Needless to say, oneâs beauty would fade after 28 years. Besides, Jordan had grown olderâso much so that his hair was starting to grey. However, Sophia compared the two menâs photos side by side and discovered that aside from their ages, both men were vastly different.
28 years ago, Jordan had a sharp aura, a steely gaze, and a towering arrogance. He had a frivolous and domineering attitude that looked down on others. However, the man she met 28 years later was a sly and wretched little old man with a large potbelly. No matter how she looked at them, she had the feeling that they were not the same person.
All things aside, Jordan owned a BMW back then. More importantly, he was also Cooperâs greatest enemy. According to Cooper, he was just an underaged boy 30 years ago. On the other hand, Jordan was already the head of the Edwards Family by then. Even so, he felt jealousy and hatred for a child 10 years younger than himself. He was the kind of man who would eradicate all his potential enemies, even if the opponent was just a child. As a result, many promising young geniuses in Bayside City met an untimely end, and he was the mastermind behind their deaths.
Although Jordan and Sam were brothers, they constantly competed with each other. Back when Sam was still active in the political scene, he nearly became president at one time. However, he was only one step away from becoming the president when he suddenly retired from politics and returned to doing business. It was rumored that Jordan was behind that incident too.
Sam and Cooper were Jordanâs enemies. Even if those two were just teenagers at the time, Jordan would not hesitate to take action against them. If the bigshot who had taken Annabel away from the Johnsons turned out to be Jordan⦠Sophia suddenly felt a chill running down her back. Her heart pounded wildly, and her eyes were filled with horror and disbeliefâher hand holding the photos started trembling. If⦠Annabel was already acquainted with Jordan before she started working, and Jordan was the one to introduce her to her workplaceâ¦
Annabel was taken away by Jordan when she was 15. Upon turning 16, she appeared at Samâs first independently-run businessâthe restaurant known as the Crimson Houseâas part of his first batch of employees⦠Not only that, but she also met Sam and fell in love with Cooper through her connection with Jordan.
At the time, Jordan must have begun to fear Cooperâs existence. After all, Cooper was already starting to show his extraordinary talents. He was in the process of writing the worldâs first online game and developing the worldâs first USB flash disk. He was a genius with unlimited potential as well as the future head of the Mitchell Family.
On the other hand, Sophia had never heard Cooper and Sam mentioning the fact that Annabel was already acquainted with Jordan before meeting them. It was highly possible that they were completely unaware of that fact. Moreover, Cooper later gave up on his promising future, eloped with Annabel to the South, and even encountered assassins along the wayâ¦
The deeper Sophia dug into the matter, the more frightened she becameâit felt as if she was about to unravel a terrible truth. From the start to the end, it was all a conspiracy! It was a huge conspiracy!
âSophia, whatâs the matter?â Justin suddenly put his hand on her shoulder when he noticed her staring at Jordanâs photo in a daze.
She quickly snapped back to the present and smiled stiffly. âItâs nothing. I was just taking a second look.â
Stanley glanced at Jordanâs handsome picture on the computer and said in disgust, âLook at you; your eyes must have gone blind after staring so hard at these handsome guys! Tsk!â
She did not respond. Instead, she silently crossed Jordanâs name from the list of suspects. She was scared. She didnât dare to question the authenticity of her parentsâ loveâshe did not have the courage to do so. If the person who took Annabel away back then turned out to be Jordan, it would be a hugely painful and shocking blow for both Cooper and her. Cooper could never accept it, and neither could Iâ¦
For the moment, Justin put the matter of searching for Cooperâs long-lost son aside and focused all his efforts on helping Sophia locate her mother. Thus, he went back to Johnson Family Village to look for clues. Before returning to the city, he avoided everyone else as he went to the house of the woman who once worked with Annabel at the noodle restaurant.
