She swallowed hard, her eyes darting nervously around the room.
Sensing they were wading into dangerously deep waters, Barnard fabricated a quick excuse to send Davina out of the room. The second the door clicked shut, he pressed again. “Mom, what is so terrible that you can’t even tell me p>
Laura let out a heavy, shuddering sigh. “Your father has gotten involved in some very dark business. I can’t say much, but p>
We simply can’t let you get dragged into this. You’re our son. We want your hands clean.
Please, just let it go.
Focus on recovering, and once you’re stable enough, we’ll get you safely out of the country p>
Her voice cracked with unshed tears, her gaze softening into a devastating mix of love and impending grief.
Barnard was already piecing together the implications of her words. Rather than fear, an insidious, wild ambition began to fester in his chest.
“I heard some rumors,” he probed carefully. “There’s a major player in Valdoria named Mike. Did Dad manage to broker a connection with him p>
Laura whipped her head around, checking for eavesdroppers before leaning in close. “It’s nowhere near that simple. Men with Mike’s kind of power don’t just grant audiences to people like us. Your father hasn’t even met him yet. Never say that name out loud again.
The people in that circle deal in blood and dirt. Stop asking questions. All we want is for you to stay innocent in all of this.
And don’t despair over your legs. Prosthetic technology is incredible these days. Once you heal, we’ll get you fitted, and you’ll be as good as new p>
Though she was desperately trying to comfort him, her own heartbreak bled through as silent tears cascaded down her cheeks.
Barnard had successfully extracted the exact intel he needed. Beneath his obedient facade, a ruthless scheme was already falling into place.
Laura lingered for a while longer, chatting with him before reluctantly tearing herself away, pleading with him one last time to take care of himself.
The moment the door closed behind her, Barnard reached for his phone. He instantly ordered his remaining contacts to start digging up everything they could on Calvin’s new associate, and more importantly, on Mike.
Judging by the sheer terror in his mother’s eyes, Mike’s empire was vastly more powerful than he had anticipated.
This was fantastic news.
If he could sink his claws into the very man both his father and Camilla were desperately trying to reach, it would undeniably prove his superiority.
As for Laura’s frantic warnings about staying clean, Barnard didn’t give a damn. In this world, no one with real money and power had clean hands. If wading into the darkness was the price to reclaim his throne, he was more than willing to get his hands dirty.