Too Much to Bear, My Love

Chapter 893 Care To Explain Yourselves

Owen patted Oscar's shoulder. “I know you had a problem with your sister, but she’s gone now. Be nice to Nolan. One day, your mother and I will grow old too. Have a proper talk with Amelia. I know she’s a kind and sensible woman.”

Oscar smiled faintly and did not say anything. After Stephanie's funeral, Oscar talked to Amelia about adopting Nolan. The topic didn’t surprise her, but the first thing she thought about was Noah. The Walker family was being oppressed by the Clinton family at that moment. Despite that, they remained powerful. It was unlikely the Clintons could successfully adopt Nolan if Noah decided to fight for the boy's custody since he was his biological father.

“I don't disagree with the idea of taking in Nolan as our child, Oscar. But Noah's still alive. If he wants Nolan, we don't have many chances of winning the lawsuit,” Amelia said.

“There's nothing you need to fret about. I'll handle this. No doubt the Walkers are like cats on hot bricks right now. They'll be too busy dealing with their predicament. I believe Noah may use Nolan's custody as leverage to convince me to spare their family. I'll bait him to give up on Nolan on his own accord before delivering him a fatal blow,” Oscar said confidently.

His latest plan was to ensure the Walker family wouldn't be able to rise again. Even if the Walker family were victorious in getting Nolan's custody, he wouldn't hesitate to strike them hard enough that they would no longer be able to rise again.

As the saying goes, mercy to one's enemies is cruelty to oneself. There was no way he would allow his family to be harmed again.

Oscar had married and divorced Amelia twice, and he had no intention of increasing that number. No matter what happened, he would do his best to provide her with the best life possible.

“You didn't have a hand in Stephanie's death, right, Oscar?” Amelia thought about the situation and found Stephanie's death odd. After all, Stephanie was the precious daughter of the Clinton family. It wouldn't make sense for her to accompany ugly rich men for money unless someone was withholding her fortune.

“ only helped fan the flames. Whatever she did with those tycoons was her business. I gave her hundreds of thousands each year. If she had planned her finances well and had a proper job, she wouldn't have died. She only has herself to blame for her death,” Oscar replied plainly.

Amelia knew that, of course. However, she still sympathized with Olivia's sorrow. The older woman's health wasn't that great to begin with, so if it deteriorated because of Stephanie's death, Amelia was afraid Oscar would feel guilty.

“Don’t worry. I know what I'm doing. Mom still has Tony and Nolan to take care of. Nothing will happen to her.” Oscar pulled Amelia into his embrace.

Patting her head, he continued, “I'm fine as long as you don't think I'm so cruel that I drove my own sister to her death.” The notion of killing Stephanie had never crossed his mind. He just wanted to eliminate the possibility of her returning to the country. It never occurred to him that she would stoop so low.

He firmly believed her death was brought forth by her own hands. However, she was still his sister, so her death still affected him in some way.

"You feel sad about her death too, don't you, Oscar? She's still your sister, after all,” Amelia said. I refuse to believe he’s so heartless that he's not even sad about her death.

"Of course I do. Nothing will change the fact that she's my sister. Despite having committed plenty of mistakes over the years, some minor, some severe, she was pretty cute when she was just a child. She would follow behind me and call out to me adorably. We were really close back then,” Oscar said somewhat solemnly.

He paused, then resumed, “I had a hand in what happened to her in Ustrana, but I never wanted to take her life. If she had grown as a person, I might've personally picked a pretty great foreign man as a groom for her after two or three years.”

Amelia patted the back of Oscar's hand. She knew he truly meant what he said.

“You have me by your side. We'll take good care of Nolan, ensure he stays far away from trouble, and provide him with the best education possible. This will be our effort to make up for the suffering Stephanie went through and the life she could've had. I disliked her in the past. Without her and Isabella, our marriage life could have been smooth. But then I thought I wouldn't have known how much I love you if not for them.”

Oscar hugged her even more tightly as they watched the scenery outside the window.

Just as Oscar predicted, Noah tried using Nolan's custody as leverage for negotiation.

Inside a private dining room, Noah removed his sunglasses. His facial hair made him look despondent.

