Chapter 416 The Price of Blood

Chapter 416: Chapter 416 The Price of Blood

Edward sat in the main chair, his expression grim as he watched Ryan approach.

Margaret was the first to react.

She quickly rose from her seat, concern written across her face.

“Ryan, tell us what’s going on. How is Rose? Is that child really yours? Did Rose deceive you?”

She had imagined countless possibilities.

She’d already heard that Rose had been detained over the past few days. Naturally, the Knight family hadn’t stepped in.

What no one had expected was for Ryan to involve himself now—especially by publicly acknowledging the child as his daughter.

And he’d done it on a massive scale.

By announcing a major education donation to NYU, he’d practically guaranteed that the media would pick up the story.

Soon enough, the entire country—and the internet—would know that Ryan Knight had once been married and had a daughter.

Ryan lowered his eyes.

He took off his suit jacket, draped it over the back of a chair, and sat down.

“Who do you think could actually fool me?”

His question made Margaret hesitate.

She quickly tried another explanation.

“Did Rose tell you herself? Maybe she’s only doing this to clear her name. After everything that’s happened, she could be trying to prove she wasn’t some shameless woman who had a child with another man.”

“Grandma.”

Ryan’s voice remained calm.

“Do you want me to have a child or not?”

Margaret stared at him for a second before letting out an exasperated laugh.

“You idiot. Of course I want you to be happy. What grandmother wouldn’t want that for her grandson?”

Edward finally spoke.

“The Knight family’s bloodline can’t simply be left outside the family.”

Ryan picked up the cup of tea sitting in front of him and slowly turned it between his fingers.

His expression gave nothing away.

“The Knight family is the Knight family.”

He took a sip.

“Tomorrow is Rose’s wedding to Trevor. Now that the truth is out, we’re already running out of time.”

Margaret’s eyes widened.

“What?”

She slapped her palm against the table.

“How can Rose marry another man while carrying a Knight heir?”

Edward’s brows furrowed.

“Tomorrow?”

The timing was far tighter than he’d expected.

One wrong move, and the Knight family could lose any chance of gaining custody.

If Rose married Trevor and became legally part of the Robinson family, the custody situation could become even more complicated.

Ryan pressed his lips together.

Perhaps the strain of the past few days was finally catching up with him. His brow tightened, and his face looked noticeably paler.

“The Robinson family has custody of the child. Rose can’t make the decision by herself anymore, so there’s no point in going after her.”

Edward’s expression darkened.

He immediately understood what Ryan meant.

Confronting Rose wouldn’t solve anything.

The real issue was the Robinson family.

“No matter what happens, we can’t let the Robinsons walk away with a Knight child without giving us anything in return.”

Edward’s voice was cold.

“Now that you’ve made the child’s identity public, what happens if everyone later finds out she’s carrying the Robinson surname? What will that make the Knight family look like?”

His expression hardened.

“People will laugh at us.”

The thought of a Knight heir carrying the Robinson name was unacceptable.

The Knight and Robinson families had been rivals for years. Their conflict was hardly something that could be ignored.

Whether it was for the family’s reputation or for the child’s future, they had to bring her back.

Ryan remained strangely calm.

“The Robinson family isn’t unwilling to give her up.”

He set the cup down.

“They just haven’t been offered anything worth giving her up for.”

His eyes lifted toward Edward.

“You’ve dealt with the Robinsons for years. You know what they want.”

Edward narrowed his eyes.

Ryan didn’t elaborate.

He didn’t need to.

“Handle it,” Ryan said.

He lifted a hand to his temple, rubbing the spot where the headache was still pounding.

Then he stood.

“But we don’t have much time.”

He walked toward the door.

He clearly had no intention of saying anything more than necessary.

“Ryan!”

Margaret’s voice followed him.

He didn’t stop.

Her face flushed with anger.

“I never thought Rose was capable of this. She deceived the Knight family, hid our own blood from us, and now she expects to marry into the Robinson family as though nothing happened?”

She scoffed.

“Absolutely not.”

Edward remained silent for a long moment.

His eyes followed the direction Ryan had gone.

Then he turned to his assistant.

“Contact the Robinson family.”

His voice was low and firm.

“Tell them we want to negotiate.”

