Chapter 167: Scumbag Father

Chapter 167: Chapter 167: Scumbag Father

Vivian Lowell didn’t mention Rachel Faulkner’s name.

After all, she still lacked the confidence to bring it up, unsure if Julian would harbor any hard feelings about it.

"I know," Julian responded immediately, much more openly than Vivian had expected. "Don’t worry, I have people keeping an eye on her. Once she recovers a bit, I’ll ask her about it."

Julian had actually mentioned this to Vivian earlier.

Vivian knew what was what. She knew Julian was a man of his word, so she didn’t harp on the subject. Instead, she asked, "Have there been any new developments with Annie lately?"

Julian nodded. "Lawyer Donovan has been negotiating with us on her behalf, still trying to squeeze more money out of us. However, I’ve already found someone to restore the corrupted security footage from the day of the incident."

Surprised, Vivian asked, "And? Does it show that Grandma didn’t push her? That woman Annie, I swear!"

Julian shook his head. "You’re right about her. Annie must have scouted out the perfect angle beforehand. The part where she tumbled down the stairs happened in a blind spot.

"Because her back was to the camera, it’s impossible to see clearly whether Grandma actually pushed her or not. We can’t use it as evidence.

"That said, Grandma just told me she has some things from Annie’s past. If we need to expose her, she can give them to me."

Things from Annie’s past? Vivian wondered.

Just as her curiosity was piqued, Julian walked over to the desk and brought back his laptop. He placed the laptop on Vivian’s lap and opened a video player. A scene began to play on the screen.

The setting appeared to be the interior of a European-style villa. It didn’t look like the current Faulkner villa; perhaps it was the old Faulkner family home from when Julian was a child.

It was footage of Annie’s very first visit to the Faulkner family, back when she was trying to use her pregnancy to force her way into the family.

In the video, Annie was only in her teens, yet she was dripping in gold and silver jewelry, radiating the tacky aura of new money. She cradled her belly as if carrying a golden egg, strutting around arrogantly.

Annie had come to the Faulkner family for money. She was a shameless homewrecker who knew exactly what she was doing. The outrageous claims she spouted in the Faulkner home sounded just like the lines from the soapy melodramas Vivian used to watch a decade ago as a kid.

Things like, "I’m not here to break up this family; I’m here to join it," and, "She may have lost her life, but I lost my love and my child."

There were many more lines like that. As Vivian listened, she felt her entire worldview crumbling.

It was absolutely horrifying.

After watching the video, Vivian said to Julian, "My understanding of what a two-faced manipulator could be was clearly too shallow. I thought someone like Wendy Wynn was already top-tier.

"I didn’t expect Annie to be just as much of a piece of work. Sure enough, nine out of ten women who seduce other men are... very strange people."

Vivian rubbed her forehead and asked, "So, how should we handle this video now? Should we just post it online? I know quite a few media contacts.

"With a video this explosive, once it’s out there, everything Annie has worked so hard to build will instantly go up in smoke. Tsk. Her entire public persona would be destroyed.

"I can have them help spread it around. Of course, if you want to save it to use as a decisive piece of evidence in court, that works too.

"It’s just that Annie is so cunning, I’m worried if we hold onto this evidence for too long, she might come up with a way to counter it."

Hearing this, Julian nodded. His thoughts mirrored Vivian’s. The longer this case dragged on, the bigger the problem would become; it had already triggered quite a few chain reactions. No one knew what things would look like by the time they went to trial, or whether this video would still have such a massive impact by then.

"I’ll tell Vance Wyatt. We’ll let him handle this matter," Julian said. "As for you, is there anywhere you’re still feeling uncomfortable? Are you hungry? Let’s get you something to eat first."

With that, Julian prepared to call Ms. Shaw.

But before he could even dial, Ms. Shaw called him first. Sounding hesitant, she said, "Mr. Julian.

"I just got a call from Mr. Faulkner Sr. He said... he’s taking a flight back to the country tomorrow morning. He wants to come back and see things for himself since so much has been happening here.

"Should we contact customs and have him turned away?"

The ’Mr. Faulkner Sr.’ Ms. Shaw mentioned was, of course, Felix Faulkner.

Julian hadn’t kept the call from Vivian; he had put it straight on speakerphone, so she naturally heard everything.

After hearing this, Vivian’s expression changed slightly, and she looked at Julian with furrowed brows.

Julian’s brow was deeply furrowed as well, his expression downright ugly. He replied, "Yes, Ms. Shaw, do as you suggested. Tell him I’m handling everything here.

"If he comes back, he’ll lose everything he currently has abroad. Furthermore, once he’s back here, I’ll send him to a nursing home and make sure he stays locked in there."

He was threatening to put Felix under house arrest.

Who knew what domestic nursing homes were like? Life there wouldn’t be nearly as comfortable as living abroad. Julian’s words were a blatant threat. It was meant to make Felix drop those ridiculous notions of returning and just stay put peacefully overseas. Why cause such a fuss?

"Understood, Mr. Julian. I will pass on your message. Oh, right, dinner is ready. Shall I bring it up now?"

Julian gave a soft hum of affirmation. Perhaps because of his ruined mood, he didn’t feel like saying much else.

Ms. Shaw didn’t press the matter. She hung up the phone and brought the food up shortly after.

Julian fed the food to Vivian himself.

Vivian ate earnestly, her mind still lingering on the matter of Felix. The situation was already chaotic enough, and now Felix wanted to stick his oar in!

He was truly awful, perfectly living up to his reputation as a scumbag father. As the saying goes, trash belongs with trash. She really wondered what Julian’s mother had ever seen in such a scumbag all those years ago.

It was probably because he had been good-looking in his youth. After all, Vivian had heard Grandma Faulkner mention that Julian’s appearance had inherited all the best features of both his parents.

Julian was incredibly handsome; naturally, Felix couldn’t have been bad-looking either.

What a pity that people couldn’t choose who they were born to. Otherwise, Julian would surely never have wanted to be stuck with such a scumbag father.

While lost in thought, Vivian accidentally choked on her food.

"COUGH, COUGH, COUGH."

At the sound of her coughing, Julian immediately leaned in close to check on her.