"What else do you want to say?" asked Joshua lightly.
Mandy's face kept changing. She really didn't know what other excuses she could make.
How could Hazel possibly have s.e.x with these men when she was never abroad?
"Mr. King, I don't think I have to say anything more, do I?" Joshua looked at Ted with deep eyes.
Ted was silent. Now he had to admit defeat. If he continued to insist that he wasn't wrong, he would only feel more humiliated.
"It's, in fact, it's effortless to find out these facts. The men in the videos didn't show their faces, but their skin color and body shapes show that they aren't from Country Z. If you have checked Hazel's movement records, you would have known the woman in the videos isn't Hazel," Simon said with a sarcastic smile. "But you weren't willing to do that at all and had to force Joshua to cut ties with you. Why do you have to do that?"
"Stop it!" Ted yelled at him in exasperation.
Simon spread his hands. "It's no use yelling at me. I've never obeyed you every time you yell at me since I was a kid. But let me remind you of your bet with Joshua. From now on, both of you have nothing to do with each other."
He said it calmly, but it hit Ted like a heavy hammer in the heart.
Joshua carefully helped Hazel up; they were ready to leave. Now they weren't willing to even say goodbye to Ted.
"Joshua, you are actually serious?" Ted looked at Joshua in disbelief. For a moment, he looked a few years older.
He had been avoiding cutting ties with Joshua, but in the end, they still inevitably fell out completely.
Hearing this, Joshua paused.
The next moment, he stopped and looked back at Ted.
"If I lose this bet, will you be serious?"
There were no ripples in his quiet words, but it was enough to leave Ted speechless.
Indeed, if Joshua lost the bet, Ted would be serious and insist Joshua keep the promise. It seemed Ted had really thought too highly of himself. Perhaps, what he had always thought wasn't that he could win, but that whatever he did, Joshua should obey him because he was Joshua's father.
Looking at Ted, who looked dazed, Joshua walked away with Hazel without saying anything else.
As for Mandy, she was naturally taken away by him. He had not yet found out who was behind Mandy, so of course, he didn't want to let her go simply.
Ted watched them leave and didn't say a word to keep them.
Simon watched the scene meaningfully. After they left, he suddenly said, "Old man, you know what, Joshua actually has given you a chance today."
"What do you mean?" Ted looked back at him in disbelief.
"They originally thought that as long as you didn't stubbornly refuse the evidence today, that would mean you are a reasonable person that they can communicate with, and they wouldn't thoroughly cut ties with you and would try to get along with you." Simon said sarcastically, "But congratulations, you've completely let them down."
Ted's face went pale again. It turned out that he had subconsciously made so many mistakes.
He looked at Simon angrily. "Do you say this now to annoy me?"
"Yes," said Simon, getting up and gloating. "Of course, I meant to annoy you!"
"Get lost!" Ted growled with a gloomy face.
"I'll also go even if you don't say that." Simon's smile vanished as he said coldly, "Don't you think you've done something wrong yet?"
"... It's you who don't understand my heart," Ted said in a deep tone.
Simon was only amused. Ted might have regrets, but he still didn't think it was his fault.
"Your biggest mistake is that you never consider Joshua and me to be sons!" Simon's voice grew colder. "Don't feel wounded. You figure out for yourself whether you want us to be your sons or your subordinates? Your subordinates obey you in order to get benefits from you, but Joshua and I are independent and free. Why should we let you decide our life?"
Ted felt shocked in the heart because these were things he had never thought about. Come to think of it, he did treat them more like his own subordinates than his own sons. Perhaps it was also because he had no idea how to be a father himself.
After a long time, he said unwillingly, "I can also give you enough benefits..."
"But Joshua nor I need it. We even look down upon it," Simon said in an indifferent manner, "because we believe that our future success will be definitely better than yours. Moreover… Do you really think Joshua is not as strong as you are?"
Ted's face was even gloomier because he knew Simon was right.
But he had never really thought about these things. Simon's words came as a blow to him.
Looking at Ted, who doubted his behaviors, Simon stopped talking and directly left.
After walking out of the hall, he took out his phone and called Joshua.
"I told him everything that you told me to say." Simon sighed helplessly.
"How did he react?" asked Joshua lightly.
"His reaction was remarkable, if you ask me," Simon sneered. "I think his values have already been refreshed by now. When I saw the old man look dejected, my heart was a little softened."
"Then don't keep your heart softened," Joshua said in a serious voice with deep eyes. "This kind of blow isn't enough to make him really wake up and change."
"I know," said Simon as his smile vanished with a gloomy face. "At his age, he's prone to be paranoid, unwilling to admit his mistake. He's a dotard. By the way, what are you going to do with that woman? Would you like to take her to me? I have a hundred ways to get her to tell the truth."
"I know you're very free, so I've had her taken to your place," Joshua said quietly. "I'm leaving this matter to you. Don't show tenderness toward her."
Simon was speechless. He just mentioned it casually, but Joshua really left it to him. Joshua really didn't treat him as an outsider!
Compared to their success, Daniel was deeply troubled.
He found Cynthia at a house under her name. She was drunk and fell unconscious on the floor.
Daniel was so angry that he poured cold water on her.