With that, the entire room fell silent.
Amos and Heather were stunned. The two of them looked at Ian at the same time. "Ian, what do you mean?"
Joel looked at Ian in confusion.
Ian lowered his eyes and said slowly, "Back then, when I handed the position of the family head to Joel, I hesitated to formally adopt Joel under my own name. Now that I think about it, it would have been better to adopt him. This way, at the very least, it would’ve shut your stupid mouths. Not just anyone can mock my successor!"
His domineering attitude stunned Amos and Heather.
In the past, when Ian raised Joel by his side, the two of them were worried that Ian would not accept Joel. They had asked for adoption before, but Ian said that he was just a nephew.
They were all members of The Smith family. Whether they went through with the adoption or not was only a formality.
However, the two of them did not expect Ian to change his tune now.
Joel was also stunned as he looked at Ian in a daze.
Ian stared at him. "Joel, would you like to be my son?"
Joel’s eyes turned red.
After so many years, he had gained a lot of knowledge from Ian and learned how to manage the company. It could be said that he was personally taught by Ian.
When he was young, everyone told him that Ian was only teasing him by bringing him along. Otherwise, why wouldn’t he go through with the adoption?
He had also asked Ian this question.
However, Ian said, "Because I don’t need a son. I raised you only because the Smiths lack a successor."
Joel understood at that time that Ian had never thought of him as a son. He was only doing his duty to the family.
Ian always had a distant attitude toward him.
Joel treated him as his father in his heart, and he knew that Ian had never wanted to leave any worries in this world.
He never expected Ian to make such a suggestion so many years after Joel inherited the Smiths.
Joel could maintain his composure in the face of company matters, but at this moment, he was a little moved. His voice was trembling as he said, "Of course I would, Uncle Ian."
Ian smiled. "You’re still calling me Uncle Ian?"
Joel’s mouth moved. He seemed embarrassed to have said that word.
However, Tanya, who was standing beside him, suddenly said, "Dad, Nora will be my aunt from now on!"
Her words woke Joel up.
Joel’s lips trembled again as he shouted, "Dad."
He had not called Ian Dad for more than twenty years.
Ian responded and looked at the shocked Amos and Heather. "I’ll get the lawyers to handle all the formalities. I hope that the two of you will maintain a distance from Joel in the future! After all, you have to avoid arousing suspicion! Understand? If I ever find out again that the two of you are doing something outside calling yourselves Joel’s parents, don’t blame me for being rude!"
His tone was filled with dense killing intent.
Both Amos and Heather were frightened. The two of them did not dare to say anything else. They stood up and said, "Okay."
Ian left another sentence. "I’ll arrange for you guys to go overseas. Don’t come back again."
The two of them: "..."
They had not expected that not only would they fail to trick Ian, they would even lose what they already had!
After this irksome couple left, Joel quickly restrained his emotions and looked at Nora. He asked, "Nora, Karl... What’s going on with Karl?"
Nora clicked her tongue.
This brother was indeed smart. From what she had said earlier, he guessed that Karl might have a plan.
In order not to make Tanya worry, Nora said, "I asked Uncle Karl today. He’s actually an informant. I’ve already found and asked his contact to come out. If nothing goes wrong, he can be released the day after tomorrow."
This sentence shocked Tanya. "What?"
Joel was also a little stunned and found it unbelievable. "The boss of the Assassin Alliance... is an informant for the police? Why does this sound so hard to believe?"
The corners of Nora’s lips spasmed.
She had also found it hard to believe when she first heard Karl’s words.
However, other than this, there seemed to be no other explanation.
She nodded silently at Joel and Tanya.
She suddenly felt like laughing and crying. After a while, she only sighed deeply.
However, Nora did not have the time to chat with them here. She looked at her phone and realized that it was already past four o’clock. She hurriedly said, "I have a date. I’ll get going then."
Seeing that Nora was about to go upstairs instead of out the door, Tanya asked, "I thought you had to go out for the date, why are you going upstairs?"
Nora kept walking without turning back as she replied, "...To change my clothes."
Ian’s head that was still lowered suddenly lifted up. He looked at Nora’s back and an angry expression instantly appeared on his face.
Tanya and Joel hurriedly looked in opposite directions and pretended not to have seen Ian’s current appearance.
After changing her clothes, Nora tidied her hair in the mirror again before going downstairs. She strode out happily.
She did not notice the eyes of the old father behind her filled with sadness and worry.
Joel walked to Ian’s side and sighed. "Dad, actually, Justin is not that evil. At least in front of Nora, he’s very obedient."
Ian was silent for a moment before he suddenly sighed. "His identity... is too mysterious. Nora definitely can’t get the upper hand over someone like him. She’ll be played by him."
However, he was guessing in his heart. What was Justin’s identity? He could actually make Ian so vigilant?
He frowned and asked, "He is..."
Ian was silent for a moment before suddenly saying, "This is my guess. In short, you should make sure you never offend Justin."