Jeffrey finally revealed his intention–to stand up for Natalie.
Liesel burst into a laugh. “Having Natalie as Jacob’s plus–one tonight? At this party? You might not know my abilities well, but you should know hers.
“How many languages can she speak? How many people does she know that are present today? Does she know about the finance or business market? Or do you want me to be honest about how incapable she is?
“She can’t even do the most basic thing as a secretary, which is to understand a business contract. Time after time, she nearly jeopardized all the partnership invitations offered to Ford Corporation.
“Throwing the inexperienced Natalie into a pool of elites and business moguls tonight will humiliate not just her but the entire Ford Corporation.”
Her smile faded as she idly knocked on the table. “Have you thought about the Consequences of humiliating the Fords?”
Liesel’s words successfully rendered Jeffrey speechless. No matter how biased he was toward Natalie, he couldn’t deny that Liesel was much more capable than her.
He looked at Liesel with a menacing gaze and spoke after a long while. “I get what you mean, Liesel. We’ll forget about today, but remember–Natalie is your sister, and we’re family.”
Her gaze flickered for a moment. “I don’t have a sister.”
“So, you have a brother but not a sister, huh?” Jeffrey chuckled coldly. “You regard the bastard your mother had with another man as your brother, while the daughter I had with another woman is out of the question.
“What’s wrong? Did you forget about Xavier, your little brother who’s also in Ashthorne?” He looked grim when mentioning Xavier Scott.
Liesel’s expression changed drastically, from being at ease to becoming cautiously vigilant.
How could he compare the two?
Natalie was the illegitimate daughter born from Jeffrey’s affair during his marriage. She was evidence of his betrayal. Meanwhile, Xavier was born after Heather learned about his infidelity and the existence of Natalie.
It wasn’t until she filed for a divorce and received the divorce certificate that she conceived
Xavier.
The latter was Heather’s chance at freedom and being reborn. It was drastically different
from what Jeffrey had done,
From Xavier’s name, it was clear that Heather Had the simplest expectations for her son. The name Xavier, meaning both “new house” and “enlightened,” symbolized his existence as a fresh start in her journey.
She truly wanted him to live a life without all the scheming and backstabbing she had been through.
The reason Jeffrey brought him up was because he wanted to remind her she had a significant weakness here in Ashthorne her younger brother, Xavier.
Before Heather passed away, she had held Liesel’s hand tightly and begged her to promise that she would look after Xavier. She wanted him to be shielded from the conflicts of the wealthy families and to lead an ordinary life instead.
It wasn’t until Liesel promised her that she took her last breath.
When she was still a kid, Liesel couldn’t understand why her mother wanted to do that. Out of her pure reliance and love for Heather, Liesel begged Jeffrey to hire an ordinary family to take in Xavier.
Every month, he would pay them to pretend to be Xavier’s biological parents and educate him like he was their own.
For Liesel to fulfill her mother’s wishes, she fully immersed herself in Jeffrey’s circle, becoming a tool for his use. Therefore, no matter how much she despised him, she couldn’t retaliate against him after marrying Jacob.
Jeffrey had leverage over Liesel, and he could easily ruin Xavier and disrupt his peaceful life if he wanted to.
For Xavier’s sake, she would choose to bow down every single time.
Chapter 41
