Chubby Mommy: Scheming Daddy, Surrender Now!-Chapter 244: Extracting Information

Brandon Sullivan let out a long sigh, paused in silence, then suddenly began to cry, his voice breaking, "Ruby, I’m your father, and I do love both kids, but... I can’t watch your sister get into trouble, I can’t, I can’t..."

Ruby Sullivan wasn’t in the mood to listen to his remorse, she anxiously stared at the car display screen, almost crying out of urgency.

Ethan Sterling stopped the car at the red light, turned off the speakerphone, covered the phone’s microphone and whispered, "Keep him calm, take it easy."

Ruby Sullivan took a deep breath, nodded to him to concentrate on driving, slowly brought the phone to her ear, Brandon Sullivan seemed to still be repenting, muttering something, she couldn’t really make out, but she could be sure this wasn’t her father acting normally.

"Dad, Dad!" She gradually intensified her tone, and when the other side quieted down, she coaxed as calmly as possible: "Dad, I understand your feelings, first tell me where you are, I’ll come find you now, let’s talk face to face, okay?"

"Okay, okay." Brandon Sullivan agreed repeatedly, "I’m at home, come over now."

"At home?" Ruby Sullivan glanced at Ethan Sterling, saw him nod, and agreed, "Alright, I’m coming right over."

The next second, the car suddenly made a sharp U-turn on the road ahead, and Ruby Sullivan was shaken hard before she settled back into her seat.

"Weren’t the kids’ location in the suburbs?"

"Trust Howard." Ethan Sterling squeezed her hand.

He was now certain the kids weren’t with Brandon Sullivan, the worst assumption was Brandon was being used, with a real mastermind behind the scenes. If that’s the case, the children would be in more danger, but no matter what, the top priority was to keep Brandon calm and talk to him in person, which would also be a chance to lure out the mastermind.

Having Howard by his side all these years, he completely trusted his abilities, so accompanying Ruby to see Brandon was the best choice now.

Ruby Sullivan bit her thumbnail anxiously, her mind a tangled mess, full of the worst scenarios.

Although Brandon Sullivan, like most grandparents, adored Honey and Seth very much, it wasn’t quite the same. He slept for five years, and upon waking, found two little ones calling him grandpa. Having not witnessed their birth and growth, he would lack a lot of real emotion, the feelings naturally quite shallow, compared to the elder daughter who’s always on his mind, these two children obviously didn’t weigh as much in his heart.

So, Ruby wasn’t surprised at all that Brandon would come up with such a way to threaten them. Ethan Sterling had even already put preventive measures in place, but it was like being targeted by a thief, hard to guard against at all times.

Their car had already reached the outer ring road, and even though they sped all the way, it took nearly an hour to reach the Sullivan Family home.

Ruby Sullivan got out of the car and ran inside, seeing Brandon Sullivan sitting on the couch, looking unwell, accompanied by the family’s proxy lawyer, Lawyer Bennett.

"Miss Sullivan." Lawyer Bennett greeted her. Brandon Sullivan also looked at her at this moment, his eyes full of guilt and regret.

Ruby Sullivan was panting, not caring much for courtesy, "Where are the children?"

At this point, Brandon Sullivan caught sight of Ethan Sterling right behind her and immediately turned hostile, "Get out, I don’t want to see you!" It was because of this man that his two daughters ended up like this. He hated him. If it had been a few years earlier, he would have had plenty of ways to deal with him, but now he couldn’t. He was old, and even the Sullivan Group was no longer what it used to be.

He had laid on the hospital bed for over five years, and everything changed upon waking up. He didn’t know what was right or wrong. He just knew no matter the cost, he couldn’t let Rhonda be convicted, couldn’t let his two daughters fight to the bitter end!

"No way!" Ruby Sullivan held onto Ethan Sterling’s hand, "He’s the children’s father, the real authority of the Sullivan Group, he must be present and see all the contracts before I can sign."

After calming herself during the ride, she realized she could no longer back down. Continuous retreat and compromise might only lead Brandon to push his limits further.

Ethan Sterling gripped her hand back, calmly saying, "It would be best for you to agree immediately. If you wait until we change our minds, you’ll have nothing, and as for Rhonda..." he didn’t finish but his eyes clearly said, I don’t need to tell you what her outcome would be.

Brandon Sullivan squinted at him, convinced that his apparent indifference was just an act, "Ethan Sterling, don’t you care about the children’s lives?"

Ethan Sterling slightly curled his lips mockingly, squinting, "The children’s lives? Sounds like something a grandfather would say."

"I have no choice!" Brandon Sullivan raised his volume, trying to use his voice to cover up the opponent’s imposing manner, masking his own guilt.

"Mr. Sullivan, my time is limited, but let me remind you, Seth is just a child I adopted, he has no blood relation with me, and as for Dulcie... she has a terminal illness after being born, and wasn’t meant to live many years anyway."

"Honey has a terminal illness?" Brandon Sullivan was appalled, looking to Ruby Sullivan for confirmation.

Ruby Sullivan nodded, "Ethan and I wanted to have another child just to match Honey for a bone marrow transplant, but... it was ruined by Rhonda’s actions causing a miscarriage." She said this while covering her mouth, tears flowing down her face.

Ethan Sterling added, "If the children aren’t here, you better tell your accomplices to treat her better."

Lawyer Bennett, sitting nearby, was growing increasingly uneasy listening, "Mr. Sullivan, what is going on? Did you... kidnap the children?" He had only been called to handle the contract matters, not to get involved in illegal activities, and definitely didn’t want to get caught in a feud between Brandon Sullivan and Ethan Sterling, for fear of ruining his reputation in Ariston.

"This has nothing to do with you." Brandon Sullivan snapped.

Lawyer Bennett was anxious, adjusting his glasses, "Mr. Sullivan, if you really kidnapped the children, now it’s extortion; given what you demand, once this is publicly known, the consequences are unimaginable!" He started gathering the contracts on the table as he spoke.

Brandon Sullivan saw this and grabbed his hand, "What are you doing?"

Lawyer Bennett glanced at Ethan Sterling, saying with difficulty, "Mr. Sullivan, it’s not that I don’t want to help, but I am a lawyer, I can’t do something that violates the law."

Brandon Sullivan was also anxious, holding onto Lawyer Bennett’s hand tightly, as he called out loudly to Ethan Sterling, "I agree, you can review these contracts, as long as Ruby signs and agrees to release the Sullivan Group’s shares and withdraw the charge against Rhonda, I’ll immediately tell you where the children are."

He spoke urgently, nerves fraying, seeing that Ethan Sterling was unmoved, he started pleading with Ruby, "Ruby, didn’t you already agree over the phone? Dad had no choice, I’m doing this for your own good, if you really let your sister die, how will you live with yourself for the rest of your life, Ruby, Ruby!"

Ruby Sullivan looked blankly at her helpless father, listening to his bitter pleas, her expression changed from ridiculous to bewildered, and finally turned completely indifferent.