Chapter 597
Julian Sterling and Claire Bennett's Child
Claire Bennett thought of Old Mr. Sterling again. "But we should still tell Grandpa Sterling about this ahead of time. Otherwise, he might worry that you won't be able to handle Ethan Sterling."
Old Mr. Sterling truly doted on his grandson Julian Sterling.
From the very beginning, he had already decided to hand Sterling Group over to Julian Sterling, and the reason he had delayed putting it in his hands was because he worried Julian might not adapt after taking over Sterling Group in the future, so he wanted to clear away future obstacles before giving it to him.
He just hadn't expected that because of his own situation, Julian Sterling would take over the company ahead of schedule.
There were probably still people inside Sterling Group who refused to accept Julian Sterling.
Besides Megan Sterling poisoning someone, there was actually another butterfly effect behind this incident, which was what had led to Julian Sterling's current predicament.
In short, Claire Bennett decided that no matter what Julian Sterling did, she would support him unconditionally.
As long as he didn't send her divorce papers again.
She really didn't want to separate from Julian Sterling again over these things. They had been through so much, and their relationship wasn't something these trivial matters could destroy.
Julian Sterling naturally understood Claire Bennett's concerns. He chuckled softly and said, "Mm, I know Grandpa is worried about me. This time, when I register the company, I plan to use someone else's name."
In fact, they really did have to tell Old Mr. Sterling, because what he wanted most was for Julian Sterling to inherit Sterling Group, and now that he was going to set up a separate company, it was no small matter.
Old Mr. Sterling was very likely to disagree.
"Use someone else's name?" Claire Bennett looked at him in surprise and asked, "You don't want Ethan Sterling to know?"
Julian Sterling nodded. Ethan Sterling wasn't the key issue; the real concern was Thomas Sterling. He held far more power than Ethan Sterling, and Julian's venture might die halfway before it ever got off the ground.
Claire Bennett thought of that too. She looked up at Julian Sterling. "Who are you planning to use?"
The man's lips curled ever so slightly, and his eyes drifted toward Claire Bennett as if intentionally, as if not. The meaning in those deep eyes was extremely obvious.
As the saying goes, the most dangerous place is the safest place.
Claire Bennett had been with him for so long, so how could she not understand what he was thinking? Her brows drew together slightly, and she asked hesitantly, "You already have someone in mind?"
What she really wanted to ask was whether the person Julian Sterling planned to use was her.
...
At the hospital.
After the blow dealt by Megan Sterling, Old Mr. Sterling had been dejected for two days. With Old Mrs. Sterling comforting and caring for him, he was much better today.
He was already able to get out of bed and take walks.
Claire Bennett also fulfilled yesterday's promise and came to the hospital with Julian Sterling to visit him.
"Grandpa Sterling, how are you feeling?"
Hearing Claire Bennett's concern, Old Mr. Sterling was no longer as cold as before. He merely nodded lightly. "Mm, much better already."
Seeing Old Mr. Sterling act like this, Old Mrs. Sterling couldn't help giving a soft snort from the side.
Just now, before Claire had come, he had been thinking about her the whole time, asking when exactly Claire and Julian were coming over. But now he was acting lukewarm toward her. This old man was probably still trying to save face.
After the group exchanged a few pleasantries, Old Mrs. Sterling had Claire Bennett go with her to get something for the old man to eat, while Julian Sterling stayed behind to talk with Old Mr. Sterling.
Very quickly, only the grandfather and grandson were left in the hospital room.
"Grandpa, I want to start a separate company." Julian Sterling told Old Mr. Sterling what he had in mind.
"What did you say?" Old Mr. Sterling doubted his own ears.
Had Julian Sterling lost his mind?
He didn't want a company as enormous as Sterling Group, and now for no reason he wanted to start from scratch on his own. Did he not know that a new company was not so easy to build up?
"Grandpa, this is the result of careful consideration. Sterling Group's problems can't be solved just by removing Thomas Sterling and Ethan Sterling. If it were really that simple, you probably wouldn't be this heartbroken. You probably also don't want the members of our Sterling family turning on one another, do you?"
Old Mr. Sterling let out a heavy sigh.
Although he didn't say anything on the surface, he really was hurting inside. After all, both sides of the hand are flesh; Julian Sterling and Thomas Sterling and the others were all blood relatives of his.
Even though Thomas Sterling had seized Sterling Group, he was still his son, after all.
He could favor Julian Sterling and hand Sterling Group over to Julian Sterling. There was nothing wrong with that.
But as his son, seeing that situation and developing crooked thoughts about taking Sterling Group for himself—when all was said and done, he wasn't entirely wrong either.
It was just that...
"Julian, do you realize that if you do this now, you'll be completely burying the empire Grandpa spent so many years building?" Old Mr. Sterling said painfully.
"Grandpa, with Thomas Sterling controlling Sterling Group, he probably won't run the company into the ground anytime soon, so you don't need to worry about that, or about me." Julian Sterling's expression was firm as he said powerfully, "I'm still very young. I have the confidence that if I start over from scratch, my company in the future will only grow stronger than Sterling Group is now!"