Chapter 674: Answer This Question Honestly
"He’s been arrested," said Michael.
"Arrested?" Anthony was even more furious after hearing what Michael said. "Great!
Then, I will take it as I’ve never had this son!"
"Hahaha..." Michael could not help but laugh out loud instantly. When the reporters heard his laughter, they rushed towards them and pointed their cameras at Michael and Anthony.
Michael looked at Mr. York, who knew what Michael wanted. Mr. York said to the reporters, "The press conference has not started. Please take your seats."
As soon as Mr. York finished his words, the bodyguards came forth and chased the reporters away.
"What are you laughing at?" asked Anthony.
"I thought you’ve always wanted to accept Christian as part of the Lucas family," said Michael.
"I never knew that he is a drug trafficker," said Anthony indignantly. "I sent him overseas to further his studies, not to learn drug trafficking! He’s such a letdown!
Like mother like son!"
"Like mother like son?" Michael frowned as he repeated Anthony’s words.
Suddenly, Michael remembered something. When they brought Anthony to the hospital to take a blood test, Lily had followed them too. But she ran away immediately after being frightened by Michael. So Anthony had been bearing a grudge against Lily all this time?
"Don’t mention that sl*t in front of me! Just my luck!" fumed Anthony as he grabbed Michael’s hand. He then started to beg, "Michael, now that I realize you’re the best, could you please ask your grandmother to let me return to the Lucas family? I know I was wrong. I will make it up to you!"
Anthony had been huffy a moment ago. But now, he had become humble all of a sudden. It appeared that Michael’s grandmother had forbade him to return to the Lucas family.
Michael replied, "That depends on how cooperative you are."
"Of course, I will do whatever you want me to," Anthony agreed instantly.
"Well, let’s begin the press conference then," Michael said. He had brought Anthony to the press conference because of his agreement with Christian. Anthony was Christian’s father. So it would be best for him to acknowledge that Christian was his son.
But the more Anthony felt miserable about acknowledging Christian as his son, the more happy Michael felt. This was a pleasant surprise for Michael.
All these years, Michael and Winnie had suffered because of Anthony.
Now that Anthony had fallen out with Lily, he wished to return to the Lucas family again. However, he had totally forgotten how callous he was when Winnie begged him to return home back then. Did Anthony think he could come and go as he pleases?
"Michael, why are you so adamant about holding this press conference? Don’t you hate Christian the most? Everyone knows that Christian is a drug trafficker. If we were to officially acknowledge him as part of our family, wouldn’t it affect our reputation?" Anthony asked.
Indeed, all Anthony cared about was his reputation. If Christian was not a drug trafficker but a young and capable CEO of a big company, he was pretty sure that Anthony would not hesitate to tell everyone in the world that Christian was his son.
"That’s none of your business. You will just need to acknowledge that Christian is your son in front of the reporters. That’s all," said Michael.
"Well..." Anthony saw that Michael was not willing to reveal anything more. He knew that there wasn’t a point in asking further. So he looked around to see where the bodyguards were.
"Don’t even think about escaping," said Michael coldly as he shattered Anthony’s hopes of running away.
...
"Well, I have no intention of running away." Anthony gave an awkward smile when he saw that Michael knew what he was thinking.
He had no way of escaping as the hall was surrounded by bodyguards. Anthony had no choice but to attend the press conference.
He then continued, "So after I publicly acknowledge Christian as my son, you’ll plead with your grandmother on my behalf to let me return to the Lucas family?"
Michael blinked. His gaze had a hint of cunning and arrogance. He then nodded and grunted in reply.
"Alright, I will do as you say," said Anthony through gritted teeth. He had no choice but to agree with Michael at this point. After all, there was no way for him to escape.
The reporters filed in one after another. Michael took a glance at the crowd and found that most of them were already here.
Michael took out his cellphone. Evan answered the call immediately.
"The press conference will be starting soon. Let Christian know," said Michael.
"Alright," Evan replied. He then gave Christian a tablet, saying, "Michael called. The press conference will be starting soon. You may watch the live streaming," said Evan.
Christian’s hands shivered slightly. He moved his fingers as he tried to suppress his emotions. He then took a deep breath as he held the tablet. He could see everything unfolding at the press conference in real time.
Michael nodded at Mr. York after he ended the call. Mr. York got what he meant and spoke to the reporters, "Please take your seats. The press conference is about to begin."
