At this point, with Roscoe's wife, Doreen, proposing divorce, it was clear to the public that the entire Schultz family was against Roscoe.

The Ardlens found themselves unable to pick which side to stand on.

Jarrod was Doreen's uncle. Evidently, his sudden mention of Roscoe was not out of admiration. The man instantly knew what Jarrod implied.

“He's just a lowly bastard. Does he really deserve it?" he spat out.

Feigning a sudden realization that Jarrod was still there, the man quickly put on a smile. “I meant compared to you, Roscoe's nothing. He couldn't even hold a candle to you."

Jarrod seemed to have liked what he heard, his expression growing brighter. In a show of false modesty, he said, "We shouldn't say that. I'm sure he has his own abilities."

"Bullshit!" the man shouted. "He may have defeated his grandfather, and for what? An empty company. I heard that the only remaining mansion has even been mortgaged. If he can't even manage to keep himself afloat, how would he be able to revive the Watts Group? It's a pipe dream for him."

Nicole didn't expect such a huge change to happen to the Watts family in just ten days.

Miguel had passed away, but hidden dangers still lurked. On top of that, the public didn't have a favorable view of the Watts family.

But all of this was Miguel's fault. Miguel was the truly malicious one in this whole situation. He framed Roscoe, almost pushing Roscoe for dead. But instead of being criticized, Miguel was portrayed as a kind old man while Roscoe was painted as an ingrate.

A dead man could no longer do anything. That meant those stirring up troubles were either someone else from the Watts family or those who harbored a great dislike for Roscoe. One such person was the man beside her.

However, Nicole couldn't be sure. There were other possibilities.

Alec, for instance, could have been behind it.

“I despise people like him. He betrays his family, even those who have done him good. This is his retribution." In an effort to flatter Jarrod, the man spoke again and made a show of seemingly righteous anger. “I don't even understand why he's here in this banquet. Who the hell let him in?"

The accusations were becoming more and more excessive, and Nicole couldn't bear it any longer and finally spoke up. “Excuse me. Sir, do you understand what you're saying? When have you ever seen Roscoe show ungratefulness?"

The question seemed to have caught the man off guard. He was stunned for a few seconds. Had he misread the situation? Did Jarrod not feel any hostility toward Roscoe? If that wasn't the case, why would Nicole say something like that? But that didn't sound right either.

Doreen's divorce from Roscoe made it to the headlines, and it was quite the sensation. Jarrod couldn't possibly choose to help someone who was practically a stranger instead of siding with a family member.

The man decided to play it safe. "I don't need to see it with my own eyes to know. What's clear is that Roscoe can't call himself a real son of the Watts family. Everyone knows Miguel personally brought him back and treated him well, but Roscoe paid Miguel back how? He reported Miguel. If that's not disrespectful, I don't know what is. That's even beside the fact that Miguel lost his life because of this..."

Nicole disagreed. “If Miguel truly cared for Roscoe, why would he leave the company in ruins?" she shot back. "The twists and turns in this matter aren't difficult to understand. It's just that everyone likes to listen to unfounded rumors and add fuel to the fire."

The man couldn't understand why Nicole would be offended by his standing up for Doreen. It was a whole new mess. He scratched his head and said, "I apologize... I. His voice trailed off without completing the sentence because he didn't know what to say. Staying silent would be better than risking offending Jarrod as well."