What Separates Me and You

Chapter 249 Do You Even Have a Conscience

The pair gazed at each other silently. Lewis didn’t speak again after that. Another gust of wind streaked

past them, carrying a whiff of a gardenia’s scent into Josephine’s nostrils.

She seemed to have spaced out for a moment.

Lewis slammed the car door before returning to the driver’s seat. He then drove Josephine

home.

She remained silent throughout the journey. Once she returned home, she locked herself in her room.

Josephine still harbored the thought of escaping. After all, this wasn’t her home.

Strange and unfamiliar scenes surrounded her from all sides, which terrified her greatly.

As for Lewis, his expression had been stormy the whole time. Mrs. Larson and Mrs. White didn’t dare

to speak to him at all. They had a feeling that he might go on a rampage at any given moment.

With a grave expression on his face, Lewis smoked silently in the living room. Soon, the ashtray was

filled with cigarette butts.

A visitor showed up in front of the Styx Mansion, so Mrs. Larson approached Lewis cautiously and

informed him of the news. “Sir, a gentleman named Derek Moss is here. He said he wants to meet

you.”

The moment the housekeeper was done speaking, Derek strode into the living room and took

a seat across from Lewis.

The latter raised his head to look at the visitor before leaning back against the couch. “Why are you

here, Derek?”

Derek was silent for a moment. He cut to the chase by saying in a straightforward manner, Name your

conditions.”

The fact that Lewis still had the evidence in his grasp meant that he was waiting for Derek to come over

and discuss the conditions with him. That was the reason for his visit.

Lewis crossed his legs before starting to speak impassively. “Since you’re saying such things, that

means you’ve already prepared your bargaining chip.”

Derek let out a self-deprecating chuckle. “What other bargaining chip do I have? All I can do is drop the

lawsuit at this point. Even though there’s no solid evidence that points to Daphne being the actual

murderer, the fact that she’s behind Lily’s kidnapping still stands. It’s Impossible for me to release her

from prison and get her acquitted.”

Lewis replied, “That’s not a useful bargaining chip now, is it? Daphne will still be known as a kidnapper

even if you don’t drop the lawsuit. No more, no less.”

“Then what do you want?”

One of Lewis’ fingers started tapping on the couch in an absentminded way. A while later, he gazed at

Derek. “I want all of the shares belonging to the Moss family.”

The latter widened his eyes in shock. He did his best to suppress his anger as he gritted out,

You’re going too far!”

A smirk played on Lewis’ lips as he continued saying impassively, “This is the only bargaining chip you

can offer me. I’m not interested in the rest. As for Daphne, you don’t have to worry

about her.”

Derek clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles started popping loudly while staring at the man

before him. “What you’re proposing right now will wipe out my entire family.”

Lewis coaxed, “Allow me to offer you a brand new perspective, Derek. Once you get imprisoned, the

Moss family might not be able to retain their own company. You might as well use the shares to save

your own life. There’s a chance that you might rise from the ashes. in the future.”

Naturally, Derek was pissed upon hearing Lewis’ perspective. There was no way he could rebuild Moss

Corporation from scratch if he were to surrender their shares.

It was obvious that Lewis made that move to ruin Derek’s life and ensure that he would never

rise from the ashes. That way, he would have one less rival to deal with permanently. That was the

reason why he refused to give Derek a chance to regain his breath and strike back.

“Must this be the only option left for me?”

Lewis replied, “You should have thought of this outcome the moment you chose to target me.’

Derek’s expression faltered, but he started laughing all of a sudden. “It seems that you know everything

now.”

Lewis didn’t reply to Derek. Instead, he just looked at him silently.

Derek continued smiling as he remarked, “Just as expected, I’m no match for you guys. Now that I

think about it, I feel pathetic. All I want to do is exact revenge for my poor wife and children. In the end,

I got manipulated by the other players. You’re right. I’m the one responsible for Mary Jinkins’ death. I’m

also the one who sent Josephine that message.

Now that the man had reached the exciting part, he decided to tell Lewis everything he had done so far.

