Free Web NovelChapter 252: Chapter 252 The Truth Behind the Stolen Credit
Oliver considered himself a good judge of character.
At the very least, he knew his grandfather well enough.
Under what circumstances would his grandfather be speaking privately with Rose on the phone?
During the few seconds Oliver hesitated, the old man impatiently urged him, “What are you standing there for? Ryan is here today. Spend more time with him and learn something. Stop acting so absent-minded all the time.”
The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he became.
Ryan and Oliver were about the same age, yet the difference between them was enormous.
Ryan had stood out since he was young. Otherwise, the former chairman of the Knight family would never have personally chosen him as the heir while he was still a teenager, without giving anyone else in the family a chance to compete.
In the old man’s eyes, Oliver had simply lived too comfortably, which had turned him into the carefree slacker he was today.
Oliver didn’t argue.
He genuinely admired Ryan.
“Alright, alright. I get it. You never stop talking about it.”
Sitting beside Rose, the old man snorted coldly and showed him no mercy.
“If you truly understood, you wouldn’t have thrown away all that money and ended up losing everything, only to become a laughingstock among your brothers and sisters.”
The truth was even worse.
It wasn’t simply a financial loss.
Oliver had nearly ruined his reputation.
A smart medical device with serious hidden defects, combined with a medical malpractice lawsuit, had dealt a major blow to the family business’s image.
Oliver felt somewhat embarrassed.
Only then did Ryan say calmly, “Investment losses happen all the time.”
The old man immediately interrupted, “Don’t make excuses for him. He deserves to suffer a little and learn his lesson.”
Rose looked down at the fragrant bowl of red bean soup in front of her and sensed the old man’s disappointment in his grandson.
Although Oliver had been reassigned to a branch office, the old man clearly intended to temper him through hardship.
The ringing of Ryan’s phone broke the tension.
He glanced at the screen and stood up.
“I need to take this call.”
Mathew waved his hand.
Rose didn’t even look at him.
Soon, only the three of them remained.
Oliver gave Rose a thoughtful look.
He wanted to ask how she had come to know his grandfather.
But the old man spoke first. “G.S. is such a promising project, yet you completely lack long-term vision. Recently, G.S.’s new device has caused quite a sensation in the industry and has even expanded overseas. If you had simply listened to my advice, you’d be enjoying the rewards by now.”
Oliver instinctively glanced at Rose.
After all, Rose was affiliated with G.S.
Hearing his grandfather praise the company in front of her naturally made him uncomfortable.
“Grandpa, there’s no such thing as a one-hundred-percent guaranteed investment.”
The old man sneered. “But didn’t I clearly tell you to invest in G.S.? Why did you insist on acting on your own?”
“...”
“G.S.’s integrated technology is no simple achievement,” the old man said thoughtfully. “There must be an extraordinary figure behind the research.”
Rose silently lowered her head and continued eating.
Oliver didn’t want his grandfather criticizing Samantha or her project in front of Rose, so he said, “Miss Hill’s project was simply caught up in an unfortunate situation. The doctor involved in the accident was the son of an influential family. What could Miss Hill have done? She’s a victim too.”
The old man replied coldly, “If her abilities were truly exceptional, she might have helped that doctor solve the flaws in his surgical technique. How could a medical accident have happened in the first place? Isn’t technology supposed to bring change? Otherwise, what’s the point?”
Oliver’s expression darkened.
Even Rose couldn’t help but admire the old man.
His words were remarkably sharp.
A faint smile appeared at the corners of her lips.
However, Oliver noticed it.
He immediately frowned.
Was Rose laughing at Samantha?
He curled his lips. “Grandfather, you said I failed to recognize true talent and mistook a gem for a stone, but you’re so kind to Rose. What exactly do you value about her?”
The old man looked at him curiously.
Oliver deliberately glanced at Rose with disdain. “After all, Miss Hill is the benefactor of the Brown family. The Browns will always support her no matter what. Grandfather, she saved your life. You can’t ignore her kindness simply because she made one mistake.”
“A benefactor?”
A look of understanding flashed across Rose’s eyes.
Everything suddenly became clear.
She looked at Oliver strangely.
The old man thought he had misheard.
He even scratched his ear. “What did you just say? Who saved me?”
Oliver suddenly sensed that something was wrong.
The words stuck in his throat.
Especially when he met his grandfather’s furious gaze, a chill ran down his spine.
“What kind of expression is that?”
“Who told you this?” the old man asked directly. “That Miss Hill?”
“What’s wrong?”
The old man slammed his hand on the table, shot to his feet, grabbed his cane, and strode over.
Without hesitation, he brought the cane down.
The old man was surprisingly strong.
Oliver yelped in pain.
Still unsatisfied, the old man chased after him and struck him several more times before finally stopping, panting heavily as he leaned on his cane.
“You useless fool! You’re so stupid you let other people lead you around by the nose! That so-called Miss Hill has been stealing credit from the very beginning! I embarrassed her at my birthday banquet, and she knew exactly why. Yet you still let her manipulate you!”
Oliver ignored the pain.
His eyes widened. “It wasn’t Samantha?”
The old man pointed directly at Rose, who had remained seated the entire time.
“Rose saved me. I’m not so senile that I’d forget the person who saved my life!”
Oliver abruptly turned to look at Rose.
His eyes widened in shock.
He was too stunned to speak.
Rose made no effort to stop the old man from scolding his grandson.
Only when she noticed Oliver staring at her did she set down her spoon and quietly meet his gaze.
That calm expression—as though she had been looking at a complete fool all along—was far more humiliating than any insult.
Oliver’s face turned pale, then red.
The embarrassment nearly made him want to disappear.
At that moment, every memory became painfully clear.
Again and again, he had spoken harshly to Rose while defending Samantha.
Because he believed Rose was trying to steal Samantha’s credit, he had treated her even more cruelly.
Long ago, when Samantha and Rose had argued, he had even pushed Rose while standing up for Samantha.
As for the investment project, his support had been entirely motivated by his sense of obligation toward Samantha.
And after his grandfather’s birthday banquet, Samantha had deliberately misled him yet again.
He had continued giving her resources, connections, and support.
Seeing Oliver’s expression, the old man suddenly asked, “Why are you looking like that? Did you do something stupid? What happened between you and Rose?”
He suddenly remembered Oliver’s hostility toward Rose.
“You little bastard!”
The old man became so angry that he nearly lost his balance. “Forget about returning to headquarters! If you have any ability at all, prove it yourself. Otherwise, you can stay at that branch office for the rest of your life!”
Oliver’s breathing became uneven, and his expression darkened.
If he could not return to headquarters, how much would he have to accomplish before earning another promotion?
The old man guessed that his grandson had done nothing good.
He turned to Rose with genuine regret.
“Miss Bennett, has he ever offended you?”
At a moment like this, Rose knew she should probably answer politely and say no.
Instead, she chose to stand up for herself.
“Quite a few times.”
Oliver’s face stiffened even further.
Rose looked directly at him and said each word clearly: “You owe me an apology.”
