I stepped forward, ready to speak, but William stopped me. Moving in front of me, he met Magnus' gaze and asked, "What do you want us to do, Mr. Hardwell?"
Magnus answered, "I want both of you to do everything in your power to find my son and rescue him at all costs! Also…"
At first, his words warmed our hearts. Regardless of how badly Agatha treated Irvin, Magnus truly cared for him. He actually wanted justice for Irvin and was worried for his son's well-being.
However, as Magnus went on, the conversation veered off into business matters. Dropping both subtle and not-so-subtle hints, he began to suggest that William hand over his most profitable project to the Hardwells as compensation.
This made William's gaze grow colder. It wasn't that he was unwilling to part with that bit of profit. Rather, he hadn't expected Magnus to turn his son's situation—whose whereabouts and fate were still unknown—into a way to profit.
After all, Magnus had appeared to care so deeply for Irvin. But it turned out he had only been focused on using Irvin to further his own goals.
This was already happening when Magnus still believed Timothy was dead. If Magnus were to find out Timothy was alive—that he still had another son—William feared Magnus' priorities might shift even further.
William had always believed Magnus had real affection for Irvin. However, years spent living in a dark world had made him more cynical of people.
Magnus had always been partial toward Timothy. Because of this, William had feared that if he were to learn that Timothy actually hadn't died, he would lean toward Timothy and abandon the gravely injured Irvin.
That was why, when William contacted Magnus after Irvin's incident, he only told Magnus that Irvin had been captured by that criminal organization. He had intentionally left out that Timothy was alive and was the leader of said organization.
He could've learned through his connections that Irvin was gravely injured and might never wake up again. So, to some extent, he had to give up on Irvin. That might be why, instead of focusing solely on rescuing Irvin, he was using Irvin to get the project he had always wanted.
This possibility made William's gaze darken as he studied Magnus.
Magnus couldn't help feeling a little guilty when he met William's gaze.
William truly lived up to his reputation. Without even investigating, he had deduced everything just from his logic and observation.
Magnus had lacked concern and regard for Irvin despite the precarious situation Irvin was in. Instead, he even wanted to use Irvin to get the project he wanted. The reason he was like this was that he indeed had another son—and an excellent one at that.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Love You Like I Used To Forget It (Millie Bridge)