*****

By the time Julia heard the news, the head of the Robinson family had already called.

She was usually buried in work and didn’t pay much attention to gossip or entertainment news.

But this time, she’d managed to miss something far too important.

By the time she learned what had happened, the situation had already exploded.

Ariel might not have been raised by Julia herself, but she’d always treated the girl like her own granddaughter.

When Trevor had brought Ariel into the Robinson household years ago, Julia had assumed the child’s biological mother had simply had a falling-out with Trevor and that he’d taken responsibility for the girl.

She’d never questioned it too deeply.

But now she was being told that Ariel wasn’t a Robinson at all.

She was a Knight.

By the time Julia arrived at the Robinson family home, several senior members of the family were already gathered in the living room.

Trevor was there too.

He sat quietly, his expression as cold as ever.

Julia strode into the room in her heels, her face tight with disbelief.

“What the hell is going on?”

One of the older family members answered grimly.

“Edward Knight has already contacted us about taking the child back. He’s clearly trying to pressure us.”

He paused.

“If this isn’t handled carefully, the conflict between the Knight and Robinson families could become public. Once that happens, neither side is likely to come out unscathed.”

Julia frowned.

“Did you agree to meet with them?”

“The meeting is tonight at the Royal Crescent Hotel.”

Julia’s expression immediately darkened.

Then she turned toward Trevor.

He hadn’t said a word since she’d arrived.

“You knew, didn’t you?”

Trevor finally looked up.

“You knew Ariel was Rose and Ryan’s daughter?”

His silence was answer enough.

Julia’s eyes sharpened.

“And you’ve been helping Rose all these years?”

She shook her head.

“No. That’s not even the right way to put it. This happened years ago. Back then, were you using Ariel to reject the Taylor family’s marriage proposal?”

Her mind was already putting the pieces together.

“Did you make some kind of arrangement with Rose?”

Trevor looked at her calmly.

“Does it matter now?”

“How could it not matter?”

Julia’s voice rose.

“This has suddenly blown up in everyone’s faces. The Robinson family can’t afford to lose this fight—or start a war we can’t finish.”

She stared at him.

“Even if you did use the situation with the children to force the Taylor family to back off from that marriage alliance years ago, you cannot get yourself dragged into the middle of Rose’s conflict with the Knights now.”

Trevor’s expression remained unchanged.

“You forgot something.”

Julia frowned.

“What?”

“Tomorrow is my wedding to Rose.”

The words were quiet, but there was no hesitation behind them.

Julia stared at him.

“Trevor... you’re still planning to marry her?”

“Yes.”

“At a time like this?”

“Yes.”

Julia could hardly believe what she was hearing.

“Have you lost your mind?”

Trevor didn’t react.

“This is between Rose and me.”

He said each word deliberately.

Julia’s anger surged.

“Are you worried she’ll be humiliated if you call off the wedding at the last minute?”

She scoffed.

“You two used each other for years. That arrangement is over. So why are you still protecting her now?”

Once the truth about Ariel became public, the Knight family would demand an explanation.

Rose had hidden the child from them for years.

They were furious.

And if the Robinson family went ahead with the wedding tomorrow, the Knights could easily see it as a direct challenge.

Julia couldn’t understand Trevor’s decision.

Her son had always been rational.

He’d always known when to put personal feelings aside for the sake of the family.

But now...

“I don’t care how you handle the Knights,” Trevor said.

He looked directly at her.

“But tomorrow’s wedding is happening.”

His voice was calm.

“It’s going ahead as planned.”

Silence fell over the room.

Several of the older family members exchanged uneasy looks.

Julia simply stared at her son, unable to believe what she’d heard.

*****

Rose stayed with Ariel for quite a while.

It was almost seven when her phone finally rang.

She glanced at the screen.

Ryan.

Her expression immediately changed.

After everything that had happened today, there was no reason for him to call unless something had gone wrong.

Rose stepped out of the room and got into her car before answering.

“What?”

“Come to the Royal Crescent Hotel.”

Ryan’s voice was cold.

Final.

Rose frowned.

She couldn’t tell whether the call had anything to do with their confrontation earlier.

“Get to the point.”

There was a brief silence.

Then Ryan asked, “Do you want to know what the Robinson family plans to do about this?”