Chapter 1062
Ian had to clear up his pockets as soon as possible. When they got rid of their shares of the Michel
Group, he would buy however much they sold. There was going to be a change in the stock market
tonight. Ian realized that other than him, quite a number of people were emptying their pockets as well;
they were all waiting to purchase the Michel Group’s stocks, and Michael was one of them.
While everyone’s focus was on the Yard twins and Linus’ stocks, Linus was standing alone on the hotel
rooftop, taking in the evening breeze. Summer in Bayside City was sultry during the day, but cool at
night.
Linus propped his hands on the rooftop railing, his head hanging low as tears began to fall. He was
happy today, but he was also downhearted; he felt sad and regretful. For twenty years, he had lived with
the Michel family in fear. As an adopted son, the pressure he had experienced was unlike any other. He
dreamed of bing a true member of the Michel Family and did not dare to rx for even a day. The
heartache he felt for those twenty years was something that only he would understand.
He had only found out today that Cooper was his biological father. The pressure he felt during the past
twenty years seemed ridiculous and absurd now. He had actually taken advantage of his biological sister
over and over again just to gain a foothold! Now that his identity had changed, his standpoint had
changed too. Looking back, he realized how repulsive he used to be; he was simply a monster who
would do whatever it took to gain power.
Unbeknownst to Linus, Cooper had appeared behind him. The night was dark, and the city’s bright
neon lights barely outlined Cooper’s fuzzy figure. Linus turned back, and although he could not see his
expression, he could guess how disappointed Cooper was at the moment. The man was as sharp as a
tack, so it went without saying that he must have seen through all of Linus’ ns by now.
“Linus, do you admit to your mistakes?” Cooper asked coldly.
This time, his terrible ploy had failed once again, but Linus was not scared. Instead, he felt guilty and
sad. He slowly turned back until he was facing Cooper, then with a ‘plop’, he kneeled on the ground.
“Dad, I was wrong…” The pair stayed like that: the father standing and the son kneeling.
Cooper remained silent for a long while before taking a couple of steps forward to help Linus up. Tears
were brimming in Linus’ eyes, but he could clearly see Cooper’s expression. There was no look of
reproach on his face; instead, there was only a father’s heartache.
The father and son stood on the rooftop, looking at Bayview City’s bright neon lights. This was their first
time being together as father and son, but Linus did not feel strange because this was how they had
always gotten along. Even though they did not know about their rtionship, Cooper had always treated
Linus as his own and had high hopes for him.
“Linus, you must know that I’m strict with you not because you’re adopted. It doesn’t matter whether or
not you’re my son, as ever since I adopted you, I’ve taken on the responsibility of guiding you. I’m strict
with you because I want you to be stronger.” Cooper’s words were grave and earnest, but his eyes were
filled with sadness. “Only when you have power and strength, can you protect all those that you love.”
Linus nodded wordlessly. Cooper patted his shoulder and looked at the son that he had found with such
difficulty. Sadness surged in his heart, but at the same time, he was gratified. He figured that he had
never treated him poorly, and Linus had lived up to his expectations as well. This was enough. It was
really enough…
“Linus, a person strengthens themselves in order to protect everything they love. If you only gain power
for yourself, you’ll be lonely for life.”
Once again, Linus nodded silently, and he could not hold back the tears that began to fall.
Cooper continued, “You’re the child that I raised, so I know your character, and I know why you did what
you’ve done… But that doesn’t mean I’ll tolerate everything that you do. There is nothing crueler than
hurting the person who loves and trusts you. Once the consequences emerge, you won’t even have the
chance to make amends. Linus… I will never be able to ask for your grandfather’s forgiveness for the
rest of my life, which is why I hope that you won’t follow in my footsteps.”
At this point, Linus sobbed uncontrobly and kneeled in front of Cooper again; he wasn’t even able to
utter a single word. He was unscrupulous because he had no sense of security, and he felt like he could
be reced at any moment. He lived carefully and cautiously because he feared that he would be sent
away mercilessly if he so much as took a wrong step or said something wrong. He really liked his sister,
his adoptive parents, and Cooper; he did not want to leave them.
But today, he realized that regardless of whether or not he was Cooper’s biological son, Cooper had
always treated him as his most trusted family member.
“Dad, I was wrong, and I won’t do it again. Please don’t tell Sophia; I don’t want to lose her…” While
Cooper might have been able to forgive him, Sophia might not.
Cooper shook his head, tears welling up in his eyes. “Silly child, she’s your sister—your rtive. She will
forgive you; after all, we’re family. Linus… As long as you’re sincere, you don’t have to be as careful as a
ve is around their master. Nobody will send you away just because you’re not good enough. Back
then, I brought you back because I wanted to give you a home.”
Tears were streaming down Linus’ face like rain now, and his voice was hoarse when he spoke. “Dad…”
In the corner, Michael watched everything before quietly leaving. In the end, he did not mention anything
to Sophia, so she still thought that it was all a misunderstanding.
He suddenly remembered his childhood when he was adopted by the Fletchers after his parents passed
away. People his age were jealous of the affection he got from Mark, so they ostracized him and isted
him. Now, he knew that it was nothing more than children being children, but at that time, he felt as if it
was the end of the world. Therefore, he rebelled and left the Fletcher family, not turning back for more
than a decade. When he looked back now, he realized that he and Linus were the same type of people.
The only difference was that Linus chose to bear everything silently and strengthened himself by any
means, while he chose to turn his back on everything.
Content bel0ngs to N?vel(D)r/a/ma.Org.
In no time, the banquet ended, and everyone was happy. The next day, there were rumors that the Vice
President of the Michel Group was adopted, but he had found his biological father and was disowned by
the Michel family. He would immediately lose his position in the Michel Group, and they would carry out a
reshuffling of power, which would cause internal turmoil. This had resulted in many people selling their
stocks.
Michael made haste to collect a lot of loose shares, saving them for Sophia and Carmen. When the time
came and she really wanted to return to the Michel family, all of this would be her capital.
Sophia was still staying with Michael at The Imperial, while Linus openly moved back to the Edwards
Residence. After he returned home, Michael handled several trivial matters before bringing Sophia and
Carmen to the Edwards Residence for dinner. This would be their first meal together ever since they
acknowledged their rtionship, so it was a rather grand asion. Michael even took the liberty to bring
over a few pounds of rice eels.
At the dinner table, Carmen addressed Linus sweetly. “Granduncle!”
Cooper instantly corrected her. “Call him uncle!”
Carmen pouted with dissatisfaction and spoke as if she were wronged. “Papa said that even though
Uncle Linus is my real uncle, I’ll still have to call him Granduncle when Grandpa is around.”
Upon hearing this, Michael was shocked and nearly jumped up to cover Carmen’s mouth. He was
doomed!
Sure enough, as soon as Carmen finished speaking, three pairs of eyes shot coldly toward Michael.