Chapter 156

Chapter 156 The Gray Family’s Toxic Child

After ending her call, Valerie sent Salma her blessings and hung up. Although she felt that Salma was

a bit confused and unopinionated, she still treated her with respect as an elder.

Valerie’s parents were beside her when she made the call. Valerie’s mother spoke up. “I never realized

that the Gray Family was so chaotic. I don’t believe that Mrs. Gray is unaware of all this, Valerie’s mom

commented.

“Exactly, she must know. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have allowed the adopted daughter to force her

biological daughter away. Simone was so good to the Gray Family, but they didn’t appreciate it. They

chose Jodie, who’s all words but no action. All the troubles in the Gray Family are related to Jodie. This

adopted daughter of the Gray Family is toxic.” Valerie didn’t just feel repulsed by Jodie; she felt a

burning sense of hatred.

Seeing the photos and videos online made her even more nauseated. Valerie’s mother had met

Simone and Jodie before, and her impression of Simone had improved after that meeting, “It’s a good

thing you didn’t marry Reuben. Otherwise, having such a confused mother–in–law would be

troublesome, Valerie’s mom commented. “In our group, many people are mocking her. They say that it

doesn’t seem like she has adopted a daughter. Instead, she seemed to have completely raised a

woman for her son’s pleasures. We never realized it before. When Simone left the Gray Family, many

people didn’t understand why she would give up her position as the Gray Family’s daughter. Now it’s

clear that she couldn’t stand that family.”

Valerie agreed. “Yes, Simone had enough. Before, I felt a bit awkward contacting Simone because of

my relationship with Reuben. But now that I’ve divorced Reuben, I’ve decided to communicate with her

actively. We can still be friends even if we can’t be sisters–in–law.”

This time, they were on the same side. Valerie’s mother nodded. “Simone seems like a good person.”

She questioned Valerie’s father next. “Do you think Mr. Gray knows about all this?”

“He probably doesn’t know. Mr. Gray wouldn’t be so clueless if he knew,” Valerie’s father replied. “He’s

always focused on Gray Corporation, so he probably doesn’t pay much attention to the matters

between his son and adopted daughter. But now that this has happened, his reputation has taken a

hit.”

“Will the divorce affect the cooperation between our company and the Gray Corporation?” Valerie’s

mother asked again. Valerie’s father shook his head, “Mr. Gray wouldn’t be so foolish. I’ll give him a call

to let him know”

“Go ahead. Don’t let the broken engagement affect the cooperation between the two companies,

Valerie’s mother said.

Valeric’s father then called Steven and told him about the broken engagement. Although he didn’t

mention the online incident, he did mention how Jodie intentionally called Reuben

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Chapter 156 The Gray Family’s Toxic Child

away and showed affection in front of their daughter. He implied that his daughter couldn’t stand

Jodie’s behavior anymore, which led to the broken engagement.

Steven was surprised that the Knowler Family would break off the engagement. After listening to

Valerie’s father’s words, he became very angry. However, he wasn’t angry at the Knowler Family but at

his eldest son and adopted daughter. He apologized to Valerie’s father several times. After hanging up

his call with Valerie’s father. Steven was about to contact his eldest son when he received a call from

Salma.

Her voice was nervous. “Honey, the Knowler Family wants to break off the engagement with our eldest

son.” They couldn’t keep this a secret, so she had to bring it up proactively. They also wanted to see if

Steven could salvage the situation.

“Mr. Knowler has already told me about it.” Steven replied coldly. “I always thought our eldest son was

mature and sensible, but I didn’t expect him to be such a jerk. He has abandoned his fiancée several

times for the sake of his adopted sister, so it’s no wonder she wants to break off the engagement.”

Salma couldn’t help but question Steven. “So, should we let them break off the engagement?” The

Knowler Family only had one daughter, and they doted on her. Although the Knowler Family wasn’t as

powerful as the Gray Family, the marriage would still be beneficial in allowing their eldest son to inherit

the Gray Family in the future.

As soon as Steven heard Salma’s words, he knew what she was thinking. What else can we do? Our

sons have a complicated relationship with Jodie, and they are the ones in the wrong. Let’s not waste a

good woman’s time. Tell Reuben that if he can’t figure things out in the future, the position of the heir is

not necessarily his.”

“My second brother’s third child has been performing well in the company, and my father also thinks

highly of him.” Steven wasn’t trying to scare Salma and Reuben. In the Gray Family, after designating

an heir, they would allocate resources and time to focus on nurturing the new heir. But for the sake of

Gray Group’s future, if the heir couldn’t handle such responsibilities, they would have to find someone

else. Of course. Steven would prefer his eldest son to take over his current position in the future. But if

his eldest son continued to act this way, he would have no choice but to change the heir for the sake of

Gray Group’s future. After returning to the country, he planned to pay more attention to and nurture his

nephew.

Salma’s expression changed when she heard this. “I understand; I will talk to him.”

“Tell him to stop trying to win Valerie back and to not make the Knowlers unhappy. This would affect the

cooperation between the two companies.” He understood that his wife would definitely not give up on

Valerie as a daughter–in–law. But his family couldn’t afford to lose their reputation, and he didn’t want

things to become ugly.

Salma Johnston responded reluctantly. “Okay.” After hanging up the phone, she relayed Steven’s

words to Reuben. Reuben didn’t expect his father to bring up his cousin. His cousin’s

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Chapter 156 The Gray Family’s Toxic Child

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talent and strength were on par with Reuben and the rest of his brothers. “Mom, I got it.” At that

moment. Reuben felt a sense of urgency. He reassured Salma before heading back to his room. Salma

sat alone in the living room, feeling both angry and regretful.

On the other side, Simone and the other two spent over 6,000 on dinner. After finishing their meal, they

took a cab back to the hotel. Jodie and Luca, in the meantime, finished their staff meal an hour later

and left after receiving their wages. Then they took a cab to the hotel where Simone and the others

were staying to clock out from their job.

The four of them worked for two hours and earned 4000. However, due to the earlier comments from

Simone and Zac, Jodie and Luca didn’t receive many tips while playing the cello. When they counted

their earnings, they only had 400. They were all very disappointed.

Since Jodie was unable to afford the hotel where Simone and the others were staying, she had to

discuss with the three of them and suggest sharing a room that cost 1,200. She also suggested to

Aaron and Luca that they share a room.

But Luca Gray disagreed. “I don’t like living with other people, and aren’t you and Leon already staying

in separate rooms? Simone and the others booked such an expensive hotel, and even they each have

their own room. On this point, he was somewhat dissatisfied with Jodie Gray’s approach. The money

they earned included his and the youngest brother’s share. Why should Leon Foster get his own room

while he had to squeeze in with the youngest brother? He didn’t want that.

Aaron also voiced out. “If we each get our own room, the money will be just enough.” In the situation

where he could have

is own room, he also didn’t want to stay with his third brother. Jodie Gray didn’t expect the two of them

to oppose her, and she felt rather sorry for herself. She just couldn’t show her emotions on the

livestream, so she cursed inwardly at the two for being overly sensitive. It’s just a few nights of staying

together; what’s the big deal?

On the outside, however, she let out a laugh. “I thought you guys wanted to talk at night. Well, in that

case. I’ll book four rooms. Aaron and Luca glanced at each other, both showing disdain for each other.

Who would want to talk to their brother at night?

At the square where the fireworks show at the hotel was taking place, there were already. many

people. Luca and the others didn’t really want to squeeze in, but they had to go up and check in, so

they were annoyed by the crowd. Just then, they heard several notifications from their phones.

Chapter 157 You Just Realized, Huh!