Chapter 614 A Bitter Betrayal

Blair coughed hard.

Malcom’s move was a humiliation toward the Jensons.

Russell quickly tried to calm her down. “Blair, take it easy! Don’t get worked up. Remember what the doctor said–you need rest right now!”

“I- I know. I won’t let anger ruin my health. That would just play right into the hands of those schemers.”

Blair took a few deep breaths, forcing herself to calm down. But inside, her rage still burned hot.

She clenched her teeth in rage.

"Damn you, Malcom! He didn’t even give us notice. And now he wanted to adopt Tilda as his daughter? What on earth is he doing? This move is nothing short of betrayal!"

Malcom was trying to steal away the daughter Blair had carried for nine months. She nearly died giving birth to and longed for over 19 years. He knew full well that Tilda and their family were at odds. Wasn’t this just taking advantage of their pain?

When Blair finally steadied her emotions, Russell thought about the situation for a moment. Finally, he said, “I’ll call Malcom directly and ask him what’s going on.”

“Call him! You must! He owes us an explanation!”

On the other side, Malcom saw Russell’s name flashing on his phone. After being humiliated by Tilda earlier, he had already calmed himself.

“Oh well, didn’t expect him to call this fast.”

Malcom narrowed his eyes, a dangerous light in them. He had already prepared what to say the moment he made this decision.

Malcom lit a cigarette, took a drag, and then answered.

“Russell, what’s the matter?”

“Malcom, I heard you want to adopt Tilda as your daughter. Is that true?”

Russell’s voice carried sharp anger.

"Damn you, Malcom! You asshole! You knew very well that Tilda is my flesh and blood. After all that had happened between us, I already carried endless guilt toward Tilda."

Tilda carried Russell’s blood in her veins. Russell no longer dared to hope she would forgive him for the past or return to the family. But what he could not accept was Tilda becoming someone else’s adopted daughter–especially when it came as a betrayal from a friend. That hurt worse than death.

“Before I answer your question,” Malcom said coldly, “I want to know–did Tilda tell you this?”

The way he said Tilda’s name made it sound like it was already decided. In that moment, Russell felt as if his own flesh and blood was about to be stolen away by another man. Rage exploded inside him.

“Right now I’m the one asking!” Russell snapped. “Malcom, you answer me first!”

“If you won’t tell me, Russell, then I’ll hang up. And you’ll never know my reasons–or how this ends.”

“You bastard!”

Russell’s face burned red. He never thought Malcom would threaten him. His whole body shook with anger.

“Malcom, what on earth are you doing? We’ve known each other for over 20 years. We’ve never had bad blood, and we’ve worked well together as business partners. I can’t believe you’d pull something like this!”

Blair finally couldn’t hold back.

Malcom raised his brow, calm as ever. “So, you really do care about Tilda as your daughter. Russell, think carefully. Tell me–was it Tilda who told you about this?”

“No!” Russell snapped. “It wasn’t her! I have no reason to lie. Someone overheard you talking to Tilda and told me! So don’t twist this, Malcom. Unless you give me an explanation today, I swear I’ll cut all ties with you. I will never work with your company again!”

Not Tilda?

But back at Twilight Tea Room, only the two of us were there. How did other people find out? Who could it be?

A shadow flashed across Malcom’s mind. Could it be Tobias? Only his son knew about today’s meeting with Tilda and what they planned to discuss. But no, Tobias had no reason to leak this. And Russell had no reason to lie.

Whatever.

Malcom forced his thoughts into order and finally spoke.

“I saw you fighting with Tilda that day. Later, I told my wife about it. We both felt sorry for Tilda. She’s talented, and she’s been through a lot.” He gave a soft sigh. “I only mentioned the adoption to Tilda in passing. My idea is to help ease the tension between you two. Think about it. Tilda has cut ties with your family completely. Things are so bad between Tilda and your family. But if she became my adopted daughter, I could use that bond to slowly convince her to forgive you and go home. Wouldn’t that be a good thing?”

His excuses were flawless. No cracks to find. But to Russell, that didn’t matter. The very act itself was enough to ignite his fury.

“To hell with your excuses, Malcom! I don’t care what you meant. I’m warning you–stay away from my daughter! And don’t you ever bring up adopting her again!”