Chapter 357 Go Down With Her


    She said, already weeping thoroughly.


    “I’m sorry, Grandpa, I didn’t think it’d end up like this. It’s my fault for embarrassing you and making


    enemies of the whole McCarthy family. I’m sorry.”


    Jessica apologized repeatedly. Even though she’d said those three sybles countless times tonight,


    she wanted to puke.


    But she knew that, before Wilhelm, she had to throw away her pride and finish the performance.


    At the very least, she couldn’t have the old manpletely disappointed in her and abandoning her.


    As expected, old man Kawn looked at her and said coldly, “Know what your biggest mistake was


    tonight?”


    Jessica froze.


    She looked at him in a daze and shook her head.


    “Your biggest mistake was that you moved without finishing your opponent, giving them time and space


    to breathe, then to retaliate.”


    He sighed, then said lowly, “It was fine today. Only a child. And it was unrted to family interests. But


    from now on, if you want to go after a person, remember to go for the jugr. Either stay your hand, or


    go for the kill. Give no room for your enemy to recover. Otherwise, you won’t just have all your efforts


    go to waste, you might even lose control of a situation that had gone well initially and have it all


    backfire. Got it?”


    Jessica stood rooted to the spot.


    She looked at the old man in disbelief at the wordsing out of his mouth.


    Wilhelm smiled frigidly.


    “No need to be surprised. Since you’re in the Kawn family now, you’ll understand sooner orter. Since


    time immemorial, no one in power got there with clean hands. You need to get down and dirty to secure


    your family and your status. Don’t get fooled by how the McCarthy family acts high and mighty, like they


    have nothing to do with the rest of the world. That grandfather and grandson have just as many


    skeletons in their closet as your Grandpa’s. And all these years, if Archie McCarthy hadn’t been


    ceaselessly expanding his territory and eroding the power of the other few families, why would we try to


    preserve our security with arranged marriages? It was all forced. I’m old now. If I were to pass on for


    good one day, the family is in the hands of your two uncles. But as clever as they are, they don’t use


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    any of that cleverness on our opponents, instead wasting their energy fighting each other. So I’m giving


    you these shares to act as a lubricant and an adhesive in between them. I know you can manage it.


    You’re clever, no less than your two uncles. So long as you stay loyal to the Kawn family, I won’t care


    about anything else, got it?”


    Jessica, shaken, nodded.


    “I’ve got it, Grandpa.”


    Wilhelm closed his eyes, fatigued, and waved at her.


    “All right. I’m tired. Go. Have the assistantse in.”


    Jessica respectfullyplied and turned around to leave.


    Meanwhile, Anne had followed Natalia home. After a bath, sheid in bed and had Natalia tell her a


    story.


    Because the kid had been through a lot today, Natalia decided to stay with her for one night instead of


    letting her sleep alone.


    After finishing one story, Anne suddenly asked, “Mommy, did Auntie Jessica push me into the water


    because I shouldn’t have heard her talk to uncle Kawn?”


    Natalia jolted.


    Gently, she said, “Didn’t you say she didn’t talk much with uncle Kawn?”


    Anne frowned.


    “She didn’t say much, but I feel like their expressions are weird. They look bad.”


    Natalia stared.


    A children’s instincts were always on point.


    Even if she might not understand the meaning behind their words, she could feel if someone was good


    or evil from their expressions and their aura.


    But she didn’t understand. Jessica had been found by Wilson.


    It made sense for her to take Wilson’s side in the Kawns.


    What was she doing talking in secret with Matthew?


    She thought for a while, thenforted. “Maybe, but it’s fine. You didn’t listen in on purpose, right?”


    Anne nodded heavily.


    “So no matter what the reason is, she shouldn’t have treated you like this. It was her fault. Don’t think


    about it too much, Anne.”


    Anne made a noise, not showing if she understood or not.


    Soon, the child grew tired. Natalia didn’t tell her another story and coaxed her into sleep before she


    turned off the lights and went to sleep herself.


    At that moment, in the Kawn household.


    Jessica was heading back to her room when she saw a faint coating of lime on the handle of her door.


    She paused, looked around, made sure no one was near and headed to the other end of the corridor.


    “You’re looking for me, Uncle?”


    In the dim room, Jessica looked at the man before her and asked gently.


    Matthew’s expression was ugly.


    “How many times have I told you not to provoke the McCarthy family? Then you turned right around


    and went after the kid. Do you want to die?”


    Faced with Matthew’s wrath, Jessica shrank a little, clearly afraid.


    But she still boldened up and exined, “I didn’t deliberately try to kill her, but she saw us talking


    together. I was worried she might have heard something, so I…”


    “What did you say?”


    Matthew froze.


    Jessica pursed her lips. “Back then, when you met me in the garden, she heard what we said in the


    shadows.”


    Matthew’s face changed instantly.


    He fell quiet, his eyes darkening.


    “You’re sure she heard everything?”


    Jessica frowned slightly as well.


    “She should have. I only discovered her presence after you left, but she’d run away quickly, and I


    couldn’t catch her. That’s why I tried to draw her out with the butterfly toy and silence her. I didn’t think


    it’d end up like that.”


    Matthew didn’t speak for a while.


    He recalled in detail everything he’d said to Jessica tonight.


    After running it all through in his head and making sure there were no obvious clues, he heaved a sigh


    of relief.


    “Never mind. She’s just a kid and probably wouldn’t suspect anything. Even if she told Archie and the


    others, they’d only suspect things at most. We were supposed to be uncle and niece anyway, and


    talking with each other is normal. You, though – quit making such a fuss about everything, killing


    people over a bit of mishap. You still think this is a small-time town like Julio? If anything did happen,


    the entire Kawn family would be going down with you, understand?”


    Jessica bent her head and gently said, “I’ve got it.”