Chapter 438 I Am Not A Saint
Does he think that I am still that weak and helpless woman? Does he think I am still that stupid? What makes him think that he can coax me so easily? If that’s what he thinks, I can only say that he deserves to be a laughing stock.
“I’m afraid I can’t do that, Mr. Shaw. I came back here to obtain Amaury’s custody, and I won’t hesitate to do anything to take him back. Amaury is my child. He’s my flesh and blood. The Shaw family has no right to keep him!” I said firmly.
I went through ten months of difficult pregnancy and pain to bring Amaury to this world. There is no way that the Shaw family can take him away from me and stop me from seeing him. They have no right to do that to me! If it wasn’t for the Shaw family, Amaury would have already been living with me. We would have been happy and content. They were the ones that cruelly tore me away from him and made me lose a year with him. No one could swallow such indignity. Not even a saint.
Lincoln seemed shocked to hear me declaring my intention bluntly. However, he soon recovered, and his eyes gleamed with devious intentions.
“You said you came back to fight for Amaury’s custody. What makes you think that I would agree to this?” he uttered.
“I don’t care whether you agree with it or not. No matter what I have to do, I will get Amaury back. No one can stop me,” I replied.
Although Lincoln tried to intimidate me with his tone, I was not afraid at all. The more he threatened me, the more I desired to make him worry. It made me want to snatch back Amaury from him even sooner.
“Anna, don’t go too far. I asked to meet with you today to have a chat with you. How dare you plan to wrench Amaury’s custody from the Shaw family? What makes you think you can go against us?” Lincoln glared at me. His tone was filled with fury. At the moment, he looked just like when he forced me to leave a year ago.
“The one that has gone too far is the Shaw family. I am no longer the Anna you knew. Your threat no longer scares me. I have the power to get Amaury back. Don’t forget, I now have a large company backing me!” I replied.
The Shaw family’s confidence and arrogance came from their prominent status. In the past, I was just a girl from the countryside and did not have a way to fend for myself. Thus, I had no choice but to let them manipulate me.
However, things had changed. I was no longer the same person, and I would never allow anyone to bully me again. Instead, I would make them experience the pain they inflicted on me.
Lincoln was not stupid. He knew I had changed. Apart from that, he understood that I dared to speak to him in such a confident manner because I had powerful support.
He glared at me furiously. After a long while, he finally took a deep breath to suppress his fury.
“Anna, we were once a family. Do you have to come back and cause chaos? You have gained so much in a year. I’m sure you can find a better man to marry and have more children. Besides, Amaury has also grown used to living in the Shaw residence,” Lincoln said in a calm tone as if he was trying to talk some sense into me.
However, I would not listen to anything he said. He said that I gained a lot in one year. In actuality, I had lost so much more than I had gained.
I lost the man I love and my child. I suffered every day from separation from Amaury.
I met Lincoln’s gaze calmly and said in a chilling tone, “Apart from my child, I don’t want anything else!”
Lincoln scoffed when he saw that his gentle coaxing did not work on me. With his expression darkening from fury, he glared at me and spat in a threatening tone, “Why are you so determined to fight the Shaw family? Do you think you can get your child from us with your current ability? Aren’t you underestimating us a bit too much?”
Facing his wrath, I did not show any fear. After all, I had experienced Lincoln’s heartless actions against me before. As such, I had nothing more to fear. It was he who should quiver with fear.
I smirked and looked at Lincoln confidently. “You can wait and see for yourself whether I have the ability to oppose the Shaw family or not. Our companies are rivals. I am confident that my company could take over the Shaw family’s asset one day!”
In truth, I did not have any confidence that I could do that. However, I could not give away any fear or hesitation before my enemy. Any doubts would only provide a hint to the enemy of one’s weakness.
That was something I had learned over the course of this one year, and it had helped me both at work and in daily life.
Lincoln glared at me coldly. It seemed he was trying to determine the truthfulness of my statement.
“You were once Michael’s wife. How could you bring yourself to go against him now?” Lincoln said with a stern expression. His tone was even colder than before.
“It’s all thanks to the Shaw family that I turned heartless. All of you had treated me with cruelty and pushed me to this. Why should I care that we were once a family? I shall repay you for your cruelty in multifold!” I retorted.
In the past, Lincoln was my most respected elder. Now, I spoke to him as if he was my enemy.
When I first came to the Shaw family, Lincoln was like a father to me. I thought that he would always treat me with fatherly kindness. However, it turned out that Lincoln only saw me as an outsider. He developed a hatred for me after what happened to Josephine.
“You!” Lincoln slammed his hand on the table and glared at me furiously. However, he did not say anything else.
“Mr. Shaw, I have told you all you wish to know. I have to deal with many matters, so I shall take my leave now,” I said coldly and stood up. Then, I turned to leave without giving him a chance to say anything.
After walking out of the restaurant, I felt much better than when I walked in. Although I said many harsh words, it felt like I had avenged myself.
Before this, I would never have thought that I was a vengeful person.
I drove my car and returned to my apartment. After a shower, I lay on the bed and fell asleep. It would be Monday the next day, and I had to continue poaching clients from Michael’s company.
I knew it would be a tremendously challenging task, but I had to do it. If I wanted to be more powerful, I needed to make more effort.
At midnight, I woke up and could not fall asleep again. With nothing better to do, I turned on my laptop and examined the client list to pick my next target.
I had no idea how Nicholas did it, but he managed to obtain lists of clients in Michael’s company. These lists were complete and even stated all the details of their collaboration.
