Chapter 375 You Are My Son
“You’re still not willing to repent until now?” Julian pushed Sue away. “You should turn yourself in.” Sue’s face paled in an instant. She couldn’t believe what she just heard.
Julian continued, “This happened more than twenty years ago, and though the prosecution period has passed, you still owe Justin an apology. The law will not hold you accountable, but you must repent.”
“Are you crazy? I am your mother!”
“It’s precisely because you’re my mother that I don’t want you to live your life with your sins. Doesn’t it hurt your conscience? You keep saying you did everything for me, but you’re just doing it for yourself!”
Just as he finished speaking, a middle-aged man’s voice suddenly sounded from behind Julian, interrupting him. “It’s true that your mother did it for you.”
Julian’s hands that were hanging by his sides suddenly stiffened, his expression turning awkward. He didn’t even look back and was about to leave home as if he hadn’t seen or heard anything.
“Hold it!”
Julian clenched his fists and said through gritted teeth, “Jason, I didn’t call the police to catch you for my mother’s sake, so don’t get ahead of yourself. This is a matter between my family and it has nothing to do with you!”
The man who was standing by the door of the study was Jason.
Two weeks ago, Julian was supposed to leave Riverdale on a business trip, but he had forgotten to bring something and went home, where he ran into his mother in a middle-aged man’s arms. Because Sue had been widowed for more than 20 years, as a son, he had always hoped that she would remarry, but she remained alone for many years to raise him and his cousin, Justin. Although she was a little grumpy, she was still dedicated to her children.
However, just as Julian was about to leave, he found that the man was Jason, Justin’s uncle. At that moment, Julian’s mind went blank. It was then that he finally found out Sue and Jason had been together for many years. All this time, taking care of Justin was just a cover for why Sue continued to stay at the Burton Residence, unwilling to leave. Her real purpose was to cover up her identity as Jason’s lover.
As Julian had received good moral upbringing since he was a child, he simply could not accept this. Moreover, Jason was involved in a smuggling case and was being looked into by the investigation bureau, so his first instinct was to call the police as soon as possible. However, it was his mother who begged him not to call the police that made him compromise.
For the past two weeks, Jason had been living here. He was going to turn a blind eye to this until he found out the truth about Justin’s abduction that year. It was as if he had been struck by lightning over and over.
Jason glared at Julian. “Where do you think your food and clothes came from for the past twenty years? Your mother stayed at the Burton Residence for herself? Bold of you to say that!”
“I’d rather not have all of that!”
“But you already did. Your comfortable life for the past thirty years, your studies, respected occupation, and even your current so-called morals were all given to you by your mother.”
Jason’s every word was like a stab to his heart, and Julian had never been so aggrieved as he was now. He called the two people in front of him demons, but he was raised by these two demons.
“Also, I have to tell you that you had a part in Justin’s abduction back then.”
“Jason.” Sue hurriedly stopped him. “Don’t say it.”
However, Jason ignored her interruption and said coldly, “Julian, have you forgotten why Justin went out alone that year?”
Julian’s expression gradually dropped. How could he not remember? Justin was Arthur’s favorite grandson, the boy who always had several bodyguards escorting him whenever he went out; it was impossible for him to be abducted and sold by human traffickers. The reason why he went out alone that day was entirely because of a phone call he had made.
“Justin, did you forget that my birthday is the day after tomorrow?”
“How could I forget? I’ve prepared your gift already.”
“Really? My mom has been in a bad mood recently and won’t talk to me. You’re the best, Justin.”
“Aunt Sue is probably in a bad mood because she has to move away. I’ll find a way to tell Grandpa. Don’t worry, Julian. How about this, the day after tomorrow, I’ll secretly take you to the waterpark.”
“Really?”
“Of course. When have I ever lied to you?”
Julian was delighted.
“You brat, why are you looking for your swimming trunk in the middle of the night?”
“Justin is taking me to play at the waterpark the day after tomorrow!”
“How is he taking you? Does Old Mr. Burton let him out?”
“Justin said that he’ll sneak out. Shh, don’t tell anyone, Mom.”
On the day he went to the water park, he waited alone at the entrance of the park for a long time, but Justin never showed up, and he even grumbled inwardly about being stood up by his cousin. However, in the evening, when the Burton Family showed up at his house, he found out that Justin had gone missing.
When Justin was found, half a year had already passed. He came back with a long scar on his face, and after his injury was healed, it was like he had turned into someone else. He became withdrawn and didn’t like to be close to others. He didn’t even speak much to Julian, his own cousin. The events of that year were still vivid in his mind, and he would never forget it in his life.
“So what if I remember?”
Jason said, “If it weren’t for you telling your mother that Justin would come out alone to take you to play, how could we have had this opportunity to arrange for someone to take him away?”
Julian was unfazed. “That’s just an excuse! Even if I didn’t tell anyone back then, and even if I didn’t go out with Justin that day, as long as you wanted to do it, you would’ve done whatever it took to wait for an opportunity or create one yourselves.”
He firmly believed that he had done nothing wrong twenty years ago, which was why he was not swayed by Jason.
“Is that so?” Jason sneered. “But have you ever thought about why your mother would work with me to harm her own nephew?”
Julian jolted violently.
“My old man favors men over women, and only a man can become the heir of the Burton Family. If it wasn’t to pave the way for our son to inherit the Burton Family in the future, why would we try to harm Justin, a thirteen-year-old brat?”
“What are you talking about?” Jason only had one daughter, Tina. Where did a son come from?
“Stop it.” Sue suddenly turned pale and grabbed Jason’s arm in a panic. “Please stop talking. Enough is enough!”
“He isn’t a child anymore. He should’ve known these things earlier.”
“Jason, Julian doesn’t need to know!”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Julian revealed a rare annoyance and panic.
“Are you still trying to lie to yourself after everything? I know that you’ve thought about it before.” Jason’s cold eyes bore straight into Julian’s as he said, “You’re my son. My biological son.”
His words were like a knife, stabbing directly into Julian’s heart.
