Chapter 362
Xavier lowered his gaze, eyes soft but steady as they fell on Matty. “Matty… do you want Daddy to stand up for you?”
Matty shook his head slightly. “This started because someone tripped Sharon at Theo’s birthday party. If you really want to do something for me, then make the people who humiliated Sharon pay for that instead.”
“Fair enough. Then bring in everyone who caused Sharon to trip that day. First, let’s hear them apologize. As for punishment… that’s up to Carter.”
Carter’s brows lifted, something like surprise flickering in his eyes. “So… are you standing up for Matty, or for Sharon?”
Xavier smiled. “Matty doesn’t need me to fight his battles. If he really couldn’t handle it, he would’ve told me himself. But he didn’t. Which means… to him, this wasn’t anything serious.”
His gaze slid lazily, but unmistakably, toward Nate.
“But honestly… picking on a five-year-old? That’s pathetic.” His tone sharpened, each word slicing clean. “Carter, there’s something I probably shouldn’t say… but I’ll say it anyway.”
Carter met his eyes. “Go on.”
Xavier’s voice dipped, smooth but laced with quiet ridicule. “A man like you-powerful, influential-and yet you surround yourself with someone like him. You’ve never heard the saying? A man’s taste is reflected in the company he keeps. And frankly … yours is pretty terrible.”
The insult was gentle in volume but brutal in meaning.
Nate’s face darkened instantly. His chest rose like he was about to snap back, but before the words could form, Kelly yanked on his arm, shaking her head at him.
Nate ground his teeth but swallowed it down.
Xavier noticed, one brow arching lazily. “Oh? What’s this, Nate? Feeling guilty? Ready to take responsibility now?”
Nate’s mouth opened, but no words came. His fists clenched, jaw tightening. If Xavier really wanted to hold him accountable, it’d be more than just a slap on the wrist.
Fine. Let him go after those other idiots. As long as the blame didn’t land squarely on him, it was survivable.
Brotherhood? Loyalty? That was always negotiable.
Xavier casually pulled out his phone and relayed some instructions.
Then, hurried footsteps echoed down the hallway.
A fat, sweating middle-aged man burst into the room, gasping for air.
“Mr. Cooper! You’re here! Oh, I’ve been looking everywhere for you…” His eyes locked on Xavier instantly, his face folding into a panicked, obsequious smile. “Mr. Cooper, if there’s anything we’ve done wrong, just say the word. Why the sudden decision to pull your investment-”
His words stopped dead.
A shrill, shocked voice cut him off. “Honey? What… what are you doing here?”
The man’s head whipped around. His jaw slackened as his eyes landed on his wife.
Only now did he finally notice the atmosphere-the suffocating tension thick in the air. His gaze flicked around, and he saw Carter, Nate, his wife, and his son.
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A bad feeling crawled up the back of his neck.
“Mr. Biggs… Mr. Hendricks…” His voice faltered. “You… you’re here too?”
Carter’s face barely twitched, but the flash of cold disgust in his eyes was impossible to miss.
It wasn’t forgotten. Not for a second. This family was the one who had led the charge in isolating and bullying his son.
And the moment Mr. Cosgrove caught that flicker of disgust, his heart practically stopped.
The situation with Xavier was already a disaster. The Cooper Group had abruptly pulled out of all partnerships with the Cosgrove family. And now they’d issued an open warning: anyone who dared to continue working with the Cosgrove Group would be considered an enemy of the Cooper Group.
If the Biggs Group turned against them too, the Cosgrove Group was finished.
Mr. Cosgrove’s eyelid twitched uncontrollably as the reality of the scene hit him full force.
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