Chapter 432 The Fire at the Door

Chapter 432: Chapter 432 The Fire at the Door

“Ryan.”

Rowan pressed his lips together and gave him a complicated look.

Ryan didn’t look up.

He set the steaming cup of tea on the table and gave a faint smile.

“Grandfather, what do you actually care about? My daughter, or what the Knight family stands to gain or lose from all of this?”

His voice remained calm.

“There’s no need to dress it up.”

He finally looked at Edward.

“Rose is now part of the Taylor family. She’s their biological granddaughter, and they’ve made it very clear that they intend to protect her. Your decision seven years ago was a mistake from the beginning.”

His tone was neither hurried nor aggressive.

That somehow made the words cut even deeper.

Seven years ago, Edward had forced Rose to sign the divorce papers.

If he hadn’t, none of this would have happened.

The Knight family wouldn’t be standing here now, watching Rose become a beloved member of the Taylor family—and the biological granddaughter of Dr. Grace Taylor.

Edward’s face darkened.

“Ryan, are you blaming me?”

“No.”

Ryan picked up his tea again.

“You handled things exactly as you thought you should.”

There was no warmth in his voice.

“As for Ariel, I don’t see the problem with her not being raised by the Knight family. Given the environment here, I have no idea whether she’d actually grow up happy or safe.”

He took a slow sip.

“As her father, I want what’s best for my daughter. That’s all.”

“You—”

Edward’s face turned red with anger.

How could he not understand what Ryan was really saying?

Ryan had never intended to keep Ariel from the Knight family out of uncertainty.

He had deliberately pushed things in this direction.

And now that everything had been settled, there was no reason for him to pretend otherwise.

Edward tightened his grip around his cane.

Before he could say anything else, an assistant hurried into the room.

“Mr. Knight, you have a call.”

Edward frowned.

“From whom?”

“The Robinson family. Julian Ellis.”

Ryan calmly blew across the surface of his tea, seemingly uninterested.

Edward glanced at him before taking the phone.

“Put her through.”

Julian’s voice came through cold and furious.

“Edward, I know this isn’t exactly the best time, but I never expected the Knight family to handle things like this.”

Edward’s eyes narrowed.

“What exactly are you talking about?”

“Even if there was a problem with the custody arrangement, the Knight family was the one that interfered with everything.”

Julian’s voice tightened.

“We, the Robinson family, came into this wanting to handle the situation properly.”

Edward’s expression grew colder.

“What are you accusing us of?”

“The semiconductor deal.”

Julian didn’t bother softening her words.

“The project you promised us was supposed to be ours. I never expected the Knight family to turn around and have someone else take it right out from under us.”

Edward’s face changed.

Julian continued, “You publicly told us the Knight Group would allocate us a share, and then someone stepped in at the last minute and took the entire opportunity.”

Her anger was obvious.

“Edward, the Robinson family isn’t some small company you can push around whenever it’s convenient.”

The wedding had been ruined.

Ariel’s custody had changed hands without the Robinson family even realizing what was happening.

And now the Robinson family’s long-standing plans in the semiconductor industry had fallen apart.

They had lost both face and business.

Julian had personally negotiated the deal, which meant the backlash would fall heavily on her.

She would have to answer to the Robinson board, the executives involved, and the rest of the family.

Edward’s eyes narrowed.

“The Knight family had nothing to do with that.”

Julian gave a cold laugh.

“At this point, if you want to deny it, I can’t exactly force you to confess.”

Her voice hardened.

“But someone who knew exactly what was happening clearly timed their move perfectly.”

She paused.

“I’m calling to make one thing clear. The Robinson family won’t forget this.”

The call ended.

The room fell silent.

Julian had made her position perfectly clear.

The Robinsons were done cooperating with the Knights.

And after everything that had happened today, the falling-out had been inevitable.

Edward’s face remained dark.

“Find out what happened.”

His assistant immediately nodded.

“Sir, we’ve already started looking into it.”

“And?”

“The deal was taken by a French company. They moved incredibly quickly. Since they weren’t on our list of expected competitors, we weren’t prepared for them.”

Rowan frowned.

“A French company?”

She looked toward the assistant.

“Which one?”

Edward’s anger slowly gave way to calculation.

The situation had already reached the point where there was little chance of repairing things with the Robinson family tonight.

That meant the Knight Group needed to understand exactly who had interfered with the deal.

“Seven Crest,” the assistant said.

Rowan’s expression changed.

“Seven Crest?”

