Chapter 664 Wasted Effort


    Yerek’s eyes gleamed slyly. He deliberately tried to dissuade Azure, “Grandma, don’t act so rashly. It


    won’t solve anything. Let’s calm down and talk this through civilly. Nothing is ck and white. I believe


    Old Mr. Stone must have his reasons for his decision.”


    Barnaby could not help gaining a little more respect for Yerek upon hearing thetter’s words.


    In truth, Yerek’s behavior endeared him to Barnaby, but unfortunately, he was neither strong nor willful


    enough to lead the family.


    Sheridan was a more suitable heir to the Stone family.


    If the events that followed had not urred, Barnaby might have considered legitimizing Yerekter on.


    However, when Azure heard Yerek’s words, she only became even more enraged.


    Belongs to ? n0velDrama.Org.


    “Yerek, stop caring about others! Think about the precarious position that you and your father are in.


    Haven’t we been oppressed enough as it is?” Azure said angrily. “Now, your own grandpa wants to do


    the same and pour salt on our wounds! I can’t stay calm!”


    Barnaby was not without conscience. After all, Azure was his first love whom he had loved for many


    years, and she had even bore him a child.


    “I cannot legitimize them for the time being. Nevertheless, if there’s anything else you need, I’ll do it as


    long as it is within my control, Barnaby said, capitting partially to Azure’s demands.


    He had only agreed topromise so that Azure would calm down and stop embarrassing him by


    appearing suddenly at the Stone family residence.


    Azure cracked a satisfied smile. “Well, if so, don’t you think you should make it up to Nigel and Yerek


    since they won’t have the right to the Stone family’s inheritance which Sheridan will be entitled to?


    Shouldn’t they be treated like the other Stone family members and receive some assets at least?”


    What Azure was asking for was essentially the same as demanding Barnaby acknowledge Nigel and


    Yerek as his blood. The only difference was their official legitimacy.


    Barnaby was about to reject her when the door to the study burst open suddenly,


    “I do not agree!” Wendy hobbled in with her cane, leaning heavily on Sheridan for support. Her sharp


    eyes pierced into Barnaby’s. “Barnaby, you’re the head of the Stone family, but yet, you’re under this


    woman’s thumb. If people got wind of this, it would bring the Stone family shame!”


    Barnaby stared at the ground as he listened to his mother’s tirade, not daring to deny her usations


    or defend himself.


    Wendy was an influential figure in the Stone family. Her word could determine a person’s fate and


    position within the family.


    Azure sneered and countered, “Old Mdm. Garcia, this is between Barnaby and me. You should stay out


    of


    Wendy looked at Azure indifferently, and her voice dripped with contempt when she spoke. “If you were


    Barnaby’swfully wedded wife, I would definitely not interfere, but you are not. You are an outsider.


    Frankly, you are just another gold digger. As the head of the Stone family, I’m merely watching over our


    family’s affairs. You, on the other hand, are the one who’s meddling in our family matters.”


    Azure was no match for Wendy’s words. Thus, she turned her eyes to Barnaby and demanded angrily,


    “Barnaby, tell me now, do you agree to my request?”


    Wendy red at Barnaby, the warning look in her eyes a silent order to stand down. “Well, Barnaby,


    since you seem to be unable to make up your mind, I’ll make the decision on your behalf.”


    Barnaby could not go against Wendy’s words. He nodded and said weakly, “Yes, thank you, Mom.”


    Azure’s hatred for Barnaby burned intensely. She had wasted too many years loving him.


    “As Sheridan said before, the Stone family does not acknowledge any illegitimate children. We will not


    allow Nigel to call us his family, and we certainly will not be giving away our assets to any outsiders.


    You can cause as much drama as you want, but be warned that if you harm the good name of our


    family, we will not show you mercy. I’ve heard about your family’s nasty habits. To put it bluntly, all you


    want is money. Well, the Stone family does not care about spending a little money if it means a


    problem can be solved.”


    Then, Wendy turned to Barnaby and said, “If you want to solve a problem, you must pay the price. You


    must pay what is due. We must not let people think that the Stones are tight-fisted with our money.”


    “Yes, I’ll remember that,” Barnaby replied meekly.


    “Sheridan, let’s go receive the guests. It’s my birthday banquet today. Let’s not allow such trivial


    matters to ruin the mood.” Wendy’s eyes were gentle and kind when she turned to Sheridan,


    “Okay, let’s go.” Sheridan cast a smug nce at Azure and Yerek, then turned to leave the study with


    Wendy holding onto his arm.


    Barnaby quickly set about carrying out Wendy’s instructions. He signed a cheque for fifty million in


    Azure’s name and pulled out the deed for a property worth several million.


    “Take this. This is the mostpensation that I can give you. This will be enough to refill the


    company’s empty coffers. Be more cautious in the future.” Barnaby pressed the check and the title


    deed into Azure’s hands. “Please don’t contact us again if there’s nothing important.”


    Azure felt so self-righteously angry that she wanted to throw the cheque and title deed back in


    Barnaby’s face, but what he said was the truth.


    She really needed the money.


    Nigel wanted to appeal for a lighter sentence. They would have to hire an experiencedwyer to file the


    appeal, and suchwyers did note cheap. In the past, Azure could have easily afforded the fees,


    but times had changed. Nigel had drained her private funds to pay off thepany’s debts. She was


    barely getting by at the moment.


    “Barnaby, you b”stard! Karma wille back to bite the Stone family!” Azure cried out angrily. She


    snatched up the cheque and title deed before leaving in a whirl of grief and anger.


    Yerek looked at Barnaby sadly. Then, he, too, turned and left without another word.


    He had thought that Barnaby would step up to his responsibilities as a father and grandfather, but he


    had turned out to be a spineless worm with no real influence. Btedly, Yerek realized he had wasted


    too much time focused on Barnaby, He should have learned from Sheridan and curried for Wendy’s


    favor instead


    From that moment, Yerek shifted his focus from Barnaby to Wendy


    After Christina and Nathaniel got home, they sent some men to trail after the Stone family and take


    note of their movements


    As expected, Azure and Yerek did not manage to get what they wanted from the Stone family Instead


    they had only seeded in increasing the Stone family’s dislike for them.


    Azure had wanted to take advantage of Wendy’s birthday banquet to force Barnaby’s hand. The timing


    was right, but Azure had made a mistake by overestimating Barnaby’s position within the Stone family


    and underestimating Wendy’s ways.


    The Stone family already had an excellent sessor in Sheridan. Wendy would not allow Nigel to retur


    to the family to avoid any power struggle between the two


    “Christina, we have the results from the surveince records