That included the rumors that came out of nowhere lately. Apparently, he was also the one

manipulating the public’s opinion.

There was another culprit who worked with Derek. Unfortunately, that person had yet to act.

Truthfully speaking, Derek didn’t get to spread more rumors because Lewis ended up blocking them.

One of those rumors happened to be the news of his marriage.

Mary did take her own life, but Derek was still responsible for her death at the end of the day.

The latter had tracked down the aide and convinced her to tell Mary all about Nancy forcing Josephine

to get divorced from Lewis. It was then the elderly housekeeper found out that she was the cause of

Josephine’s suffering, leading to her foolishly taking her own life.

It was a quiet death. Mary didn’t even leave a note before she left the world.

Unfortunately, there would always be unforeseen changes in plans. Mary did die, but her death. didn’t

affect Lewis and Josephine.

Derek wasn’t sure what went wrong, but the fact that the plan failed still stood. In fact, it was at

massive failure.

Lewis wasn’t surprised to hear Derek’s honest confession. He still wore a cold and distant expression

on his face, but this time, he had a mocking smile curled on his lips.

“Are you done?” he asked.

Derek paused in his words. He shot Lewis a meaningful look before relenting. “Yes, but I’d like to ask

you one last question.”

“Shoot.”

“What on earth is your heart made of?”

Despite the fact that Derek had known Lewis for many years, he could never see through the latter’s

intentions. That man was cold-blooded and merciless, willing to do anything to

achieve his goals.

Lewis Alvarez was a man who was capable of manipulating his own father and younger sister. Even his

wife and lover couldn’t escape from him; in fact, he would never let an opportunity slip through his

fingers as long as he could manipulate others.

Even if Lily wasn’t his biological sister, they still grew up together in the past. Did he not harbor any

shred of familial feelings for her at all?

Lewis didn’t answer Derek’s question.

That prompted the latter to continue speaking. “You’ve committed so many misdeeds in your life. Caleb

and Penny were just children. Do you even have a conscience?”

Lewis replied with a question of his own, “Then tell me, Derek. What sort of misdeed did I commit so

far? The fact that you’ve made an incriminating statement without any proof is enough for me to add

‘defamation’ to your list of crimes.”

Derek decided not to argue with Lewis anymore. Instead, he switched the topic. “Whatever. It’s useless

talking about all these things with you. Also, I want you to know that it’s Impossible for me to take this

lying down. You can forget about obtaining all of the Moss family’s shares.”

Lewis wasn’t surprised at all upon hearing the other man’s decision. He raised a brow while asking,

“Does this mean you’re giving them away to another player?”

Derek’s attitude was more than enough to tell Lewis that he would rather go to jail than give the latter

all of the Moss family’s shares.

Of course, Lewis knew exactly who the lucky receiver was.

Who else could it be other than Kiran Alvarez?

Derek would rather give the shares to someone who used him for his worth than entrust them. to the

man responsible for his wife’s death. In a way, he picked the lesser of two evils.

From another perspective, it was evident that Derek was left without a choice.

At the very least, his decision would ensure that Kiran was the one fighting Lewis till the end.

However, Lewis wasn’t frustrated at all, judging from the smile on his face. “Well then, you know where

the door is. Goodbye, Derek.”

The aforementioned man drew to his feet while glaring daggers at Lewis. The sight of the lazy yet

provocative smile curled on his lips angered his brother-in-law even more.

Meanwhile, Lewis returned the gaze coolly. His calm and collected visage shaped a huge contrast with

the look of fury on Derek’s face.

During a negotiation, the party who revealed their emotions first was destined to be the loser.

Then again, Derek didn’t plan to continue negotiating with Lewis. Just as he was about to leave the

mansion, he looked up to see Josephine descending the stairs.

Lewis sensed someone coming down the stairs as well. He tilted his head slightly to look in the

direction of the stairs. As expected, Josephine could be seen heading toward the main

entrance. It was obvious that she had freshened up.

She knew Lewis was there, but she pretended not to see him. Instead, she kept her head lowered as

she hurried toward the door.

At this point, Josephine was just fooling herself.

“Stop right there.”