“Yes. They’ve been operating for less than six years, but they’ve expanded at an extraordinary pace. They’re already well established throughout France, with a highly developed business structure and interests across multiple industries.”

The assistant hesitated before continuing.

“Several years ago, they caused the Knight Group considerable trouble. We lost a number of major contracts to them.”

“That company again.”

Rowan leaned back slightly.

He’d spent years overseas and knew exactly how troublesome Seven Crest could be.

They had crossed paths more than once.

Edward’s eyes narrowed.

“They deliberately stepped in now?”

“It appears so.”

Edward tapped his cane against the floor.

“If they took the deal at precisely this moment, they’re not just after market share. They’re also driving a wedge between the Knight and Robinson families.”

He looked at Rowan.

“Find out everything you can about them.”

His voice turned cold.

“A company doesn’t grow that quickly without having something behind it.”

Rowan nodded.

“I’ll look into it.”

The situation was becoming increasingly dangerous.

The Knight family’s internal problems were already spiraling, and now an aggressive French competitor had entered the picture at exactly the wrong moment.

Rowan glanced instinctively toward Ryan.

He had been silent throughout the entire conversation.

He looked completely detached from the struggle for power and influence surrounding the Knight family.

Edward noticed it too.

After a moment, he finally asked, “What do you think?”

Ryan raised his eyes.

Then he stood.

“Whatever is happening in France isn’t going to threaten the Knight family immediately.”

He straightened his jacket.

“You should deal with the fire that’s already burning inside this house before worrying about what’s happening overseas.”

His voice was calm.

“Once the situation with the Robinson family is under control, you can deal with Seven Crest.”

He had no intention of giving Edward any more advice than necessary.

With that, Ryan turned and walked away.

Edward’s expression darkened.

But somewhere beneath the anger, he understood.

Ryan had never truly forgiven the Knight family for what had happened all those years ago.

He had distanced himself from them long before today.

The only difference was that, until now, he’d still maintained the appearance of being part of the family.

Tonight, he’d stopped pretending.

*****

Ryan returned to Moonlake Villa.

He had already let all the live-in staff go.

The only person who came by now was a cleaning service that came once a week.

The house was otherwise empty.

Ryan walked inside, shrugged off his coat, and tossed it onto the sofa.

He went into the kitchen, filled a glass with ice water, and drank it in one go.

Then he rested both hands against the kitchen island and lowered his head.

His reflection stared back at him from the polished surface.

He looked exhausted.

He had barely slept properly in days.

And the headache that had started at the Taylor family’s house still hadn’t gone away.

Ryan closed his eyes and pressed two fingers against his temples.

After a moment, he opened a cabinet, took out a bottle of pain reliever, and swallowed a tablet.

His phone started ringing.

He glanced at the screen.

Robert.

Ryan picked up his glass again, took another drink, and answered.

“Hey, Ryan. You finally picked up.”

Robert sounded amused.

“I heard you went on a date with the Mercer family—and turned Charlotte down.”

Ryan leaned against the counter.

“We weren’t a good match.”

Robert laughed.

“You didn’t like Charlotte? Seriously? She’s beautiful, charming, and from a good family.”

He paused.

“So, what’s the deal? Are you still in love with your ex-wife?”

Ryan said nothing.

Robert continued, clearly enjoying himself.

“Or maybe you’re still hung up on that Ms. Hill? You know, the one you asked me to have Max supervise for her thesis?”

Ryan’s lips curved slightly.

“You have a good memory.”

“Of course I do!”

Robert sounded offended.

“I’m not even sixty yet. And you don’t exactly have a parade of women around you for me to keep track of.”

Ryan chuckled softly.

“I remember Ms. Hill.”

Robert snorted.

“But honestly, you knew perfectly well her academic background wasn’t strong enough to convince everyone, yet you still had Max give her the thesis topic you’d already chosen.”

He shook his head.

“You might as well have supervised her yourself.”

Max hadn’t actually chosen the topic.

Ryan had selected it beforehand and passed it along through Max.

Robert clearly still found the whole thing suspicious.

“Did you call just to gossip?”

“Of course not.”

Robert’s tone became playful again.

“I called to defend Charlotte from your terrible judgment.”

Ryan rolled his eyes slightly.

Robert laughed before finally getting to the real reason he’d called.

“But seriously, Ryan.”

His voice became more measured.

“You’ve been away from the States for a long time, and you don’t have many ties here anymore.”

He paused.

“I think it’s time you went back to France.”