As soon as the woman opened the door, she was very surprised to see him. However, he did not waste time on pleasantries. Taking out a photo, he showed it to the woman. âThe bigshot that took Annabel away back then; was it this man?â
That woman leaned closer and studied the hooked-nosed man in the photo. The man in the photo was unusually handsome and noble. Looking at it, she thought back to the man in her memories. Finally, she said affirmatively, âItâs him! He was so good-looking that I still remember him now.â
Upon hearing those words, Justinâs expression suddenly became somber. Sure enough; itâs him⦠Then, he rushed back to the Edwards Residence with this information. However, he did not know how to bring this information up with Sophia. The further they looked into this matter, the more he realized that what they might discover could potentially be an unacceptable truth for all the parties involved. Seeing as this matter took place such a long time ago, and the person involved has already been dead for 28 years now⦠Perhaps⦠what happened back then isnât so important anymore⦠Perhaps, it doesnât matter anymoreâ¦
Pondering over what he should say when he met Sophia later, he drove toward the Edwards Residence.
To his surprise, he saw Linus as he walked out of the garage. It seemed like Linus had been waiting for him for a long time. He hesitated slightly upon noticing Linus. Avoiding his gaze, he did not greet Linus immediately. Although Linus was very welcomed at this house, he knew that Linus was not to be taken lightly. Justin had not forgotten that he once worked with the Phantom Wolf to spy on the Fletcher Familyâs situation.
Based on Michaelâs progress, Linus should have joined Cooperâs household registry by now. However, Justin had been helping Sophia search for Annabel over the past few daysâso much so that he forgot about the preparations to remove Cooperâs son from the household registry. He had to be smart and careful about it throughout the process. If it was done in a way that was unnatural and was discovered by Cooper or Linus as a result, Michael would be digging his own grave. Not only would Michael be punished severely, but it would also drag Justin down with him too. Therefore, Justin had to make careful preparations to ensure everything went naturally. Still, he had been too busy these past few days and had been postponing the issue as a result.
Mulling over it, he walked toward Linus. âMr. Michel, why are you here?â
Linus stood without moving. His handsome face had an unspeakably lonely and worried expression.
âRecently, Fass has been extremely upset over Annabelâs affairs. He has completely collapsed mentally⦠He seems⦠emotionless, but heâs actually just the most determined. The shock he experienced this time around is too huge.â
Justin did not understand what Linus was trying to say and chose to remain silent.
Then, Linus continued, âThank you for your hard work during this period. Iâm very sorry that I couldnât help you with anything.â
Cooper had given all authority to Justin and Sophia, be it in the search for Annabel or the search for his son. For some reason, Linus had not been involved in these endeavors. Perhaps he felt that he shouldnât trouble Linus with his personal matters. Thus, Justin calmly replied, âMr. Michel, youâre a busy man. I can deal with these matters myself. Besides, Iâve been doing tasks like these for the past few years.
After the two exchanged greetings, Justin entered the Edwards Residence. He decided to keep quiet about that for now and went to meet Celine first. Celine had been very anxious recently because she couldnât get a hold of Michael. Therefore, Justin wanted to rush back to keep her company. To his surprise, he received a phone call while he was on his way to herâ¦
It was 10 PM as Sophia anxiously paced about in her room. Justin mentioned that he was heading to Johnson Family Village today to search for other leads, but he had yet to return. Logically speaking, he should have arrived home before dark. However, it was already 10 PM, and he was nowhere to be seen.
When she tried calling his phone, it was switched off. His Dragon Eye phone had been fully charged before he left the house. Even if he gamed on his phone the entire day, it should not have run out of power. Moreover, the management system did not display any relevant prompts.
Pacing about in her room, she couldnât get through to Justinâs phone. When she tried Michaelâs phone, the signal on the other side was so terrible that it kept breaking up throughout the call. In the end, the call dropped before she could tell him about her discovery today.
After hanging up the call with Michael, Sophia lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling in a daze. If Justin found something during his investigation today and confirmed my suspicions⦠wonât it be extremely cruel to Cooper?