"How have you been doing, Oscar? Since Stephanie's dead, I want to get custody of Nolan. After all, he’s my son, and I, as his father, should raise him, shouldn't I?" He went straight to the point. Crossing his legs, Oscar revealed a half-smile as he stared at Noah.

Noah's exasperation grew when he saw how composed Oscar was.

The more annoyed he was, the calmer he appeared.

“I'm willing to forfeit Nolan's custody on the condition that you spare the Walker family. If you do, I promise I won't harass the Clinton family again. Both our families will be strangers to each other once more. What do you think?” His proposal was exactly what Oscar had foreseen.

Playing with his slender fingers, Oscar glanced at him. “I didn’t know your wife and son were that worthless, Noah. They aren't even as valuable as your company even though it's on the verge of bankruptcy.”

"Stephanie's dead, Oscar, and I believe you guys will never hand over Nolan to me. My family's in deep trouble right now, and you want him under your care. I don't think there's anything wrong with me using him as a bargaining chip. In exchange for my company's survival, you can have his custody. It's a win-win situation for both of us. That's the best outcome we should strive for.”

"And if I say no?"

Noah's expression changed slightly. His hand, resting on his leg, trembled.

"You've pushed me to the brink, Oscar. I think you know better than anyone else how Stephanie died. If I ask people to spread rumors about the cause of her death to my parents, I bet they'll get suspicious even if it's untrue. But if you have mercy on the Walker family, I promise we'll leave this city and move the company somewhere else. We won't bother you again.”

As Oscar glanced at Noah, he put his leg down, leaned forward, clasped his hands, and smiled. "Okay, I can help you out.”

Noah was stunned. He didn't expect that Oscar would agree to his request so easily, so much so that he suspected a trap was afoot.

Oscar was so sly that he was concerned it was another ploy by him despite the fact that he was the one who approached Oscar for negotiations first.

“I can give you one million. Even if you do go bankrupt, it'll be enough to cover your daily expenses,” Oscar uttered plainly.

Noah's expression changed again. Oscar's generosity was putting him in a really bad mood.

“I know what you're trying to do here, Oscar. Since you reject my proposal, I'll be seeing you in court. I refuse to believe you're so powerful that the law can't touch you,” Noah sneered as he stood up.

Then he turned around and left.

As expected, Oscar received a subpoena a few days later. At the same time, news about Walker Group's tax evasion was reported when authorities looked into the company’s financial record. Noah was so caught up in his company’s problems that he didn’t even have the time to attend the court battle over Nolan's custody, thus spelling the end of that dispute.

Noah was exhausted from having to handle so many matters at once. Once again, he only left the company very late at night.

Just as he stepped out of the building, a car parked in front of him.

When the door was opened, a man unfamiliar to him stepped out of the vehicle and informed coldly, “My employer wishes to meet with you. If you want to save your company, you'll enter the car right away. They believe you'll be interested in meeting with them because you both share a common enemy—Oscar Clinton.”

Glancing at the stranger, Noah then lowered his head and got into the car at the thought of something.

"Sit tight. I'll need to shake off the paparazzi stalking you first. I'll be impressed if you can turn the tides for your company after being surveilled for so many days,” the man said.

Turning around, Noah saw there was indeed a car following them.

His expression darkened as he pursed his lips. He didn't need to guess to know who sent those people.

“Relax. I can shake them off,” the stranger assured confidently.

Just as he ended his sentence, another car coincidentally blocked the one following them, giving them time to escape.

"How did you know I was being followed?”

“I've been observing you secretly for a few days, so of course, I know. I also know Oscar's trying to drive you into a corner. There's no way he'll let you go that easily,” the man answered.

Pursing his lips, Noah stayed silent.

The stranger drove them to a private club. Upon parking the car, he unfastened his seatbelt and approached the door next to Noah. “We've arrived, Mr. Walker.”

Noah was brought to the most hidden private dining room in the building.

A scowl set on his face when he stepped into the room and saw the people inside.

“Care to explain yourselves, June? Ms. Larson?”

He felt as though he was being toyed with.

June, who was sitting with his legs crossed, twirled the wineglass in his hand and pointed at the couch. “Sit. Let's have a talk.”

Noah's hands curled into fists as he gritted his teeth resentfully. He sat on the couch and asked in frustration, “Tell me, what are you two up to? I don't have the time to play with you.”