All the reporters returned to their seats immediately. The spotlight was now focused on Michael. As the lights flickered, Michael invited Anthony onstage.
Anthony smiled faintly. He was a little unwilling to go onstage. He did not want to publicly acknowledge Christian as his son. He straightened his tie and faced the cameras.
Michael followed him onstage too. Then, the crew handed the microphones to them.
Anthony remained silent after taking over the microphone.
He turned around and looked at Michael. He seemed to be waiting for Michael to say something.
Michael knew what Anthony was thinking, but Michael was not a fool. He smiled as he said, "First of all, thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedules to be here. It was a last minute decision to hold this press conference. I am pretty sure that all of you are curious about today’s agenda. Well, I would like to invite our former Chairman of the MC Enterprise to tell you more about it."
As soon as Michael finished speaking, all the reporters immediately turned around and gazed at Anthony expectantly.
Anthony did not see this coming. He could only smile at the crowd as he held onto his microphone. Then, he said, "Nothing special, I just..." Anthony halted. Then, he turned around to look at Michael, who ignored him.
Anthony then looked away awkwardly and continued, "I just want to say that Christian Lucas... is my son."
As a matter of fact, this was something that everyone knew all along, but the Lucas family had never acknowledged this publicly.
...
As soon as Anthony finished speaking, the reporters from the floor started to raise their hands to ask questions.
Anthony had not opened the floor for questions, because he did not want to answer any questions at all. But Michael was not going to let him off that easily.
Michael pointed at one of the reporters and said, "You may ask Chairman Lucas anything. What would you like to know?"
Although Anthony had retired, he continued to be known as Chairman Lucas.
That reporter stood up immediately and asked, "Chairman Lucas, may I know why are you choosing to acknowledge Christian as your son at this time? If I remember correctly, this should be the first press conference where you are acknowledging this fact.
"In the past, when Christian was a successful businessman, you did not acknowledge your relationship with him. But now, he is a drug trafficker and a wanted man. Why are you choosing to acknowledge him as your son now?"
Anthony did not know how to answer this question. He could not say that it was Michael who forced him into doing this, could he? Anthony had never wanted to publicly acknowledge his relationship with Christian in the first place. He could not figure out what Michael was up to.
When Anthony remained silent even after some time, Michael deliberately called him to attention, "Dad, the reporter is asking you a question."
Michael’s words angered him. He clenched his teeth but showed a smile on his face.
As he held on to the microphone, he forced himself to say, "Whether Christian is a wanted drug trafficker or a successful CEO, he is my son."
Anthony’s answer was perfunctory. Michael pointed to other reporters and allowed them to ask more questions immediately after.
Another reporter asked, "It’s a widely known fact that Christian is your son, but you’ve never acknowledged your relationship with him publicly until now.
"When he was a successful businessman in the past, he was known as an illegitimate son of yours. Now, you are not in a hurry to disassociate yourself from him, but chose to acknowledge him publicly instead.
"So my question is the same as the previous one. Why do you choose to acknowledge him publicly now? I hope that you can answer this question honestly.
Thank you."
By now, Christian was shaking as he held onto the tablet.
After so many years, his identity was finally being acknowledged.
At the same time, there was a lot of online chatter about the press conference.
"Doesn’t everyone know for a fact the Christian is Michael’s half-brother?"
"What the hell! Are they really brothers? I thought it was just a marketing tactic?"
"I used to read gossip tabloids about their family affairs. What can I say? There are indeed a lot of things happening in rich families."
"Isn’t Christian the son of Anthony and the homewrecker? I heard that the homewrecker drove his wife crazy."
"I am so ready to watch the show right now."
"How dare he hold a press conference about this! Anthony Lucas should go home and take a look at his wife instead."
"I am also quite curious why Anthony is choosing to acknowledge Christian as his son at this point."
"We are waiting for the answer too. Let’s see if the reporters can get anything out of him."
The Lucas family had been hiding Winnie’s mental illness pretty well. By right, no one should know about it. It was Lily who had taken to social media and announced that Winnie was suffering from a mental illness. Lily had wanted to generate publicity.
Some believed Lily, some chose not to. Even though the news was published on social media, not everyone saw it.
However, news of Winnie’s mental illness was indeed released to the public at that time.
Anthony did not see these flurry of comments online, but he was a bundle of nerves.
He was so nervous that he broke into cold sweat.
The reporters were urging him for an answer.
