Chapter 266
Clayton looked up at him. "When will you take this little guy out to play next time? Let me know. Loretta and I will join."
Normally, he didn't have a chance to be alone with this little guy. Besides, Valeria probably wouldn't agree.
Suddenly, Clayton felt a pang of sadness.
So what if he was successful in his career? What did it matter? His daughter, who had been lost for twenty years, now looked. at him like a stranger.
Back then, Clayton and his wife were so busy with work that they accidentally lost their eldest daughter. Luckily, they had finally found her again, or they might have regretted it for a lifetione.
In his dreams at night, he had dreamt countless times of his eldest daughter being heartlessly hurt, and he couldn't even find her body.
So when he saw the paternity test results, it felt so unreal. Elena had really come back.
Hackett nodded. "I spend time with him every weekend. And it's almost the weekend again. I'll let you know."
Clayton grunted in agreement and reluctantly handed the phone back. Then he said, "I have a question for you."
"What is it?" Hackett seemed to have a fairly good guess.
Why did you divorce Valeria? And why did you let her raise the child alone? Don't you know how tough it is for a woman to raise a child on her own?" Clayton questioned Hackett from a father's perspective.
Hackett's expression remained calm as he spoke, "I did some foolish things back in those years, and I had selfish reasons for choosing to divorce her. But as for the child, I didn't know she was pregnant, let alone that she was raising the child alone. So now, I'm trying my best to make amends."
For 1
a moment, it seemed like they were in similar situations.
They were the missing father figures for their children for many years. Now, they were trying their best to find opportunities
to make amends
However, the difference was that Hackett still had a chance to make amends. After all, Alex was only three years old. But Valeria was already twenty-six
Clayton didn't want to press on about past matters. It was pointless.
"TII give you a choice. You help me mend my relationship with Valeria, and I'll help you regain your grandfather's shares."
Hackett's pitch-black eyes flickered for a moment. Then, he chuckled and said, "It sounds reasonable, but you have to think about it carefully. I haven't even managed to reconcile my relationship with her. How could I help you?"
He had been trying so hard for so long, but Valeria still wouldn't give him any chance to reconcile, let alone the fact that Clayton hadn't seen Valeria in twenty years
Clayton said, "You've already made a lot of progress. At least you can openly see her and the child. As for Loretta and me, we can only sneak around, and we can't even see her. We have to endure the way Valeria looks at us like we are enemies. We don't want to lose her again. We don't want to go twenty years without seeing her."""
Looking at it this way, Hackett did seem to have made a lot of progress. At least he could go see the child and Valeria openly.
"Tll try my best and give it a shot. He didn't have much confidence either. After all, the current Valeria was different from the one four years ago, She had her own thoughts now.
Gu.
"Then I'll wait for your good news. This weekend, it would be best to have her bring the child to your home for a meal. I'll be waiting for your message."
After saying that, Clayton got up to leave. He took a few steps, then turned back and asked, "Is there no possibility of reconciliation between you two? The child is three years old now He can't be without a father." Hackett smiled helplessly.
Hackett remained silent. Clayton didn't
anything more. He turned and left.
After Clayton left, the office was left with just Hackett, and it felt empty and hollow,
The next day, Valeria arrived at James Group early, as the old couple had already brought their lawyer.
It seemed they were preparing for a major move.
When Valeria entered the meeting room, Hackett was already seated in the observer's seat, showing no intention to participate in the negotiations.
"Ms. Sharp, you've finally arrived. Over here." The director of the legal department gestured to her.
Valeria sat at the conference table with her briefcase in hand. She faced the old couple and their lawyer across from her.
"Let's get straight to the point. How do you want your compensation? Let's hear it," Valeria said. She lowered her head to look at the case files.
The opposing lawyer didn't beat around the bush. He directly presented a series of compensation demands. "This is the list of compensation we require, totaling 22 million dollars."
22 million dollars?
These old couple were really asking for a lot. They were being quite audacious.
Valeria took a moment to process the list, but her face remained impassive. Then she suddenly smiled. "Why is there even a line item for buying a house here? After Nancy's suicide, are we also responsible for taking care of her parents' housing?"
"Of course. The old couple only have Nancy as their daughter. Now that she's gone, they have no one to rely on. So, you should take responsibility for their living arrangements, the opposing lawyer stated.
Valeria tossed the list onto the conference table and leaned back in her chair. "But when Nancy was alive, her parents didn't have a place to stay either. Moreover, based on Nancy's salary, even if she didn't spend a penny for thirty years, she still couldn't afford the property in the location you specified, which is worth one million dollars. Isn't this going a bit too far?"
She suspected that this old couple had been misled by this lawyer. While compensation was warranted, demanding such an exorbitant sum was impossible. It was equivalent to profiting from their daughter's tragic end.
into a
After hearing Valeria's words, the old man's emotions flared up again. "You wretched girl. You're always causing trouble. If you weren't this company's lawyer, I would really want to give you a good thrashing. Your parents have raised you heartless woman. Shouldn't everyone be responsible for taking care of their parents in their old age! Now that our daughter is gone, who will take care of us? You? On what grounds do you deny us our rightful compensation?"
Valeria smiled. "Sir, please calm down. I'm not saying you can't ask for compensation. But you also can't demand everything from its. Would you like us to find you a younger and more attractive spouse?"
At this, the old woman grew displeased and erupted in a torrent of curses. "How dare you speak like this! Please find another lawyer to negotiate with us. I suspect you don't know how to negotiate at all. You're a fake lawyer!"
Valeria sneered. "I'm definitely more genuine than your lawyer, I don't know what your lawyer has told you, but in any case, this figure is impossible. Even if we go to court, it still won't happen. Besides, before Nancy committed suicide, you two were GU
also causing a commotion-ig the company. I strongly suspect the pressure from both of you had led to Nancy's decision to Commit suicide.
"What! You're talking nonsenset She's our daughter! How could we have pressured her to her death?" The old man grew agitated again. He even pounded the table. He seemed almost ready to smash it.Nôvel(D)rama.Org's content.
Meanwhile, Hackett had been sitting quietly in the observer's seat, not offering any comments. He was simply watching Valeria intently
It was the first time he watched Valeria work so seriously. She had indeed grown a lot.
Just as the old woman was about to come forward and strike Valeria, Hackett suddenly stood up. He pulled Valeria behind him and firmly grasped the old woman's hand. "Are you thinking of resorting to violence? Just like how you treated your daughter before?"