Chapter 427


    On the other end of the phone, Hayden paused before speaking, "Big Bro, Janice is back to her


    senses. You two can mend fences. Lucy''s been found, and your family of four can have a reunion.


    As for Madeleine, well, she and I have been involved. I’d think you wouldn''t want to marry her now."


    "Since you''re not keen on marrying her again, I''ll take responsibility for Madeleine. Besides, it was


    your doing that got us together in the first ce—if you hadn''t asked me to take her home, none of


    this would''ve happened… Big Bro, I''m just trying to keep the Porter family from bing our


    enemies."


    Nathan let out a mockingugh, "You’ve got a silver tongue, Hayden. Should I give you a medal for


    that? I asked you to escort Madeleine home, not to bed her. You had bad intentions from the start,


    and that''s why you are up to no good."


    "Madeleine''s not entirely innocent, either. If the Porters want to start a feud with us, the Blues, then I


    say bring it on. As for your divorce, that''s your business. I won''t interfere; I need my midday rest."


    With that said, Nathan hung up on his younger brother.


    He ced the phone back on the nightstand and continued to flip through photos of his wife.


    Despite appearing to be quite upset with Hayden on the call, as soon as the phone was down,


    Nathan was back to his usual self.


    In the art of pretense, Nathan could be crowned king, with no contenders for the throne.


    Hayden, having been denied help from his brother, muttered to himself after the call ended, "Fine,


    don''t help. I don''t need you to ditch Ashley."


    His thoughts turned to his eldest son, Pete.


    Hayden hesitated at the thought of him, who had made a mistake at work and gotten caught by


    Keith. Keith took the opportunity to push Pete out of the Blue Corporation''s top spot. Though it was


    technically his brother who had reassigned Pete from headquarters, Hayden knew as long as Keith


    was around, his son had no chance of returning to the center of power.


    Without proximity to power, what good were abilities?


    This made Hayden even more determined to divorce and marry Madeleine. With the backing of the


    Porter family, he was confident he could seize control for himself.


    There woulde a day when his brother would regret it!


    He would bide his time and eventually push Nathan and his son out of the Blue Corporation,


    iming the empire they had built for himself.


    As for Pete, once Hayden had power and influence, he wouldn''t even need to make the first move.


    His son woulde crawling back to him.


    Money, status, power—they could easily corrupt a man''s nature.


    Hayden drove home immediately.


    Parking in the open-air lot, he got out of the car and grabbed a passing servant, asking, "Where''s


    Ashley?"


    "Ashley''s in the main house, talking with the olddy."


    Hayden frowned, "The olddy hasn''t taken her nap yet?"


    "No, she just woke up from her nap. She summoned Ka and Ashley to discuss some matters. It


    seems the young miss will soon return to reim her family ties."


    At the mention of this, Hayden''s heart tightened.


    Was Lucindaing back soon?


    The thought of dealing with Lucinda''s formidable husband, Stefan, made Hayden eager to marry


    Madeleine before Lucinda''s return. He had been scheming behind the scenes for over two decades


    and had yet to defeat his brother. If Lucinda returned, especially with a tough cookie like Stefan by


    her side, Nathan would be even more powerful. Hayden''s ambition to take power would be even


    harder to achieve.


    He hurried toward the main house.


    The olddy had indeed called her two daughters-inw to discuss the matter.


    With the return of her favorite granddaughter, she felt that, aside from a press conference to


    introduce Lucy to society, there should be a grand banquet—to quickly integrate her into Skywatch


    high society. Whether Lucy could handle it was not her concern.


    The olddy feared that her granddaughter would hold a grudge against her, as she had maltreated


    Janice. Despite the years apart, she couldn''t bear to dislike Lucinda, who bore a striking


    resemnce to her in her youth. If Lucy wasing back, they could spend their days together,


    potentially rekindling their bond.


    The olddy hoped to recapture the grandmother-granddaughter bond.


    "Mom, is my sister-inwing back with her this time?" Ka asked.


    Since Janice hade to her senses, Ka had changed how she referred to her, knowing better


    than to call her a madwoman.


    When Lucinda disappeared, Ka had only been a fresh face in the Blue family. But as a born-and-


    bred elite from Skywatch, she was well aware of the affection between Nathan and his wife in their


    younger years.


    Content is property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    She wasn''t ashamed to admit that before she married into the Blues, she had harbored a crush on


    Nathan herself.


    Nathan in his youth was not the mature andposed man he was now, but he was even more


    handsome.


    There were few young women in Skywatch who could resist his charm after seeing him.


    Madeleine herself had fallen for Nathan at first sight in her teens, and as soon as she was of age,


    she made her move—a testament to Nathan''s allure.


    Before the olddy could respond, Ashley chimed in with a fake smile, "With Lucying back,


    how could Janice noting back?"


    She nced at Ka, "Are you scared, sister-inw?"


    Ka replied irritably, "Not in the least. I’m not the one who''s done the worst."


    Ashley fell silent.


    "Enough, both of you. That madwoman—oh, I mean Janice—hasn''t said if she''sing back, but


    since Lucy is returning in about ten days, I''d imagine Janice will apany her. Her things with


    Nathan have to be resolved, one way or another."


    The words of the olddy promptly quelled the brewing argument between her daughters-inws.


    The two sisters-inw exchanged nces. They had picked on Janice, the so-called "madwoman,"


    mainly to stay in the good graces of this olddy. She had wanted to push Nathan to banish Janice


    to a distant farm, but when he refused, she covertly encouraged the them to torment and try to "fix"


    Janice.


    Of course, they also harbored a secret jealousy and were quite eager to see Janice sent away.


    Unfortunately, Nathan never agreed to it.


    "Mom, speaking of resolutions, perhaps it''s time for Hayden and Madeleine''s matter to be resolved


    as well," Ka dropped thisment with the precision of a surgeon''s scalpel, aiming straight for


    Ashley''s heart.


    The sisters-inw had a ssic case of a facade of harmony masking underlying discord. The old


    lady had always favored her younger son, and by extension, showed a soft spot for his wife Ashley,


    leaving Ka to simmer in her own resentment.


    Now that Hayden hadnded himself in hot water, Ka couldn''t resist the opportunity to twist the


    knife a bit more—it would be an injustice to herself.


    No sooner had Ka''s wordsnded than the sound of footsteps approached.


    Followed by Hayden''s voice calling out, "Mom."


    Ashley shot Ka a venomous re, while Ka put on an innocent face as if she was just


    showing genuine concern.


    "Mom."


    Hayden strode in with purpose.


    "Hayden, why have youe back at this time?" Ashley stood up to greet her husband.


    Hayden gave her a nce, walked past her, and sat down opposite the olddy. He called out


    "Mom" once more, settling in for the conversation.