A Life Debt Repaid novel Chapter 491

Patrick chuckled and teased her, "So you actually can get nervous?"

"I just want to know the truth," Cordy replied. "Jessica’s wedding with John concerns my safety and personal gain."

Yes, she was just being selfish. The only thing she cared about was whether she could get Dicky even though the wedding fell through!

Patrick shrugged and stopped leaving her hanging. "Before John could say 'I do', Rocktown's police commissioner himself stormed in with a warrant for his arrest. Turns out John’s a suspect in a corporate criminal conspiracy."

Cordy's fingers clenched. Patrick asked her, "Do you know what that means?"

"The wedding’s off," Cordy replied.

Patrick laughed at that. "Even I can't bear to watch this, Cordy. The man would go this far for you, not holding back from destroying his own reputation and his own future just to stop this wedding. And you're being this calm?"

"How else would I react? Can I change anything?" Cordy asked in return. "I don't get it—how is this different from just rejecting the engagement? He'd be ruining his reputation, anyway!"

"I thought you're usually smarter than this," Patrick said skeptically.

Cordy stayed silent despite her anger, so Patrick simply pointed out, "Did you really think it’d go smoothly even if he said no to the engagement? Or that Jessica's family wouldn't threaten his family in retaliation? Citizens should never pick fights with government officials—or did you miss that lesson?"

"But he lost everything now," Cordy argued.

"In return, he protected certain individuals," Patrick replied with no uncertain terms.

As Cordy bit her lip, he continued, "Either way, Jessica's family would refuse to touch John with a ten-foot pole now that he's been charged. Now it's them who's rejecting him and not the other way around, since John provided the perfect excuse for them to annul the engagement, and without them losing any face."

"Isn't he worried they’d plot against him?" Cordy asked, skeptical about the logic in the decision. "Also, Jessica would definitely retaliate for not getting John. You know she's capable of anything."

"Maybe, but Jessica's family would have nothing to do with it," Patrick said plainly. "Our family has a reputation to uphold, and William wouldn’t try to kick John when he's down—at least, not out in the open. In fact, he wouldn’t waste time on the Levines or anyone involved with them now that the Levines are worthless as an ally, since they should be looking for their next target to replace John."

Cordy in turn reclined over her couch, staring quietly and blankly at the ceiling.

There were so many things to consider, and it was such a huge mess that she suddenly couldn’t differentiate anything.

-

The next day, news that John Levine had been arrested during his own wedding was being published nationwide.

The initial media blackout, only to be followed by the sudden widespread coverage, was a clear sign that the Stuarts abandoned him.

In fact, just half an hour after the first headlines were published, the Stuarts issued the annulment of John and Jesscia's engagement. In their official announcement, they maintained that their family had served the country for over a century with honesty and diligence, free from any criminal wrongdoing. Therefore, any involvement with individuals charged with criminal offenses would be an insult to their legacy.

With the annulment now official, news of it quickly spread…