Chapter 306: This Family Would Fall Apart Without Her
He was less a bodyguard and more of a trusted confidant.
The last time Justin Donovan met with Jasper Jacobs, this man had been standing right beside him.
"Jacobs? Jasper Jacobs?!" Arabella pondered for a moment before realizing who her eldest brother was talking about. She shot to her feet in alarm. "Justin, how could you get involved with him?"
Justin Donovan hadn’t wanted to tell Arabella about this before, worried she’d get too anxious knowing this legendary outlaw had appeared. He never imagined that after all his efforts to guard against the man—who had failed to cause trouble for him and the company—he would end up targeting his sister instead.
At this thought, the look on Justin Donovan’s face darkened. "Do you remember Claire Bishop?"
"Of course."
’That was the first piece of gossip I heard after I came home. Justin almost became the gullible fool in some trashy, worldview-shattering soap opera of a novel. Not only would he have ended up raising that brain-dead white lotus’s child, but he’d also have been targeted for revenge by that lawless, moronic male lead and "won" the bankruptcy and family-annihilation prize package.’
As another victim who had come along, Caspian Rhodes’s eyes glinted. He finally understood what the gossip surrounding the Donovans’ eldest son was all about.
’No wonder the little one sighed all day with a face full of anxiety. Her eldest brother almost got suckered into raising another man’s kid and was targeted for revenge. Her second brother was hiding his identity in the entertainment industry, where he fended off a rich woman’s advances only to be nearly framed in a honey trap and canceled across the internet. And don’t even get me started on her third brother. He was supposed to be a titan in his field but was reduced to an NPC tool for the main characters’ love story. Not only was his research stolen, but he was also promptly killed off.’
’Even her fourth sister, whose identity she had swapped with, also had a secret of her own and nearly fell into the trap of some pseudo-innocent Player Queen.’
’When he really thought about it, this whole family was a handful. It was a good thing she had the novel’s plot as her cheat code, and that her family genuinely trusted and loved her. Otherwise, this family really would fall apart without her!’
The Donovans: *Pfft...*
Justin Donovan: "..." ’Can we please not bring up the past? I didn’t even do anything stupid, so why am I getting made fun of twice? It’s so unfair!’
"Thanks to your warning that day, I didn’t fall for her trap and acknowledge her baby as mine."
Arabella blinked, a look of confusion on her face. "But didn’t you just happen to get a hidden camera video from the hotel room that night? And wasn’t she scared off because she had a guilty conscience?"
Justin Donovan: "..." ’I almost forgot about that part!’
"Ahem, that’s not important. What’s important is that she failed to trick us that day and ran off with her baby. I didn’t expect that a month or two later, she would suddenly storm into our company with a man. The man claimed to be the biological father of Claire Bishop’s child and was there to call me to account."
"Wait, is he crazy? What’s he calling you to account for?"
’In the original plot, Justin was just acting as Claire Bishop’s fiancé and helping her raise the child. He only ended up provoking Jasper Jacobs after being ruthlessly backstabbed by that moronic female lead. But in reality, Justin was never tricked into raising the child, nor did he take that woman in. How on earth did he still end up on this hyper-aggressive male lead’s radar? This makes no sense!’
"Er... I mean, why is he looking for trouble with you for no reason? Is he trying to get even for Claire Bishop? Does he think we wronged her because we didn’t fall for her slanderous accusations, take her in, and provide her with a carefree life of luxury?"
"That might be one reason, but the main reason is he’s convinced that Claire Bishop’s relationship with our family is anything but simple."
"Anything but... simple? The kind of ’anything but simple’ relationship where you get kicked to the curb? What is with that guy’s logic? Wait, after that woman left our house, was she just wandering around, helpless, with no one to take her in?"
"Not at all. I had someone look into it afterward. After leaving our home, she bounced between the houses of several male friends for a temporary stay. She was living quite comfortably."
’Justin is being so diplomatic. They’re her backup options, not ’male friends.’ He’s giving those scumbags way too much face.’
The Donovans: *Pfft...* ’We’ve had rigorous training. We don’t laugh out loud. Crap, I’m about to lose it!’
Justin Donovan: "..." ’No, I really wasn’t trying to give them any face.’
"If that’s the case, why didn’t he go after the ’male friends’ who let Claire Bishop stay with them? Why is he coming after you?"
"What makes you think he didn’t go after them?"
Arabella: "???"
Mrs. Donovan cleared her throat and explained, "In fact, after that, a victim who had taken in Claire Bishop and suffered severe retaliation from that Mr. Jacobs came to your older brother for help."
Mr. Donovan added, "From that man, your brother discovered that there were several others who had suffered the same fate."
Hector Donovan chimed in, "Because of that, we have reason to suspect that after the man found Claire Bishop, he went after every elderly man and little boy she’d interacted with, every cat and dog she’d petted... as long as it was male, he didn’t let it go."
Arabella: "..." ’How savage! Seriously, what kind of psycho is he! I’d completely overestimated his moral bottom line!’
"So what did he say to you when he stormed into the company? Did he hit you?" Arabella stood up and anxiously looked Justin over from head to toe, terrified that her handsome, reliable, and wealthy older brother had somehow ended up maimed.
"No, he just spouted some threats, warning me to back down or he’d come after the rest of you."
"Damn, that’s harsh."
"So, I called the police and reported him."
Arabella: "???"
Recalling his past heroic deed, Justin unconsciously puffed out his chest, feeling that his decision back then had been absolutely brilliant.
The other Donovans, however, shivered at the memory. ’When will we be able to hear this story without cracking up? It’s no use, I’m really about to lose it!’
It took Arabella a long moment to realize what a monumental, earth-shattering thing her brother had done. She raised her hand and gave him a thumbs-up. "Justin, you’re amazing."
’My thinking was too narrow. Just because the novel has no laws doesn’t mean reality doesn’t! When you encounter a lawless madman like him, you have to use the weapon of the law to bring him to justice.’
Upon hearing this, Justin felt the frustration that had been weighing on him for so long instantly vanish, his face a mask of satisfaction and pride.
Mr. Donovan, however, said sourly, "Amazing my ass. If he hadn’t been so reckless, he wouldn’t have completely antagonized that guy. Not only was the company targeted in a sneak attack, but you and your third brother also nearly got hurt."
"Something happened to our family’s company?"
"It’s fine, don’t worry. Your brother was prepared. The company’s stock price didn’t just not fall—it hit the daily upper limit. And the few moles who were selling company secrets were all rooted out."
"That’s good." Arabella breathed a sigh of relief, then changed her tune to defend her brother. "Dad, you can’t say that. Even if Justin hadn’t called the police, with Mr. Jacobs’s tyrannical personality and his habit of retaliating against man and beast alike, couldn’t he have just come after our family one day using the excuse that Justin entered the company with his left foot first?"
Mr. Donovan: "..." ’I’m actually speechless!’