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Chapter 448
Lloyd's expression did not change much when he heard her question, and he explained unhurriedly,
"Since you have already asked about this, let me tell you one thing—Georgina was adopted by me. I
was unconscious in the hospital for three months and by the time I woke up, all my loved ones were
gone in that explosion. I searched all over the city's orphanages but there was no trace of you. I
thought you and your mother were no longer in this world. That was when I met Georgina. She was
about the same age as you and she was abandoned by her parents for some reason. I adopted her out
of pity. Not long after I brought her home, she fell seriously ill and she forgot everything when she woke
up. For so many years, I have always treated Georgina as my own daughter and because I didn't want
her to know about it, I never mentioned it to anyone. As for you showing up with Sandra's belongings, I
insisted that Georgina is my daughter because I didn't believe you and I didn't want to make her sad.
But now that your adoptive father has already confirmed the truth of your birth, I have no reason to not
believe it any longer."
The audience was dumbstruck when they heard his answer. They could do nothing but look forward to
whether there would be more reversals.
After Lloyd finished speaking, he looked at Leanna. "Any other questions?"
She calmly commented, "You must have investigated the kind of person Jethro is, Mr. Crossley."
Lloyd only squinted and said nothing.
"He is a liar and gambling addict who is chased by loan sharks every day and yet, you believe his
words, Mr. Crossley? Aren't you afraid that he is joining hands with me to get the Crossley Group?"
After a while, Lloyd let out a small sigh. "Leanna, I know you still hold a grudge against me. I can't
make you change your mind no matter what I say, and I won't ask you to forgive me. I just want you to
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live well."
"Don't say that, Mr. Crossley," Leanna murmured. "I have something I believe will be of interest to you."
She then raised the brown paper bag in her hand and smiled. "There is a paternity test result inside.
Would you like to see it, Mr. Crossley?"
Not knowing what she was up to, Lloyd began, "Leanna, let's talk somewhere else."
Right then, a mature but powerful voice came from the crowd. "A paternity test result, eh? I want to see
it."
After the words were uttered, Mr. Jackson walked to Leanna's side with his cane and took the brown
paper bag from her. After he looked at it a few times, he frowningly handed it to Lloyd. "Explain this," he
demanded.
Despite the gloom on Lloyd's face, he stayed calm as he took it from Mr. Jackson.
This was the paternity test between him and Georgina from twenty years ago.
It was a copy from his house.
"I don't know what's going on," he responded calmly. "I've never done this before."
Hearing that, Mr. Jackson asked again, "You mean this is a fake report?"
"That's the only possibility."
Leanna slowly raised her hand before she unclenched her balled-up fists. A metal chain was dangling
there in an instant. "What about this, Mr. Crossley? I bet you would like to say you don't know what this
is about as well."
A half-burned pocket watch appeared in everyone's sight.
Lloyd's expression immediately fell. He parted his mouth to say something, but he eventually held
back.
Mr. Jackson frowned when he saw the pocket watch. "Show it to me, child."
Leanna retracted her hand and passed it to him then.
As Mr. Jackson fiddled with it, his frown continued to deepen. "Did you bring your mother's piece?" he
asked Leanna.
"I did." She opened the purse she was holding to take the other pocket watch to give to Mr. Jackson.
Mr. Jackson held one pocket watch in each hand to compare them. After a while, he concluded, "These
are definitely the two that Lloyd had commissioned. Even though one of them is badly damaged from
the fire, there are still traces left."
After hearing Mr. Jackson's confirmation, Leanna looked at Lloyd again. "How will you explain this, Mr.
Crossley? The pocket watch and paternity test were found in the safe in your room. Are you trying to
say that these are not yours?"
Even if Lloyd could deny that the paternity test was not his, he couldn't say the same about the pocket
watch.
The moment he denied the pocket watch, he would prove that he wasn't the real Lloyd Crossley.
However, he managed to keep his emotions at bay as he answered easily, "You have all seen how
badly damaged the pocket watch is. It was lost in the explosion twenty years ago. I don't know where
the one you have is from. As for the safe, I don’t know what’s going on. I’ve never had a safe in my
room.”
"We'll know if you have a safe or not just by sending someone over to check," Leanna insisted.
As soon as her words fell, Lloyd's subordinate hurried over and reported nervously, "Something has
happened, Mr. Crossley. We received word from the estate that… that..."
Impatient, Lloyd barked, "Spill! Don't drag it out!"
"The house is on fire, Mr. Crossley!" the subordinate blurted out.
Once again, the audience was caught off-guard by the turn of events.
Lloyd only waved a hand dismissively before he turned to Leanna. "Is this what you want, Leanna?"
Leanna opened her mouth, but she couldn't find a word to say.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmShe didn't think the Crossley Residence would so coincidentally catch on fire at a time like this. It was
as if she was framing him and destroying the evidence to prove his innocence!
Seeing her tongue-tied, he stated again, "Thank you very much for coming to the Crossley Group's
anniversary celebration. I have already finished what I should say today. Now that something has
happened at home, I must go back. I will have to take my leave first."
As Lloyd bid his guests farewell, he hurriedly stepped off the podium and jogged toward the door. He
was just about to reach the door when a male voice came from behind. "Mr. Crossley."
Darkness flashed across Lloyd's eyes and he paused for a few seconds before turning his head. "Is
there anything else, Mr. Morris?"
William approached him while keeping a gentle smile on his face. "I heard so much from you earlier,
Mr. Crossley, and I'm curious about something."
"Let's talk about it later. My house is on fire! I have to hurry—"
"It takes professionals to deal with fires, Mr. Crossley. There's no point in you going back now."
Without waiting for Lloyd to answer, William added, "You said that the Crossley Group's full authority is
given to Miss McKinney. Can I understand it as Miss McKinney will be responsible no matter what
happens to the company, Mr. Crossley?"
"For a company as big as the Crossley Group, she naturally has to take responsibility for the
cooperation worth hundreds of millions."
"Now that's interesting. As far as I know, the Crossley Group has been suffering serious losses recently
and even a large amount of funds disappeared in the past few months. At present, the Crossley Group
might look like it's operating as usual, but it is nothing but a skeleton now. Once this skeleton is
dismantled, the Crossley Group will bear hundreds of billions of debts. For you to hand the company
over to Miss McKinney under such circumstances… Surely, you're not trying to get her to take on the
debts on your behalf, Mr. Crossley?"
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