Chapter 368 Just The Beginning
With an innocent expression, Lia knelt in front of Natalie without warning.
Meanwhile, passersby at the bar began looking at them and eyed Natalie with disdain.
Natalie cleared her throat awkwardly. “Get up now.”
Biting her lips in guilt, Lia replied, “Lionel told me that you saved my life despite what I did to you. If it wasn’t for you, the Grim Reaper would’ve taken me.”
Her words stunned Yandel who was standing beside Natalie.
He hated Lia, as he only heard about how she framed Natalie. Thus, he didn’t expect her to express her remorse to Natalie. At that moment, it dawned upon him why Natalie, who wasn’t particularly merciful, had asked him to help.
Considering how drunk Lia was, Natalie pulled her back up from the ground.
“Yandel, go get a room and ask for a hangover remedy and hot towel,” Natalie instructed.
“Yes, Boss.”
With great efficiency, Yandel arranged for a VIP room where everything Natalie had requested was prepared.
After laying Lia down on the sofa, she handed her a bowl of the hangover remedy.
“You’ll feel a lot better after drinking this,” Natalie suggested indifferently.
Even though she didn’t hate Lia, it was still too much to expect Natalie not to feel wary.
Receiving the bowl, Lia began to sip gradually.
“Ms. Nichols.” Lia didn’t dare look Natalie in the eye.
“What is this secret of yours that’s so important?” Natalie asked.
“I… I…”
“Considering neither of us died in the end, I figure that your secret is still safe.” Natalie ran her fingers across the sofa and casually remarked, “That woman won’t let you off easily and is likely to blackmail you into hurting me again. Even if I died one day, do you think that would be the end? As long as she wants something and you are afraid of the secret being exposed, she will always have you by the throat; then, trapped you for as long as she lives.”
Lia had obviously thought about it. However, due to the immense fear she felt, she had never delved into it properly.
As a result, Natalie’s words jolted her into realizing that the banquet wasn’t the end of it. In fact, it was just the beginning.
Subsequently, Lia fell silent.
Giving her some space, Natalie allowed Lia to struggle through her own thoughts.
It took some time before Lia finally divulged her secret with tears welling up in her eyes.
Not long after her mother gave birth to her, she suffered from ovarian cancer and had her ovaries removed.
It wouldn’t have been a problem if they were an ordinary family. However, Lia’s grandparents, who were gender-biased toward males, wouldn’t accept the fact that her mother could no longer bear any children.
Given how close her parents were, her father refused to remarry. Therefore, they adopted Lionel from the orphanage and faked his birth certificate to show that he was a long-lost illegitimate child of his.
Now that the Johnson family had a son, the elders stopped pressuring Lia’s parents to break up.
As time went by, Lionel took over as the head of the Johnson family despite having no blood relations with them.
In conclusion, that was the massive secret protected by the Johnson family.
“On top of that, what else is there?” Natalie pressed on.
Taken aback, Lia stared at Natalie in disbelief.
Even Yandel reacted the same way. Isn’t what she said shocking enough? Is there something that’s even more explosive?
“Considering that you are the true daughter of the Johnson family, you would stand to benefit greatly if Lionel is exposed as an orphan.” Natalie continued, “Consequently, he should be the one that should feel threatened, not you. In fact, if his secret is revealed, the elders of the Johnson family would rally behind you to seize control of the family. So, isn’t that good for you?”
