Just as Justin stepped out of the car, he saw Aeldric standing outside the mansion entrance, looking tall and victorious, a smirk playing on his lips.
ira saw the old man and felt like getting back into the car, but the poor girl could only follow Justin forward.
"I knew you would be here—after all, your sister was missing you so much," Aeldric comnted, his tone laced with sarcasm.
Justin glanced at ira, who stood a step behind him with her head lowered. She clearly looked guilty, knowing Aeldric had used her to bring Justin here.
"You should go inside," Justin told her.
She looked at him, words of apology almost slipping out, but Justin said, "Make sure to rest well."
She nodded like an obedient girl and left, head lowered.
Once she was gone, Aeldric spoke, "Good to see you’re caring toward a stranger. I wonder what you’d do for your real sister."
Aeldric was well aware Justin would carry out a DNA test. The man didn’t even bother hiding it.
But Justin had many questions of his own.
"My boy, you must be wondering why I did it, right?" Aeldric asked, while Justin, as usual, remained silent—knowing the man would answer on his own. "Co, let’s have a nice talk."
Aeldric turned, and the two walked toward the garden, where they sat in chairs around a lavish outdoor coffee table. Aeldric settled comfortably and looked around the garden in delight, as if it had never looked more beautiful.
"I have a business to take care of and no ti to waste on your nuisances. If you’re done being mysterious, don’t waste my ti," Justin said, while Aeldric took his sweet ti to begin the conversation.
"I was expecting you to ask about your real sister," Aeldric said.
"Haven’t you called here to tell about her?" Justin questioned, making it clear he wasn’t going to ask the obvious.
"My boy, you don’t really ask anything—which is really annoying when I expect you to be curious. But if you’ve chosen to stay quiet, then I might not be able to answer anything," Aeldric said, offering him a challenging gaze.
Justin leaned back in the chair, eting Aeldric’s gaze squarely. "You raised and trained a random girl to be your granddaughter. You started it years ago when she was a baby. I wonder what the reason was—because you couldn’t have been so sure I’d return one day and you could use her against . I refuse to believe you had such foresight. So get to the real reason you raised a fake girl. Tell the truth already."
There was a slight change in Aeldric’s expression the mont he heard that. But then, he smiled lightly. "As expected—you’re so smart."
"You don’t need to tell what I already know," Justin countered. "Get back to the real talk."
"Why I raised that girl—well, you haven’t proven your worth to as my grandson yet, so I don’t owe you an explanation," Aeldric began. "But do you think she’s the only girl I raised as the daughter of my son Alex?"
Justin’s gaze shifted. What did he an? Were there other girls being raised the sa way—held captive? But why?
"I like that look in your eyes—finally, you’re reacting to sothing," Aeldric chuckled.
"It’s normal to react when people talk bullshit," Justin comnted.
Aeldric smirked, unbothered by Justin’s words. In his mind, he was still the one in control.
"If you ask where your sister is, I could bring another girl to you. Then you’ll do another DNA test, and the result will be the sa. You’ll keep asking, and I’ll keep repeating the process," Aeldric said. "One day, you might get tired and give up—and that day, your real sister might be right in front of you, but you won’t even look at her."
"Get to the point," Justin said.
"If you want to tell you about your sister and her whereabouts, I have conditions you have to fulfill. And trust , I won’t play with you anymore," he said.
"What’s the condition?" Justin asked.
"Two conditions," Aeldric said. "First—you return to the Riverdale estate, stay here, and start handling my work as my heir. Second—you marry Collin’s daughter, Grace, next week."
Justin raised a brow. "And what if I refuse?"
"Then your sister will be sent to the Asteriens without you ever getting the chance to see her," Aeldric said in a challenging tone. "Why do you think the Asteriens are calm even after I didn’t send ira with them? Because ira was never the one ant to go, but your real sister was. Want to see her go there for real? I don’t mind sending you a video of it."
Justin simply stared at him. His hands almost itched to beat the shit out of him, but he kept his calm.
"I’m giving you five minutes to decide. After that, don’t bla for not being rciful toward your sister," Aeldric said.
"Why is it necessary to marry that woman to ? You could have her marry your other grandson. As far as I rember, your daughter Mallory has two sons," Justin questioned.
"Marrying her sons is not the sa as marrying my real grandson—the one who bears the Riverdale na and will inherit my position. The key is my heir—and that’s you."
"Just like you created a fake granddaughter, you could create a fake grandson in the na of my brother Aaron Riverdale and offer him for marriage. I’m sure that’s not too difficult for you."
"The entire mafia world and business circles in the Eastern country know you are my heir—Aiden Riverdale. Not Aaron. A marriage alliance can’t be faked. It must be you, and I’ll do everything in my power to make it happen if you deny it now." Challenging him, Aeldric glanced at the rare edition luxury watch on his wrist. "You have two minutes left."
Justin didn’t answer. He simply stared at him.
"Until you make up your mind, let’s do sothing interesting in these two minutes," Aeldric said, turning to Kawin. "Take that girl to the mountain and throw her down the hill. She’s of no use now."
"Yes, Mr. Riverdale," Kawin was about to leave when Justin spoke.
"I agree to your conditions. But you have to hand over that girl to ."
Aeldric laughed triumphantly. "The day you marry Grace, you will get everything you want," he said, and told Kawin not to go to ira.
"As you’ve asked to stay here at the Riverdale estate, I assu you’ve prepared for my stay," Justin said. "Because I’m tired of seeing your face—I need a break."
Aeldric didn’t mind his words and said, "Your father’s room is for you."
Justin stood up, and a servant guided him inside the mansion. Justin asked Noah to return, to which he agreed—reluctantly.
His boss was going to stay in the lion’s den from now on, and it made him uneasy. There was no way his boss would ever give up in front of anyone. Noah refused to believe that.
He would never entertain any woman other than his wife. I should just trust him and be patient.
---
"Mr. Riverdale, do you think you got him this ti?" Kawin asked curiously. It was the first ti his boss was having difficulty dealing with soone—his own grandson.
"It’s not easy, Kawin," Aeldric said as he narrowed his eyes. "He’s like his father, Alex. They don’t talk much, but they always have sothing going on in their minds—sothing that can be beyond our imagination. You can’t tell what he’s planning under the guise of agreeing to my conditions. He’s more difficult than his father."
"I could control Alex because he created his own weaknesses—by having a woman and children. So I have to create weaknesses for Aiden as well. Though he shows himself to be indifferent, his heart is compassionate, and that’s what’s going to help . Didn’t you see how he didn’t want to kill that girl, even after knowing she’s not his sister? It’s because he knows the girl is innocent and is being used in our matters. She called him ’brother’ a few tis—he’s already softened toward her. This is how you control people like him."
"You’re right, Mr. Riverdale," Kawin said.
"Keep an eye on him. I’m sure he won’t give up so soon. He’s like a sleeping dragon—one that can co back to bite if taken lightly," Aeldric instructed. "In the anti, I’ll create more of his weaknesses. That girl, Natalie—she can be of great use. Let’s send her Aiden’s wedding invitation when it’s ready."
"Yes, Mr. Riverdale."
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