Out of Control: Into Your Everything-Chapter 189: Should I Bear the Birch and Plead Guilty?

Chapter 189: Chapter 189: Should I Bear the Birch and Plead Guilty?

The room fell into a brief silence.

"How did you hear about all this?"

Julian Ford was the first to break the silence, suddenly asking.

A meaningful smile appeared in Ryan Ford’s playful and roguish eyes, as his thin lips slowly expressed two words:

"Chloe Grant."

Scarlett Shaw’s surprised gaze fell on his face.

Julian Ford paused at the words, saying, "Are you sure her information is reliable?"

Ryan Ford nodded, with a smirk tinged with mockery: "Chloe Grant is a very realistic woman. She knows the clues she provides are valuable and can get tangible benefits from me, so she wouldn’t be foolish enough to lie." 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Scarlett Shaw asked, "How did Chloe Grant know about these things?"

Ryan Ford: "I had her dig around with her mother, who’s actually your aunt."

At first, Ryan Ford hadn’t thought of following the line with Chloe Grant.

He initially approached Benjamin Shaw’s creditors post-bankruptcy.

Most of those people weren’t villains; they harbored resentment and pity towards Benjamin Shaw. Now that the debts have been paid off, they were rather cooperative in providing information.

Though the news was fragmented, everything pointed to the same result—

Before his bankruptcy, Benjamin Shaw was well-regarded with almost no negative reviews.

This made it even less likely that he had enemies.

If there were no enemies, then who could hate him to such a degree to do something as vicious as injecting massive doses of drugs into his body?

The quantity involved, let alone killing a person, would be enough for a life sentence even in trading.

Ryan Ford had been a lawyer for many years, taking on shady jobs involving gray areas more than often, thus dealing with the police frequently. Yet, this time, the police line got him nowhere.

Until his slipshod visit to the company as Veridian’s legal department’s nominal vice president, where he happened to see Chloe Grant.

"Why do you and your mom have such strong opinions about Scarlett Shaw?"

Ryan Ford probed subtly.

"Your uncle’s gone, and she’s the only daughter he had. Logically, shouldn’t your mom have some care and concern by association? Why then, has she bullied Scarlett Shaw all these years?"

Chloe Grant became wary, "What are you up to?"

Ryan Ford sneered, "What are you afraid of? I’m just asking. You’re driven by jealousy, shallow-minded, and can’t stand Scarlett Shaw, that’s your own issue. But what about your mom?"

With dark sentiments hit so nonchalantly, Chloe Grant’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment, looking away, "I don’t know."

"If you don’t know, then ask."

Ryan Ford spoke lightly, leaving Chloe Grant no room to refuse.

Of course, she indeed had no right to refuse.

Chloe Grant, although unaware of the specific reasons why Penelope Shaw disliked Scarlett Shaw, faintly sensed it was because of her aunt, Serena Ford.

Yet in Chloe Grant’s memory, although Serena lacked the kindness and warmth of her uncle, she had a dignified demeanor, treated her well, and didn’t have anything particularly detestable.

Knowing asking her mother directly would yield nothing from Penelope Shaw, Chloe intentionally praised Serena Ford to Penelope Shaw.

"What good is she? She’s nothing but a source of harm!"

"If your uncle weren’t too kind, trying to be a pure-hearted fool, Serena Ford, such a woman worthy of being spurned, would have long been left to fend for herself!"

"In the end, your uncle not only married her and had a child but also meddled in affairs he shouldn’t have, just to clean up after her, to make her conscience feel better. Isn’t it karma now?"

As Penelope Shaw spoke, she trembled with anger, wiping away tears.

From the looks of it, she deeply hated Serena Ford.

It was Chloe Grant’s first time hearing such words, wanting to inquire further, but Penelope Shaw refused to say another word.

...

After hearing Ryan Ford’s words, Julian Ford’s expression deepened, highlighting the main points and asking: "Did you ask what exactly Benjamin Shaw was doing for Serena Ford that Penelope Shaw mentioned?"

Just as he finished speaking, Scarlett Shaw suddenly remembered something, her lashes trembling lightly, though she quickly steadied her composure without a trace.

Ryan Ford didn’t notice Scarlett Shaw’s momentary anomaly, only continued, "I asked, but Chloe Grant said she couldn’t get anything more out."

Having said that, he looked at Scarlett Shaw again.

Thinking of how he personally orchestrated Benjamin Shaw’s bankruptcy, shattering Scarlett Shaw’s once perfect life overnight, Ryan Ford felt increasingly conflicted.

His usually deeply interested eyes now held an imperceptible guilt.

With the topic here, there wasn’t much else to say.

Julian Ford observed Ryan Ford’s expression, speaking unemotionally, "I’ll see you out."

Ryan Ford nodded.

The two brothers had just reached downstairs when Ryan Ford, unable to hold back, asked Julian Ford: "Bro, regarding the truth about Benjamin Shaw’s bankruptcy, should I confess to Scarlett and apologize?"

Julian Ford regarded him coolly, voice chilling, "Now you realize you need to apologize, but back then, did you ever think of this? How did she walk through the past ten years alone, and can an apology from you make it all better?"

Ryan Ford took out a cigarette, holding it in his mouth, and said sullenly: "I didn’t know back then that you’d develop this deep with Scarlett."

Ultimately, Ryan Ford worried if such a matter would impact Scarlett Shaw and Julian Ford’s relationship if revealed.

"If Scarlett hates me, then let her. I’m already not a good person."

"Even if the worst result is that Benjamin Shaw’s death is related to this bankruptcy, I can even pay for it with my life."

Ryan Ford spoke nonchalantly.

He had many flaws, but his strengths were also evident; his greatest strength was his self-assurance, being utterly indifferent to his reputation in others’ eyes.

However—

"Bro, even though this has little to do with you, I borrowed Ezra Ford’s hand to do it."

"Ezra Ford may be despicable, but it can’t be denied that we grew up benefiting from the Ford family, and all the power and status we hold now are because of them. How can anything truly be clean?"

"What do you think, if Scarlett finds out you knew about her father’s bankruptcy all along but kept it from her, how would she react?"

Ryan Ford grew increasingly pessimistic.

If Scarlett Shaw and Julian Ford were just playing around with each other, he wouldn’t be so fretful.

But both were becoming more serious with every passing day.

Especially his brother.

Ryan Ford used to believe that with parents like Ezra Ford and Freya Pierce, Julian could never genuinely experience something like love.

To Julian, marriage would only be a product of interest exchange.

Yet now, not only had love sprouted, but it was also so fiery it’s unsettling.

Even as an observer, the thought of them separating worried him.

All these years, Ryan Ford had never seen Julian Ford express a deeply passionate care for anyone else like he did for Scarlett Shaw.

Especially on the night he went to the club to find Scarlett.

That night, Julian Ford, rushing down from the car like a storm, was not only filled with fierce anger and cold concern but also a fear-induced trembling Ryan Ford had never seen on his brother.

He witnessed his brother’s hand clenched, the veins on the back of his hand bulging, while his long fingers trembled faintly.

At that moment, Ryan Ford’s instincts told him—

His brother Julian Ford’s love for Scarlett Shaw was far deeper than anyone could have ever imagined.